Presentation to Scottish Government Conference "Future Common Agricultural Policy for Scotland" Edinburgh, 16 March 2011

1. Rural Policy Centre
Challenges for post-2013:
biodiversity
Davy McCracken
Presentation to Scottish Government Conference
Future Common Agricultural Policy for Scotland
1
Holyrood Hotel, Edinburgh, 16 March 2011

2. Biodiversity: not just “nice to
have” or a “luxury to support”
Essential in underpinning the final ecosystem services
associated with our agricultural ecosystems
From Norris et al. (forthcoming) Biodiversity. UK National Ecosystem Assessment

3. Biodiversity Challenges:
Achieving an appropriate balance
• Between Pillar 1 and Pillar 2:
– need „greening‟ of Pillar 1 and agri-
environment in Pillar 2
• Between actions supported within
Pillar 2:
– need more emphasis on
environment and better balance
across actions funded
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4. Biodiversity Challenges:
Achieving an appropriate balance
The ten SRDP Rural Priority options to which the most amount of funding had been
committed by the end of March 2010 (SG website accessed 13/03/2011)
Ranking
based on Total amount Funding for
funds Cases with of funds
committed Option Description Option committed broad
1
Restructuring agricultural businesses (Axis biodiversity
1) 521 £42,923,667
Woodland creation - Native woodland actions c. 51%
2
planting (Axis 2) 466 £27,186,119 of funding of
Hedgerows - 3 years for biodiversity
3
benefits (axis 2) 1085 £23,477,806 top 10 actions
Open Grazed or Wet Grassland for Wildlife
4
(Axis 2) 1203 £19,269,763
5 Diversification Outwith Agriculture (Axis 3) 152 £16,795,472
6
Manure/slurry storage and treatment - Funding for all
manure storage (Axis 1) 190 £9,473,002
7 Mown Grassland for Wildlife (Axis 2) 695 £8,690,519
broad
8
Development/Creation Of Micro-Enterprises biodiversity
(Axis 3) 54 £7,720,262 actions c. 54%
9 Community services and facilities (Axis 3) 34 £6,831,300
Woodland creation - Mixed of funding of all
10
conifer/broadleaved woodland (Axis 2) 161 £6,663,302 actions
Total amount of funds committed to these top 10 options: £169,031,212
Total amount of funds committed to options ranked 2, 3, 4, 7 & 10: £85,287,509
Overall total amount of funds committed to all 127 available options: £262,993,241
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Overall total amount of funds committed to all options with a biodiversity focus £141,829,631

5. Biodiversity Challenges:
Achieving an appropriate balance
• Between actions taken to address
environmental concerns, e.g.:
– Climate Change
– Water Framework Directive
– Delivery of Ecosystem Services
– Biodiversity and 2020 targets “to
halt biodiversity loss …. and ….
restore them in so far as
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feasible”

6. Biodiversity Challenges:
Recognising scale of action needed
• Intensification of
management practices
• Abandonment of
management practices
• Simplification of
agricultural landscapes
Intensity of agriculture
Graph from presentation by: Hoogeveen Y.R., Petersen J.E. & Gabrielsen P. (2001). Agriculture and biodiversity in Europe. Background report to the High-Level
European Conference on Agriculture and Biodiversity, 5–7 June, Paris. STRA-CO/AGRI (2001) 17. Council of Europe/UNEP.

7. Biodiversity Challenges:
Recognising scale of action needed
Scotland: 1995-2007 (BTO)
Stable (but at low levels):
• Linnet
• Skylark
• Starling
• Yellowhammer
Declined:
• Curlew (-51%)
• Kestrel (-38%)
• Lapwing (-33%)
• Meadow Pipit (-25%)
UK Wild bird population index: 1970-2007
Action needed in protected areas and wider countryside

8. Biodiversity Challenges:
Recognising scale of action needed
Lowlands – fragmentation and loss of connectivity

9. Biodiversity Challenges:
Recognising scale of action needed
Lowlands – fragmentation and loss of connectivity

10. Biodiversity Challenges:
Recognising scale of action needed
Lowlands – fragmentation and loss of connectivity

11. Biodiversity Challenges:
Recognising scale of action needed
Uplands and islands – changes and loss of High Nature
Value farming systems
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12. Biodiversity Challenges:
Recognising scale of action needed
Uplands and islands – changes and loss of High Nature
Value farming systems
Need to establish
baseline of how much
HNV and where –
Scottish Government
working on this
Need also to consider
appropriate support
mechanisms and policy
framework required
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13. Biodiversity Challenges: Joining
up the actions being taken
• Need action in protected areas and wider countryside
• Need „greening‟ of Pillar 1 and agri-environment in Pillar 2
• Need appropriately targeted suites of complementary
biodiversity actions on the ground
• Need collaborative actions at the landscape-scale
• Need greater focus on proactive follow-up once
biodiversity actions are implemented
• Need underlying policies and schemes to
be flexible to allow for implementation of
adaptive management – learning by doing

14. Biodiversity Challenges: The
status quo is not an option
• If changes to the way that overall CAP support is targeted
does not result in an increased focus on biodiversity actions
and targeting these effectively, then in Scotland and across the
rest of the EU 27:
– natural and semi-natural habitats will continue to be lost
within intensively farmed areas
– HNV farming systems will continue to decline
– the biodiversity that underpins the ecosystem services
arising from EU agriculture, including production, will be
adversely impacted
– the resilience and capacity of EU farming systems to cope
with shocks and pressures will be adversely impacted

15. Davy McCracken
davy.mccracken@sac.ac.uk
www.sac.ac.uk/ruralpolicycentre
A briefing on Estimating the scale of future environmental
land management requirements can be found at:
http://www.sac.ac.uk/ruralpolicycentre/publs/changinenvironment/landmanagementrequirements/ 15

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