An assessment of policies affecting Sustainable Soil Management in Europe and selected member states

This paper analyses soils-related policies in Europe and in selected member states and regions. Our approach breaks down policy packages at European, national and regional levels into strategic objectives, operational objectives, policy measures and expected impacts, and assesses the relationships between these elements and soil stakes. Four major policy packages, both at EU and national level (CAP-I, RDP, Environment, national initiatives) were analysed. A numerical scale was developed to quantify the level of “embeddedness” of soil stakes in these policy packages. We found that countries better embed soil stakes into their policies when they also put more efforts on environmental innovation. In turn, countries with a high embeddedness level, with high trust in European institutions and that make more efforts towards renewable energy, tend to propose a wider variety of management practices to farmers for dealing with soil stakes.     

Geographical downscaling of outputs provided by an economic farm model calibrated at the regional level

There is a strong need for accurate and spatially referenced information regarding policy making and model linkage. This need has been expressed by land users, and policy and decision makers in order to estimate both spatially and locally the impacts of European policy (like the Common Agricultural Policy) and/or global changes on farm-groups. These entities are defined according to variables such as altitude, economic size and type of farming (referring to land uses). European farm-groups are provided through the Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) as statistical information delivered at regional level. The aim of the study is to map locally farm-group probabilities within each region. The mapping of the farm-groups is done in two steps: (1) by mapping locally the co-variables associated to the farm-groups, i.e. altitude and land uses; (2) by using regional FADN data as a priori knowledge for transforming land uses and altitude information into farm-groups location probabilities within each region. The downscaling process focuses on the land use mapping since land use data are originally point information located every 18 km. Interpolation of land use data is done at 100 m by using co-variables like land cover, altitude, climate and soil data which are continuous layers usually provided at fine resolution. Once the farm-groups are mapped, European Policy and global changes scenarios are run through an agro-economic model for assessing environmental impacts locally.     

Is the European Union protecting soil? A critical analysis of Community environmental policy and law

Although preserving soil health is essential for sustainability, over the last decade, there has been a significant increase in soil degradation in the European Union (EU) and, based on available information, this trend will not reverse in the long run. While the Union has adopted ambitious policy objectives addressing soil threats, there is not to date an EU soil-specific legislation, but various aspects of soil protection are scattered across many EU policy areas. This paper contributes to evaluating the status of soil protection within the EU environmental legislation, by creating an inventory of the relevant provisions and analyzing their features. It emerges that soil threats are not comprehensively regulated by the EU legislator and soil protection looks like the by-product of several provisions which mainly set preventive, qualitative and non strictly binding measures.     

European Agricultural Science Funding: Examining Trends and Prospects

Proper evaluation of the impact of agricultural research requires data on how much has been spent to achieve its desired effects on productivity, efficiency and environmental quality. However, official statistics on aggregate volumes of research expenditure, at both European and national levels, are intermittently available and most data collected for private research are not fully compatible with data for public research. This study in 20 European countries in 2014 defines the different concepts at international level, and assesses coverage across countries, using secondary data and key informant interviews. Coverage is unequal by country and type of measure, the lowest coverage being for agriculture as a socioeconomic objective. We depict recent trends in public agricultural research, which differ by country. We then formulate three policy options and recommendations for their implementation to improve the monitoring of agricultural research investment in Europe: 1) make compulsory in the EU statistical system the collection of statistics on agricultural research expenditure using the same metrics for all sectors of performance; 2) develop a specific survey in the Commission to obtain data directly from research organisations; 3) prepare annual reviews of agricultural research expenditures at Member State level, including both quantitative and qualitative information on agricultural research activities.     

The use of ex-ante modelling tools in European Impact Assessment: What role does land use play?

