The impact of agriculture on biodiversity

"The rapid growth in productivity [in agriculture] over the last 50 years has brought substantial economic benefits. The challenge for the future is to build on this success and to continue to produce an adequate supply of good quality food and non-food products while paying greater attention to the methods of production and their effects on natural resources and the environment."[Summary para.52]

Extract from Government White Paper, Sustainable Development: The UK Strategy. (Cm 2426). January 1994.

29. Agriculture is the main land use in Britain, covering nearly 80% of the total area. Much of today's countryside with its distinctive characteristics has been shaped by farming, and many current ecosystems have developed in response to agricultural practices. However farming methods in the past half century have changed rapidly as a result of policies which have favoured food production at the expense of the conservation of biodiversity and the protection of the landscape. In its second report the Panel examined the problems of forestry and the need for a strategic approach to integrate forestry with other land uses. This report focuses on agriculture in the wider context: how to reconcile continuing support for agriculture with the wider needs of rural communities, and the protection and where possible enhancement of the environment, its habitats, species and ecosystems.
30. The reasons for the adverse impact of agriculture on biodiversity include greater mechanization, increased specialization, higher use of agrochemicals and nutrients, simpler rotations, and the damage inflicted on existing habitats by such practices as land drainage. Many of these trends are driven by economic forces which are shared by other industries. All attempts to reconcile the pressures of modern agriculture with the conservation of biodiversity must take account of the need for British agriculture to be competitive with other producers and of the many other competing claims on the countryside.
31. Farming policy is influenced by both national and European agricultural policy and by external influences such as world trade negotiations. Despite the reforms of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in 1992 and the objectives of the European Union's Fifth Environmental Action Programme, the environment still remains at the periphery of agricultural policy-making. There are strong pressures for further reform which are driven by the proposed enlargement of the European Union, the requirements of the World Trade Organization and concern that environmental objectives as well as rural socio-economic needs should be central to the CAP.
32. The Panel believes that the timing is propitious for a fresh initiative to reform the CAP through the current Inter-Governmental Conference and Britain's forthcoming Presidency of the European Union. This should aim at a significant redirection of funds from agricultural commodity support to direct environmental payments. The long-term objective should be to replace the CAP by a European Rural Policy of which a central objective would be to promote sustainable development, including sustainable farming, in rural areas. The Panel recommends that the Government should seek high-level support within the European Union for further and more fundamental reform of the CAP on these lines.
33. In common with all Government policies, agricultural support measures should be evaluated in terms of their environmental implications. At present, agricultural payments are often in conflict with environmental objectives. This is particularly so in intensive arable areas and in areas of upland grazing. In the short to medium term pending more radical reform of the CAP, the Panel recommends that environmental requirements should be attached to agricultural support payments so that payments are conditional on the farmer meeting minimum agreed standards set out in codes of practice.
34. The Government's main instrument for encouraging environmentally sensitive management of land is the agri-environment programme. At present around 1.2 million hectares have been entered into agri-environment schemes. This represents about 6.7% of the total agricultural land in the British Isles and about 2.5% of expenditure on CAP schemes. There are in addition a number of schemes promoted by statutory agencies, local authorities and non-government organizations, which are designed to promote environmental objectives. Most of these can be described as pilot schemes from which valuable lessons have been learned, in particular the importance of developing policies which cover all aspects of land use. The Panel considers that a major European Union initiative is needed to encourage Member States to draw up comprehensive incentives for land managers to secure and enhance a countryside rich in species, habitats and historical features.
35. New agri-environment schemes are now needed to identify, conserve and enhance local biodiversity in the wider countryside. They should have clear objectives which reflect international, national, regional and local environmental policies. Farmers and other land managers are likely to respond more positively to policies which seek pro-actively to encourage the restoration of biodiversity than to policies which merely seek to protect through restrictions and punitive measures. While regulation has an essential role, the long-term objectives of reconciling competitive agricultural production with the conservation and enhancement of biodiversity will best be achieved by well-focused, practical schemes which command local support. Such schemes should be administered with one agency identified as the local coordinator, a practice being applied by government in other sectors.
36. In 1995, the Biodiversity Steering Group, set up under the UK Biodiversity Action Plan, published costed action plans for 116 threatened and endangered species and 14 key habitats of conservation importance, many of which are affected by agricultural practice.¹²Further work is in hand to implement these plans including the coordination of national and local biodiversity information systems. Local biodiversity action plans are now being prepared on a trial basis. The Panel considers that such plans, within the framework of the National Biodiversity Action Plan, should be a key component in formulating appropriate agri-environment measures. Farmers should be required to produce whole farm plans, drawing on the local biodiversity action plans, in order to qualify for environmental payments. They must be involved in the earliest phase of developing local biodiversity plans so that they are satisfied that the targets are both realistic and compatible with their business requirements.
37. Although modern agricultural practices are widely regarded as damaging to the environment, several pilot schemes have demonstrated that agriculture can enhance biodiversity while producing food competitively. The Government has promoted a number of initiatives designed to encourage the dissemination of best practice across industry. The Panel considers that, in consultation with the agricultural industry and other interested parties, the Government should set national targets for agriculture to limit those features which have an adverse impact on the environment and to promote those which protect and enhance biodiversity and natural landscape.