28/04/11
Since 2008, Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) payments to farmers have shifted towards reward for environmental improvement. The CAP should act as an incentive to improve the environment and protect water resources, and the forthcoming CAP policy review provides an excellent opportunity to further these aims.
Last November, the European Commission published a communication on the CAP "towards 2020", identifying three principal objectives: viable food production; sustainable management of natural resources and climate action; and maintaining the territorial balance and diversity of rural areas.
Recent statements by Agriculture Commissioner Dacian Ciolos and Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman suggest that there is scope and opportunity to make the case for farmers being rewarded through CAP payments for the many benefits that water resource and quality management brings.
Rainwater collection, reed beds, pesticide and herbicide management and peatland restoration all provide multiple benefits for species support and environmental and biodiversity resilience, as well as wider 'wins' in terms of water quality and flood management.
