1st meeting of the Thematic Group on Enhancing Biodiversity on Farmland for Improved Resilience
This was the first meeting of the Thematic Group on Enhancing Biodiversity on Farmland for Improved Resilience.
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Organised by EU CAP Network
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- CEST
- English
- Online

Food production and farming practices can have both positive and negative impacts on biodiversity. The interactions between farming and biodiversity therefore play a critical role for the resilience of food production and sustainable resource management. This can be the case through supporting the pollination of crops and the control of pests and diseases, contributing to productive soils, nutrient and carbon cycles, water quality as well as improving the resilience of farming systems to climate change through helping mitigate the effects of droughts and floods. However, biodiversity continues to decline, particularly on farmland.
The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is the main source of funding to support the management and restoration of biodiversity in rural areas and the CAP Strategic Plans (CSPs) are an important vehicle for achieving the requirements of the recently agreed Nature Restoration Law in Member States (legally binding requirement to restore at least 20% of the EU’s land by 2030 and all ecosystems in need of restoration by 2050). However, despite the fact that incentives have been in place for farmers to improve biodiversity on farmland for many decades, this has not been sufficient to achieve the scale of improvements required.
In this first meeting we looked at Member States’ experiences in designing and implementing interventions at the necessary scale for improving biodiversity outcomes on farmland (improving species’ populations, habitat restoration, habitat connectivity). We explored what factors have contributed to successful outcomes as well as challenges that need to be overcome.
The first meeting aimed to:
- Share good practice examples of initiatives for delivering biodiversity outcomes on farmland at the necessary scale (e.g. involving multiple farms; using collective approaches).
- Explore the success factors as well as the issues and challenges facing the design and implementation of interventions for improving biodiversity outcomes on farmland.
- Identify the main areas of interest for further in-depth discussion.
To follow the work of this Thematic Group, please visit this page regularly, subscribe to our monthly newsletter, and follow us on social media (#BiodiversityForResilience).
Programme
Agenda - Thematic Group on Enhancing Biodiversity on Farmland for Improved Resilience
(PDF – 199.67 KB)
Additional info
Organiser
EU CAP Network
EU Stakeholders
Support
CAP Implementation Contact Point
EU CAP Network
Resources
Documents
Background paper - Thematic Group on Enhancing Biodiversity on Farmland for Improved Resilience
(PDF – 259.55 KB)
List of Thematic Group (TG) Members
(PDF – 284.76 KB)
Presentations
Introduction - Lisa Haller, EU CAP Network
(PDF – 716.78 KB)
Member States' approaches - Biodiversity on Farmland in Ireland – Jerome Walsh, Irish Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
(PDF – 2.37 MB)
Member States' approaches - Biodiversity on Farmland in The Netherlands – Aard Mulders, Dutch Ministry of Agriculture
(PDF – 559.74 KB)
Member States' approaches - Biodiversity on Farmland in Croatia - Sonja Karoglan, Ecologica
(PDF – 2.76 MB)
Member States' approaches - Biodiversity on Farmland in the UK – Kaley Hart, EU CAP Network
(PDF – 662.67 KB)
Parallel Group Discussion
(PDF – 172.54 KB)
Next steps and wrap up - Lisa Haller, EU CAP Network
(PDF – 469.51 KB)
Miroboard – Group 1
(PDF – 187.11 KB)
Miroboard – Group 2
(PDF – 221.88 KB)
Miroboard- Group 3
(PDF – 193.15 KB)
Miroboard – Harvesting Session
(PDF – 219.46 KB)