Landscape and agriculture under the reformed Common Agricultural Policy in Greece: Constructing a typology of interventions

Abstract

Geografisk Tidsskrift-Danish Journal of Geography 111(2):131–147, 2011 A critical review of the European Union (EU) environmental and rural policies suggests that in the case of environmental policy an almost complete segregation between nature and areas where human activity is acceptable seems to be the main rationale. However, when agricultural and rural development policy measures are examined the focus seems to be on the integration of environmental conservation efforts in all activities across space. At the same time the scope of this policy is gradually widening from a strictly sectorial (agricultural) to a policy for the management of rural space. The above and the gradual integration of spatial elements in policy making could explain the increasing emphasis on rural landscape issues. The paper focuses on three cases of public intervention in three areas of Greece: A) The Amfissa olive grove (Sterea Hellas), where support from the first pillar of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and a local agri-environmental measure, complement the existing landscape protection regulations of archaeological and land planning legislation; B) the Anthili plain (Sterea Hellas) where a production support lead to an intensification process with negative impacts on the landscape, and finally C) Santorini (Cyclades), where the incentive based policies implemented, due to the absence of a robust land use regulatory framework, seem to have been ineffective.