Project details

Background for the project is, that Priority objective No 1 of the 7th Environment Action Programme is 'to protect, conserve and enhance the Union's natural capital', and this objective is set in the context of a longer-term vision that 'by 2050 we live well, within the planet's ecological limits… natural resources are managed sustainably, and biodiversity is protected, valued and restored in ways that enhance society's resilience'. Priority objective 7 mentions that the achievement of many of the priority objectives of the 7th EAP will demand even more effective integration of environmental -related considerations into other policies, including CAP, as well as more coherent, joined-up policy approaches that deliver multiple benefits.

As recently shown by the State of the Environment report published by the European Environment Agency the trend and outlook for protecting, conserving and enhancing natural capital is mixed with economic and demographic projections suggesting these pressures are likely to grow, despite the existing environmental legislation and strategies.

A consortium, lead by COWI A/S in Denmark and DLO at the Wageningen-University (The Netherlands) was contracted by the European Commission in December 2015 to conduct the study.

The consortium will analyse which kinds of measures achieve the best results in terms of EU environmental objectives in agricultural areas: obligatory measure, cross-compliance, CAP greening measures or voluntary measures.

Environmental areas to be addressed include water, biodiversity, soil and air.

Specific analysis on agri-environment climate measures will be carried out. It will aim at characterising the beneficiaries notably from the socio-economic point of view and at understanding their motivation to participate in such voluntary schemes. The consortium will assess whether in precise cases they are sufficient to address environmental issues or if obligatory measures should not be taken instead.

The analysis will cover an assessment of 12 Member States and IfLS will be responsible for the in-depth studies in Germany.