Impact Assessment was introduced by the European Commission in 2002 in order to make policy development more transparent and improve the ‘quality’ of European policies. Cross-sectoral consultation, broad participation and the quantitative assessment of the impacts of policies are significant elements of this process. This article specifically addresses the role of tools modelling the impact of policies on land use in Impact Assessment. The choice of a specific modelling tool is conceptualised as an action situation interlinked with other action arenas. The article aims to uncover the institutions structuring the action situation. The outcome of the empirical work suggests that two types of Impact Assessments can be distinguished. Impact Assessments either substantively contribute to the specific policy that the Commission proposes or they legitimise policy choices ex post that have already been adopted. The legislative procedure that applies to a specific policy sector, the policy making culture in the DG and the stakes that are at issue seem to influence whether Impact Assessments contribute to policy development, or legitimise it. Furthermore, the article describes the situation in which desk officers choose a modelling tool throughout Impact Assessment. To advance their careers desk officers aim to produce policy proposals which respond to the issues raised by the actors involved in Impact Assessment and specifically in policy development and, later on, adoption. Therefore, desk officers’ preferences are shaped by the community that is involved in policy development and Impact Assessment. The article describes what role modelling tools play in European Impact Assessment procedures and it names the heuristic of criteria which desk officers use to choose a modelling tool. Besides several technical and data problems of modelling land use impact, it seems to be unlikely that land use will become a significant dimension of Impact Assessment and modelling as it is confronted with an unfavourable institutional environment at the European level.     

The interrelations of land ownership,soil protection and privileges of capital in the aspect of land take

The novelty of this study lies in the analyses of legislation concerning land use policies by examining the specific boundary between land ownership and land take. The basic motive was that the European Commission (EC) withdrew the Soil Framework Directive (SFD) in 2014 following the objections of certain Member States (MS) who countered that as most lands are privately owned, they should not fall under the remit of public governance. Since the withdrawal of the SFD land take is an issue receiving more attention. The legal content of ownership rights has been subjected to constant debate in the context of land-use policies and planning practices, which raises the questions of who decides how the land can be used and whether administrative authorities give priority to non-agricultural uses. Our study seeks to explore these issues through the lens of property law by comparing different legislations on access to land on three levels of policy implementation: the EU, the national, and the local levels. MS legislations are highlighted through the example of Hungary in two aspects: (1) regulation regarding Access to Land and Land Ownership Rights (ALOR), and (2) legislation and results of the LANDSUPPORT decision support system concerning Land Take Changes (LTC). We designed figures to demonstrate how policymakers can use the new LANDSUPPORT platform to show the gaps and inconsistencies among the above aspects. We found that the legislative regulations concerning private land use to achieve soil protection objectives remain the weakest link in the environmental protection legislation of the EU. Anxieties concerning built-in legal guarantees on each of the studied levels actualise our research. Currently, global land management is not on the political table although common European legislation might be able to preserve land for agricultural use.     

Anticipating a new conservation bureaucracy? Land and power in Indonesia’s Essential Ecosystem Area policy

As an emerging policy in Indonesia, “Essential Ecosystem Areas” (EEA) is being established as an instrument to expand protections for conservation areas at sites beyond the classical domain of the conservation bureaucracy. The policy impetus is from recent global research identifying high conservation values located outside of formally designated conservation areas. EEA policy provides a foundation for justifying conservation practices at sites based on high biodiversity indicators, but which might not have previously held formal protections. This policy instrument is particularly unique in Indonesia because it is envisioned to support initiatives that emerge voluntarily, even in areas that might not have been historically thought of as conservation areas. This is unusual because it applies to all land categories, including private and public lands. In this article, we introduce the EEA policy and identify the potential applications it might have, considering the possibilities for future conservation area management in Indonesia. In particular, we identify some key principles for researchers and practitioners to follow when assessing EEA implementation. Our organizing framework consists of several elements based on existing land and power characteristics, which we connect to the institutions that might emerge amidst these new policy arrangements. We apply the land and power framework to two emerging EEA sites in Sulawesi to anticipate the extent to which the policy suggests a future trajectory for conservation management, or whether conservation policy will remain tied to existing rigid bureaucratic structures. Findings from the two cases point to the continued primacy of the centralized conservation bureaucracy, indicating that EEA sites are being negotiated through the classical approach for administering conservation areas.     

