Projects of the European Forum on Nature Conservation and Pastoralism

Agricultural practices in HNV farmland – impacts on biodiversity

• detailed case studies in 3 contrasting regions of France
• awareness raising conference at the policy/research interface in Paris

• Project details
• HNV brochure
• Seminar Normandy
  (HNV farming : local approaches, global stakes)

Recognising environmental services of semi-natural grasslands in policy: conference

• Organise major international conference
• Carry out and present preparatory case study on social, economic and environmental state of semi-natural pastures and the agricultural systems that maintain them
• Impact on 2010 CAP reform discussions as regards recognising and paying for public goods
• Raise awareness of importance of local action in the delivery of policy

• International conference
• Project details

State of Common Grazing in Scotland

• Provide an up-to-date account of the size and location of common grazings in Scotland and their overlap with issues of public concern such as designated areas and carbon stores
• Provide a snapshot of current use for agriculture and to claim CAP payments through use of official statistics and questionnaire surveys
• Arrive at interim policy conclusions; consult with farmers in discussion groups; formulate forward strategy for common grazings in time to respond to CAP discussions of 2010

• Project details
• Poster: Common grazings ...

HNV farmland case study, Devon

• Identify and characterise HNV farmland and farming systems within 3 case study areas
• Assess socio-economic situation of these systems and carry out needs assessment
• Arrive at policy conclusions, and describe both their type and scale
• Feed into policy discussions leading up to 2014 and to the development of CMEF indicators

HNV farmland case studies, Carmarthenshire & Wye Valley

• Identify and characterise HNV farmland and farming systems within 3 case study areas
• Assess socio-economic situation of these systems and carry out needs assessment
• Arrive at policy conclusions, and describe both their type and scale
• Feed into policy discussions leading up to 2014 and to CMEF indicator development

HNV farmland as a future strength for Irish uplands

• to co-ordinate and build on the work of a range of disparate projects looking, broadly, at aspects of the future of the uplands (including the Burren Life+ project, HNV farmland pilot in Connemara and the Aran Islands, socio-economic research in Kerry and in the uplands of Sligo/Leitrim and south Leinster)
• to develop a synthesised ‘next step’ proposal using the HNV farmland concept as both an organising tool and a central environmental service around whose delivery farming support can focus

• HNV farmland as a future strength for Irish uplands
• Jame Moran / Aran islands workshop

Seminar on the protection of semi-natural grasslands

• to reflect on the coherence and effectiveness of a range of permanent grassland protection measures (cross-compliance; EIA Directive; Renewable Energy Directive) and especially as they relate to semi-natural grasslands
• to gather information from a representative selection of EU states on the method and effectiveness of implementation of the various measures
• to present this evidence and proposals for better integration, at a workshop for stakeholders in Brussels

• Project details
• Report by The Grassland Trust

Exchange visits for local HNV farmland actors

• in the case of UK/Ireland – Spain: capacity building in common land CSOs in the UK and Ireland through visiting common land areas, actors and projects in the Cantabria, Asturias and Castilla y León regions of Spain
• in the case of Romania – Spain: capacity building in farmers and a local rural development/environmental CSO in the Târnava Mare region through visiting projects in Navarra and Asturias relating to the support of shepherded systems and the management of designated areas by farming

• Exchange visit Scotland Spain
• Exchange visit Romania Spain
• Common grazings-related work in the United Kingdom

Pasture landscapes and nature conservation

• to hold and report on an international workshop to investigate at a range of technical issues concerning pastoral systems and High Nature Value farmland (the nature of the ecological interactions and their relationship with management practices; socio-economic status and change in relevant agricultural systems and the possible effects on biodiversity values; technicalities of monitoring and evaluation under the CMEF)

Support to HNV identification in Navarra

• Guiding the official HNV farmland identification and characterisation exercise in Navarra

• Project details
• Report

Assessing the impact of the regionalised SFP implementation model on common land

• to use data collected in England and Northern Ireland, which have a partially regionalised implementation of the Single Farm Payment to investigate the possible effects on common land systems of full implementation both in the UK and the rest of the EU
• to use data collected in Scotland, Wales and Ireland to reflect further on this question through gathering data on unclaimed forage on common grazings