Highlights report - 2nd meeting of the Thematic Group on Enhancing Biodiversity on Farmland for Improved Resilience

The second meeting of the Thematic Group (TG) on Enhancing Biodiversity on Farmland for Improved Resilience focused on discussions of the factors that need to be in place for the effective design and implementation of interventions to improve biodiversity outcomes on farmland at scale.

The event started with reports from the informal online gatherings held since the first TG meeting. These online discussions focused respectively on practical scheme design for engaging farmers and encouraging landscape-scale approaches, and on improving the understanding of the economic and environmental benefits of biodiversity action. The outcomes of these meetings offered inputs for the collective discussion to follow.

European Commission representatives (from DG AGRI and DG ENV) jointly presented their thoughts on how coordinated action supported through the CAP - and learning from existing experiences, e.g. under LEADER and LIFE - could help enhance biodiversity on farmland.

TG members were then split into breakout groups to explore the enabling factors that are necessary for improving biodiversity outcomes on farmland at scale, with a focus on scheme design; scheme implementation and monitoring; and communication and developing capacity. TG members developed recommendations addressed to the European Commission and/or Member States to make these factors a reality. Priority actions were agreed upon and are collected in the report as well as on the Thematic Group page, which is kept up-to-date with other outputs from this TG.