The nature conservation value of European traditional farming systems

Abstract

The European landscape reflects many centuries of dynamic interaction between people and their natural environments. Indeed, much of the current biological and aesthetic value of the wide variety of "cultural" landscapes has been created and is now maintained by long-established farming systems. Such traditional systems (many of which are pastoral based) are generally well integrated with the environment and involve management practices that do not over-exploit the natural carrying capacity of the land. However, the rapid modernisation of agriculture that occurred after the 1939-1945 war resulted in an intensification of many European farming systems and has had severe negative effects on the environment. This modernisation initially occurred primarily in northwest Europe fuelled by the European Union (EU) Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), but with the expansion of the EU it is continuing and is certain to increase in southern, central, and eastern Europe. The response of the EU to this fundamental imbalance between farming and the environment has included the introduction of compulsory regulations to ensure the implementation of minimum environmental standards in the production processes and the promotion of agri-environment programmes to encourage farmers to undertake positive environmental management on their farmland. The ongoing reforms of the CAP will undoubtedly place greater emphasis on agri-environment programmes and increasingly on the concept of "integrated rural development." There is, however, still a pressing need for detailed information to justify to the EU and world markets why certain types of farming system should be central to future European rural development policies.Key words: biodiversity, wildlife value, farming systems, European policy, agri-environment.