Olive oil production and soil conservation in southern Spain, in relation to EU subsidy policies

The European Union spent about two billion ECU per year on subsidies for the olive oil sector, of which Spain received about 35%. For the rainfed areas in southern Spain the olive oil sector is crucial, and so are these subsidies. The European Commission has formulated two options to change the subsidy system, but these do not take the production systems and environmental aspects into account. Many olive plantations are affected by soil erosion. This paper analyses the olive tree production systems in southern Spain, the subsidy systems and the soil erosion problems. It then raises the question whether the subsidies could not be provided in a different way, in order to make olive tree cultivation more sustainable by reducing soil erosion and flood hazard.     

Integrating farmland in urban green infrastructure planning. An evidence synthesis for informed policymaking

The Green Infrastructure (GI) Strategy was adopted by the European Commission in 2013, to promote the deployment of GI by integrating it into main policy areas. Despite a high level of awareness for a policy integration across sectors at the EU level, urban and peri-urban farmland (UPUF) is up to now barely considered. A systematic evidence base addressing the contributions of UPUF can support a more informed policymaking. To address this, our paper developed a first evidence synthesis, to evaluate potential of UPUF contributing to policy objectives, thereby tackling major urban challenges. Furthermore an analysis of policy documents revealed gaps on the current state of policymaking and potentials for the integration in future policies. Due to a reciprocal consideration between EU level policies and scientific knowledge this work provides information that help to further construct scientific evidence to address policy concerns while taking into account multiple perspectives. Furthermore, we discussed the implications of our findings for further UGI research and policymaking and thus hope to extend the current political debate across policy sectors.     

The status quo bias and reform of the Common Agricultural Policy: impact of voting rules, the European Commission and external changes

We develop a formal model of EU decision-making on the CommonAgricultural Policy (CAP). The model is used to evaluate underwhat conditions CAP reform occurs and what the influence ofthe European Commission (Commission) is on CAP reform. We findthat the voting and amendment rules in the Council of the EuropeanUnion, the number of policy instruments and external changeshave important impacts on the occurrence and extent of CAP reformand on the influence of the Commission. Stricter voting rulesincrease the status quo bias and reduce Commission influence,whereas stricter amendment rules increase both the status quobias and Commission influence. More significant external changeresults in more reform and more Commission influence.     

Consumer Assessment of the Safety of Beef at the Point of Purchase: A Pan‐European Study

The paper employs structural equation modelling to explore the process by which consumers assess the safety of beef at the point of purchase. The data employed in the analysis are collected through a telephone survey in six European Union member states. The results indicate differences in the process by which the safety of beef is assessed by consumers between the study countries. The implications of the results for policy within the European Union are discussed.     

Adoption of soil conservation practices in Belgium: An examination of the theory of planned behaviour in the agri-environmental domain

Soil erosion is a problem with serious on-site and off-site consequences. There exists a broad series of measures to mitigate soil erosion, unfortunately policy makers observe little voluntary adoption. This paper reports on a study to elicit the factors explaining adoption of soil erosion control practices in Belgium. Following a socio-psychological approach, the theory of planned behaviour (TPB), adoption of cover crops, reduced tillage and buffer strips is evaluated using linear regression techniques. Results show that the most explaining factor is attitude towards the soil conservation practice. The TPB adapted to include perceived control and difficulty appears to provide a suitable framework for evaluating adoption of erosion control measures in Belgium. Future interventions directed at promoting erosion control measures should be directed at changing the attitude of farmers. Further study is, however, required in order to elucidate the cognitive foundations of the negative attitude of a majority of farmers towards the implementation of erosion control practices.     

