3rd Annual Conference, Reading, 12–13 December 1995
of the European Environmental Advisory Councils EEAC

Sustainable Land Use in Europe

Hosted by The Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution

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The papers from this conference have been published in 1998 by Kluwer Law International in a volume entitled Agriculture and Sustainable Land Use in Europe. This also includes some papers from the 4th Annual Conference (on sustainable use and management of Europe's freshwater resources) held in Stockholm in October 1996 and the joint statement referred to above.

Summary

The growing population of Europe needs adequate and wholesome food at reasonable prices and a sufficient supply of pure drinking water. Accommodating this need and the many other pressures on land while maintaining biodiversity, ecosystems, and cultural landscapes is a matter of continuing concern and debate in Europe. The changing nature of agriculture, concerns about agricultural subsidies and surpluses, food and water quality issues, and discussion of the future of the European Union (EU)'s Common Agricultural Policy have all increased the intensity of this debate in recent years.

Through its discussion of how best to achieve sustainable land use, Agriculture and Sustainable Land Use in Europe tackles this wide range of issues, examining problems faced by the EU concerning the future of rural communities, the maintenance of an attractive and diverse countryside, and more.

This work comprises papers presented at two conferences organized by groups of European Environmental Advisory Councils. These papers offer the reader access to a broad range of experience and points of view, making Agriculture and Sustainable Land Use in Europe a contribution of particular value to the debate on these issues.

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Contents

Preface

1.  Land Use and the Concept of Environmental Space

by Ed Nijpels and Jan J. Boersema

1. Introduction
2. Space as a Limited Resource
3. Preliminary Results
4. Conclusions

2.  Putting Information to Work and Some Highlights from the Report
Environment in the European Union 1995

by Tone Solhaug

1. Background: The European Environment Agency
2. European Topic Centers and the Work of the Center on Nature Conservation
3. The Fifth Environmental Action Programme
4. Future Development of the Agency's Information and Reporting Work

3.  Sustainable Use of Soil

by The Earl of Selborne

4.  Regional Sustainability through Land and Water Management in Germany?

by R. Andreas Kraemer and Walter Kahlenborn

1. Introduction
2. Fundamentals: Sustainability in Land and Water Management
3. The Current State of Land and Water Management
   1. The Morphology of Waters and Landscape
      1. The Systematic Development of River Landscapes
      2. Restoration to a Near-Natural State
   2. Quantitative Water Management and Land Use
      1. Flood Protection and Land Use
      2. Minimum Flow Rate and River Ecosystems
      3. Long-Distance Water Supply and Regional Development
      4. Demand Management
   3. Water and Soil Quality
      1. Agriculture, Groundwater and Drinking Water
      2. Surface Water and Coastal Waters
   4. Institutional Aspects of Land and Water Management
      1. Database
      2. Legal Issues
      3. Economic Issues
      4. Enforcement Structures, Organization and Actors
4. Conclusions

5.  Groundwater Protection: Ensured by Soil Protection and Sustainable Land Use

by Hubert Wiggering

1. Groundwater as a Resource
   1. Soil and Groundwater Pollution
   2. The Soil Compaction Problem
   3. The Erosion Problem
   4. Chemical Pollution
   5. Microbial Pollution
   6. Reassessing Water Policy
   7. Requirements of Future Sustainable Groundwater Protection
2. The Instruments of Water Resource Management
   1. Drinking Water Treatment Techniques
   2. Planning Instruments
   3. The Use of Regulatory and Economic Instruments
3. Conclusions

6.  Groundwater Level, Agriculture and Nature Management in the Netherlands: The Surprising Problem of Desiccation in an Originally Very Wet Country

by Teun Klumpers and Adriaan Haartsen

1. Introduction
2. Some Figures
3. Desiccation
4. Extent of the Desiccation Problem
5. The Effects of Desiccation on Nature and Landscape
6. The Anti-Desiccation Policy
7. How to Reduce Desiccation?
8. Conclusions

7.  The Report of the UK Common Agricultural Policy Review Group: Future Support for European Union Agriculture

by John S. Marsh

1. Introduction
2. The Background to the Report
3. The Present Situation
   1. The Effects of the Existing Policy
   2. How the CAP Came to Have these Effects
4. Why there Needs to Be a Reformed Agricultural Policy
   1. The Decline of the Traditional Reasons for Support
   2. The Inadequacies of the 1992 Reforms
   3. The Timing of Change
   4. The Dangers of Supply Control
5. The Shape of a Reformed CAP
   1. Improved Competitiveness
   2. An Environmental Policy – Safeguarding and Enhancing the Countryside
   3. The Development of Rural Areas – a Socio-structural Policy
6. Compensation
7. Some Concluding Comments

