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Agriculture & Land Management
Forest Policy
Forests and other wooded areas cover slightly more of the EU land area than is used by agriculture. However, these two land uses overlap and interact, particularly in areas used for traditional silvo-pastoral farming and modern agro-forestry. IEEP's Agriculture and Land Management Programme examines how long-term sustainable management of Europe’s forests and wooded land can deliver biodiversity, ecosystem services and other benefits for society, while providing a wide range of raw materials and rural employment.
We also focus on the need to improve the resilience of Europe’s forests to the effects of climate change and their important but complex role in carbon storage and renewable energy. Our Biodiversity Programme addresses the need to improve conservation management of internationally important forest habitats and species and the role of forests in providing green infrastructure and supporting the adaptation of other ecosystems to climate change.
We support the integration of environmentally-friendly forestry into EU and Member States’ policies through our work on rural development within the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), the EU Forest Strategy, the Natura 2000 Directives and the EU Biodiversity Strategy. We have a long-standing commitment to improve the knowledge base and awareness of High Nature Value forestry. We also seek to inform the policy debate on climate change, including the benefits and impacts of wood fuel. IEEP is actively involved in improving cross-sectoral linkages between EU forest, energy, agriculture and nature conservation policies, particularly in the context of the accounting rules for greenhouse gas emissions in the Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry sector.
Agriculture is out of the green list for climate action, risking its access to much needed private capital to support the sector in both its sustainability transition and in responding to the adaptation needs in light of a changing climate.
Under the European Green Deal, the EU has pledged to minimise its contribution to deforestation and forest degradation around the world and to promote the consumption of goods from deforestation-free supply chains. But what will that mean in practice?
IEEP has submitted feedback to the European Commission’s public consultation on the EU classification system for green finance, with a focus on mitigation in the agriculture, forestry and bioenergy sector.
This policy brief examines the way that soil is incorporated into the EU climate policy architecture and gives recommendations for enhancing its position in that architecture.
To inform future European Commission’s legislative efforts, IEEP’s discussion paper articulates sustainability criteria aimed at addressing the roots of deforestation, ecosystem degradation and human right violations driven by the EU’s purchase of agricultural commodities in third countries.
In its efforts to deliver on the EU Green Deal and to step up EU action, the European Commission launched a public consultation on deforestation and forest degradation. We've submitted several recommendations based on our work on these and related topics.
The EU’s food sector, due to its high demand for imported agricultural products like palm oil, soy, cocoa and coffee, is a significant contributor to deforestation and ecosystem degradation in third countries.
There is mounting interest in biomass to provide heat, power and, transport fuels but also as a basis for alternative products for replacing plastics, and other fossil fuel derived commodities. How can the bioeconomy and the bioenergy sector evolve to deliver sustainable, coordinated and efficient use of resources?
Join PEGASUS stakeholders to discuss delivering environmental and social benefits from agriculture and forestry in a changing policy context.
The Final Conference of the PEGASUS project will take place in Brussels on Wednesday, 7 February 2018 (9:00-17:00). The event will summarise of the results of over 3 years of research on concrete ways to enhance the provision of public goods and ecosystem services by agriculture and forestry, and what this means for policy and practice.
Claude Turmes MEP hosted an event launching both IEEP’s report and a debate on the future of renewable energy in Europe. In the our report IEEP present how a resource efficient energy system might be delivered in a way that minimises impact on biodiversity and the wider environment.
Land use and forestry is a new frontier for EU climate policy. IEEP’s report for FERN sets out some ideas for how a supportive policy framework can deliver both climate and biodiversity benefits.
EU research project PEGASUS kicked off in London on 29-30 April. The three-year project, led by IEEP, is focused on transforming land management approaches in the EU to improve the delivery of public goods and ecosystem services from rural areas.
This is a chapter of IEEP’s Manual of European Environmental Policy. This chapter sets out the development of some of the most important links between EU environmental policy and other policy areas, such as agriculture, forestry, fisheries, transport, trade, and so on.
This study reviews Member States’ estimates of the extent of HNV farmland and use of RDP measures and the CMEF indicators, then identifies future priorities for CAP support for HNV farming and discusses the support opportunities under the reformed CAP. It offers detailed new evidence about the combined effect of Pillar 1 and Pillar 2 CAP payments on the economic and environmental viability of a typical HNV farming system in three Member States.
Member States need to make the most of the opportunities under the new Common Agricultural Policy if the declines in HNV farming, critical for meeting our 2020 biodiversity targets, are to be halted.
How can we meet the different and often conflicting demands we make on our limited supply of rural land in Europe? A more strategic approach to the way in which land is used is needed than has been the case in the past. This report for DG Environment looks at the data, the challenges and the policy options for Europe.
For the first time, this report provides an estimate of the scale of funding needed to achieve environmental outcomes through agricultural and forestry management in the EU to 2020.
A range of forestry measures feature in the new European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD), and IEEP was asked by the Land Use Policy Group (LUPG) to explore the potential for using these ...