An indicator to reflect the mitigating effect of Common Agricultural Policy on soil erosion

This study presents the updated version of the recently published LANDUM model [Land Use Policy 48, 38–50 (2015)]. LANDUM is integrated into the 100 m resolution RUSLE-based pan-European soil erosion risk modelling platform of the European Commission. It estimates the effects of local land use and management practices on the magnitude of soil erosion across each NUTS2 region of the European Union. This is done based on a spatially explicit estimation of the so-called cover-management factor of (R)USLE family models which is also known as C-factor. In this updated version, the data on soil conservation measures (i.e., reduced tillage, cover crops and plant residues) reported in the latest EU Farm Structure Survey (2016) were integrated and elaborated in LANDUM in order to estimate the changes of the C-factor in Europe between 2010 and 2016. For 2016, a C-factor of 0.2316 for the arable land of the 28 Member States of the European Union was estimated. This implies an overall decrease of C-factor of ca. -0.84 % compared to the 2010 survey. The change in C-factor from 2010 to 2016 could be an indication for the effectiveness of Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) soil conservation measures in reducing soil erosion in Europe, especially key CAP policies such as Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions and Greening.     

A pragmatic approach for soil erosion risk assessment within policy hierarchies

This paper presents a methodological framework for scale-specific assessment of soil erosion by water. The framework enables the definition of hierarchical, functional and modular nested reference units which result from the integrated consideration of policy, process and model hierarchies. The framework is applied on three planning levels: at first, large scale zones are designated that show a defined risk potential for soil erosion (first level: catchments and drainage areas in the German Federal State of Saxony-Anhalt, ca. 20,000 km²). By both increasing model complexity and spatio-temporal resolution of input data, the results are locally specified within these risk zones (second level: designated farms and fields in a study area of 141 km²). This is the basis for the prediction of soil erosion areas and sediment transport to hydrologic drainage networks as well as for small scale management and measure planning (third level: designated field blocks in the study area). On this level, the mitigation of soil erosion and sediment entry to the river system is demonstrated by simulating the introduction of conservation management practices, vegetation and riparian buffer strips.     

Proposed algorithm for the identification of land for consolidation with regard to spatial variability of soil quality

The quality of soil is one of the most significant factors having a real impact on the potential level of agricultural crops. Therefore, it is a significant element shaping the profitability of agricultural production in the specific area. Familiarity with spatial variability of soil quality classes in respective voivodeships has an impact on planning the development of agricultural areas and effective allocation of money to rural spatial restructuring. This element also provides important information in the process of consolidation works programming which takes place at the regional government level. This data is characterised by very long usability due to a small number of changes referring to classification of land entered into the land and building survey. Data on the quality and suitability of soil in the analysed area was acquired from the analysis of data from the land and building survey. Analyses were carried out in 3 poviats of Lublin voivodeship located in the eastern part of Poland covering an area of 501 132.9 ha, split into 610,160 plots. This paper presents an algorithm designed by the author for identifying areas in which land consolidation works should be performed, including its practical application using the adopted sample. The algorithm identifies areas characterised by the highest soil quality, which makes it possible to indicate areas where land consolidation work should first be undertaken.     

Judicial perspectives from the European Union for Public Participation in Environmental Matters in East Asia

This paper aims to provide judicial perspectives for Public Participation in Environmental Matters in East Asia based on the example of the European Union (EU). This is done both by means of an in-depth literature review which covers research papers, legislative documents and court decisions, and by means of a comparative analysis of court cases. The focus is on the implementation by the EU of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Aarhus Convention, which applies and details Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration. The assessment starts by providing an overview of several legislative documents issued by the EU for different policy sectors and briefly describes the contents regarding the implementation of the Aarhus Convention. Based thereon, the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union is analysed. Seventeen judgements enforcing the Aarhus Convention for the EU level are described and their significance to a regional integration process is outlined. This provides valuable information to a region such as East Asia which plans to enter soon into a stronger regional integration process and which has the clear potential for improvement toward increased Public Participation in Environmental Matters based on the globally applicable Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration.     