8.  Putting Information to Work: The European Union Policy and Integrated Rural Development

by Theo Beckers and Agneta Andersson

1. Introduction
2. Integration of Environmental Considerations into European Policies
3. EU Funding and Integrated Rural Development
   1. Suggestions for Future Development
4. Lessons from the Netherlands
5. Possibilities for Integrated Rural Development within the CAP
6. Recommendations
   1. A Spatial Framework
   2. A New Objective for Structural Funds
   3. Stimulating Inter- and Co-regional Planning

9.  Future Land Use in Europe

by Henk C. van Latesteijn

1. Introduction
2. The Approach
3. The Four Scenarios
   1. Free Market and Free Trade Scenario (FF)
   2. Regional Development Scenario (RD)
   3. Nature and Landscape Scenario (NL)
   4. Environmental Protection Scenario (EP)
4. Model Calculations
   1. The First Step
   2. The Second Step
   3. The Third Step
5. Results
   1. Land Use
   2. Employment
   3. Environment
6. Comparison of Scenarios
7. Conclusions

10.  Sustainable Land Use: Instrumental Prerequisites for Its Realization and Economic Restraints thereon as Demonstrated by German Environmental Policy

by Hubert Wiggering and Hans-Jürgen Ewers

1. The General Problem
2. The Model for Sustainable Land Use
3. Basic Principles of a Consistent Policy Approach
4. The Role of Urban and Regional Policy in Shaping Sustainable Land Use
5. The Role of EU Regional Development Policy and the Development of Regional Economic Structure in Shaping Sustainable Land Use
6. The Role of Spatially-Oriented Nature Conservation Policy in Shaping Sustainable Land Use
7. The Role of Agricultural Policy in Shaping Sustainable Land Use
8. The Remuneration of Ecological Services in Agriculture and Forestry as an Instrument for Shaping Sustainable Land Use
9. An Ecologically-Oriented Expansion of the Financial Equalization as an Instrument for Shaping Sustainable Land Use
10. Outline of a Comprehensive Set of Instruments for Sustainable Development
11. Central Instruments of a Future Policy Orientation
    1. Environmental Taxes
    2. Remuneration for Ecological Services
    3. Ecological Expansion of Financial Equalization
12. On the Relationship between a System for Paying for Ecological Services and an Ecologically Expanded Financial Equalization System

11.  Reflections on the Ecological Role of Agriculture

by Wolfgang Haber

12.  Biodiversity and Common Agricultural Policy Reform

by Sue Collins

1. Introduction
2. Background
3. The Relationship between Agriculture and Biodiversity
4. Biodiversity Recovery in the Farmed Landscape
5. Achieving Changes
6. Components of Environmentally Sustainable Development
7. The Way Ahead – Integrating Environmental Objectives in Farming
8. CAP Reform
9. Natural Areas
10. Conclusions

13.  Mitigating the Environmental Effects of Intensive Agriculture

by Joyce Tait

1. Introduction
2. Pressures on Farming Systems
3. Targeted Inputs for a Better Rural Environment (TIBRE)
4. Policy Issues

14.  Tir Cymen: a Farm Stewardship Scheme Model

by Malcolm E. Smith

1. Introduction
2. Objectives
3. Methodology
4. Progress to Date
5. The European Union Agri-environment Regulation
6. Evaluation
7. The Future

15.  The Agri-environment Potential of the Common Agricultural Policy

by Frank Fay

1. Introduction
2. Community Agriculture Policy and Environmental Concerns
3. Markets Regimes
4. The Agri-environment Regulation
5. Strategy Paper
6. Structural Measures and Environmental Directives
7. Conclusion

16.  Towards Environmentally Sustainable Land Use: Reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and Development of a Rural Sustainability Policy

A Statement by the European Environmental Advisory Councils

1. Incorporation of Sustainable Development Principles in Agriculture and Trade Policies
2. Development and Delivery of an Integrated Rural Sustainability Policy across Europe
3. Reform of the CAP and the Need to Place Environmental Objectives at the Heart of this Policy
4. Recommendations for Action
5. Follow-up Action
6. Signatories

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