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10 messages for 2010 - Agricultural ecosystems
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Within the framework of the CAP, the last 50 years have seen increasing attention to biodiversity, but
without clear benefits so far. With agriculture covering about half of EU land area, Europe's biodiversity is linked inextricably to
agricultural practices, creating valuable agro-ecosystems across the whole of Europe.
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Publications
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Common Agricultural Policy reform – reducing the impact of farming
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Today, the European Commission launched its proposals for the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) after 2013. The key objective is ‘to strengthen the competitiveness, sustainability and permanence of agriculture throughout the EU in order to secure for European citizens a healthy and high-quality source of food, preserve the environment and develop rural areas’. The proposals tie financial support more closely to environmental goals.
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News
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Distribution and targeting of the CAP budget from a biodiversity perspective
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The EU has highlighted the importance of using the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) to prevent the abandonment of high nature value farmland and its intensification as a key action to halt biodiversity decline. The present report sets out to assess whether the current distribution of CAP funds is likely to favour the maintenance of farmland with high nature value (HNV). And it explores the extent to which CAP funds are likely to support the long-term economic and ecological sustainability of these HNV farming systems.
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Publications
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EEA Briefing 1/2006 - Assessing environmental integration in EU agriculture
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Publications
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EEA Report 2/2006 - Integration of environment into EU agriculture policy - the IRENA indicator-based assessment report
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This report aims to provide a fair reflection of the
progress, the achievements and obstacles in the
integration of environmental concerns into EU
agriculture policy, based on indicators developed in
the IRENA operation (see Section 1.3). It also tackles
limitations to successful policy implementation
at Member State level, and challenges ahead.
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Publications
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EEA Signals 2009 - Key environmental issues facing Europe
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Signals is published by the European Environment Agency (EEA) at the start of each year and provides snapshot stories on issues of interest both to the environmental policy debate and the wider public for the upcoming year. The eight stories addressed are not exhaustive but have been selected on the basis of their relevance to the current environmental policy debate in Europe. They address priority issues of climate change, nature and biodiversity, the use of natural resources and health.
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Publications
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Food security and environmental impacts
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The CAP reform needs to tackle two key challenges simultaneously: ‘greening’ the agriculture sector (reducing agriculture's environmental impacts) and ensuring food security.
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Environmental topics
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Agriculture
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Greening agricultural policy
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Freshwater quality — SOER 2010 thematic assessment
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The continuing presence of a range of pollutants in a number of Europe's freshwaters threatens aquatic ecosystems and raises concerns for public health. Current reporting under the EU Water Framework Directive shows that a substantial proportion of Europe's freshwaters are at risk of not achieving the aim of 'good status' by 2015. Driven by the EU Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive (UWWTD), improvements in the collection and treatment of wastewater in some regions of Europe have led to a reduction in the discharge of some pollutants to fresh and coastal waters. Challenges remain, however, because UWWTD implementation remains incomplete and other significant sources of water pollution exist, especially agriculture and urban storm flows. The implementation of effective and timely measures, required under the WFD, needs to encompass a greater focus on controls 'at source' and the efficient use of resources including water, energy and chemicals.
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The European environment – state and outlook 2010
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Thematic assessments
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Green CAP project
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Two of the main challenges underlying the current CAP reform are 'greening' the agriculture sector (reducing environmental impacts) and viable food production with a view to ensure food security. To address these challenges, the European Environment Agency invited a panel of external experts to reflect on these challenges and to explore long-term intervention strategies in the context of the EEA’s ‘Green CAP project’.
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Environmental topics
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Agriculture
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Greening agricultural policy
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Greening Europe’s agriculture
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Human society relies for its health and well-being on four basic categories of natural resources: food, water, energy and other materials including fibre, minerals and processed chemicals. At the global level, food, water and energy systems are becoming increasingly vulnerable. Global demand for energy and water is projected to rise by 40 % over the next 20 years if no major policy changes are implemented.
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Environmental topics
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Agriculture