A rural typology for strategic European policies

The role that the agricultural sector plays in rural areas has considerably changed in the last five decades, and is reflected in a major shift towards multi-dimensional, multi-sectoral land use. Existing European rural typologies are mostly one-dimensional, based on a rather coarse administrative scale data and are unable to define adequately the diversity of the regions involved. The rural typology presented in this paper has been produced as a response to a new policy need for typologies addressing the diversity in regional rurality. This paper describes the method developed and explores the relevance of the results for future rural policies. This new rural typology incorporates two dimensions identified by statistical screening of a range of geographical and socioeconomic data related to the territorial variation of European rural land. The use of high-resolution raster data at 1 km² resolution provides large flexibility for the construction of individual classifications, with a variable number of classes for a variety of objectives. In the example presented, nine divisions were produced, which were subsequently summarised into three rural classes termed Peri-urban, Rural and Deep Rural. The rural typology enables the consistent identification of comparable rural areas and intergradations with urban land in the European territory, and describes the degree of generalisation that is possible. In addition, it provides a spatially explicit framework for scientific analysis and communication to both European policy makers and local stakeholders.     

Adoption of erosion management practices in New Zealand

Soil erosion is a serious environmental threat to New Zealand’s agricultural sector. Economic costs of soil erosion are significant and the costs of adopting mitigation and management practices, given the targets set by environmetal policy, do not spread uniformly across space, economic activities and types of erosion processes. Management practices have been widely employed by farmers and promoted by several policy programs. Practices are not mutually exclusive and could be jointly adopted by comparing productivity gains against costs of implementation. However, research on the identification of the drivers of adoption is scarce in New Zealand. To identify the determinants of adoption of management practices in New Zealand farms, we combine novel survey information with data on climate and erosion in a multivariate probit framework. This framework allows identification of potential complementarity or substitution between management practices. We find significant and heterogeneous effects from erosion levels, temperature, wind velocity and primary land uses on the adoption of any of the practices. In addition, we also find significant complementarities between management practices. The results of this study are important because the complementarities relate to external effects of erosion mitigation which can help to promote public acceptability of mitigation policies.     

Does EU rural expenditure correspond to regional development needs?

The EU offers a complex system of rural development interventions as part of its Common Agricultural Policy. A Common Monitoring and Evaluation Framework (CMEF) has been developed for the programming period 2007–2013 in response to challenges faced with the evaluation of rural development measures in earlier programming periods.Statistical and multivariate analysis of CMEF baseline (regional characteristics) and input (expenditure) indicator data at the NUTS2 subdivision level is used to compare four typical expenditure allocation patterns (Competitiveness, Environment, Rural Viability, Equal Spending) in terms of associated regional characteristics and development trends.The results suggest expenditure priorities are generally in line with regional needs and that there are some positive development trends, for example higher increase of agricultural labour productivity in the Competitiveness Group, while for environmental topics the level of data required remains unsatisfactory for trend assessment. 17% of the regions have a budget allocation pattern deviating from other regions with similar characteristics, which could indicate ineffective priority setting. Consistent CMEF data over multiple programming periods would be desirable to support the relationships found and to facilitate time series analysis, but this seems questionable given that the European Commission has discontinued the CMEF in 2014 with further adaptations for the 2014–2020 programming period underway.     

An economic approach to soil fertility management for wheat production in north-eastern Australia

Soil fertility decline and soil management for crop production are important economic issues for grain growers in north-eastern Australia. In that region, there is evidence of soil fertility decline which is attributed to past crop management practices. The questions addressed in this article are first, whether components of soil fertility can be improved by better management and second, by how much soil fertility would change. Soil fertility for crop production is considered in terms of soil organic carbon and nitrogen. A stochastic dynamic economic analysis of soil fertility management for wheat production is presented. A sequential analysis of first deriving the optimal nitrogen stock and application rates is followed by an assessment of tillage, stubble, and fertilizer strategies to obtain an optimal level of soil organic carbon. The recommended management practices are consistent with emerging management trends in the region. The derivation of optimal levels of soil fertility for agricultural purposes has other policy implications, which we discuss.