Agriculture

Photos: Located in The Environmental Atlas › Environmental Atlas of Europe › Natural cork
Water resources across Europe — confronting water scarcity and drought: This report provides an up-to-date assessment of water resources across Europe.
Located in Publications
Land use — SOER 2010 thematic assessment: Land use shapes our environment in positive and negative ways. Productive land is a critical resource for food and biomass production and land use strongly influences soil erosion and soil functions such as carbon storage. Land management largely determines the beauty of Europe's landscapes. It is important therefore to monitor land cover and land-use change through tools such as Corine land cover. Data on land-cover change in Europe from 2000–2006 show that growth in built-up areas and forest land leads to a continued loss of agricultural land. In turn, global economic and environmental change will increasingly influence the way Europeans use land (e.g. as communities work to mitigate and adapt to climate change). Policy responses are needed to help resolve conflicting land-use demands and to guide land-use intensity to support environmental land management.
Located in The European environment – state and outlook 2010 › Thematic assessments
Soil — SOER 2010 thematic assessment: Nearly all of the food and fibres used by humans are produced on soil. Soil is also essential for water and ecosystem health. It is second only to the oceans as a global carbon sink, with an important role in the potential slowing of climate change. Soil functions depend on a multitude of soil organisms which makes it an important part of our biodiversity. Nevertheless, soil in many parts of Europe is being over-exploited, degraded and irreversibly lost due to impacts from industrial activities and land use change, leading to soil sealing, contamination, erosion and loss of organic carbon. Due to these problems, legislation for the protection of soils has been proposed at EU level.
Located in The European environment – state and outlook 2010 › Thematic assessments
Water resources: quantity and flows - SOER 2010 thematic assessment: Europe's freshwaters are affected by water scarcity, droughts, floods and physical modifications. Many water bodies are at risk of failing to meet the aim of the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) to achieve good status by 2015. Future policies should encourage demand management through actions such as increasing water efficiency. In addition, water management will benefit from applying an ecosystems perspective, using floodplains and groundwater aquifers for storing water, and making room (space) for rivers.
Located in The European environment – state and outlook 2010 › Thematic assessments
Marine and coastal environment — key message 7: Growth of the maritime, agriculture and tourism sectors is expected to continue. An important future objective for the Marine Strategy Framework Directive will be to ensure that this growth is sustainable to achieve and then maintain ‘Good Environmental Status’ of the marine environment. Moreover, it will be necessary to implement planning principles in line with the approaches of Integrated Coastal Zone Management and Maritime Spatial Planning.
Located in The European environment – state and outlook 2010 › … › Marine and coastal environment — SOER 2010 thematic assessment › Key messages
Country profile - Drivers and impacts (Croatia): SOER Country profile from Croatia
Located in The European environment – state and outlook 2010 › Country assessments › Croatia
Country profile - Societal developments (Finland): Country introduction - Major societal developments
Located in The European environment – state and outlook 2010 › Country assessments › Finland
Country profile - Drivers and impacts (Finland): Country introduction - Main drivers of environmental pressures
Located in The European environment – state and outlook 2010 › Country assessments › Finland
Land use - State and impacts (Finland): Land use - State and Impacts
Located in The European environment – state and outlook 2010 › Country assessments › Finland