Agri-environment Measures. Overview on General Principles, Types of Measures, and Application

This report is based on the agri-environment sections of a selection of mid-term Rural Development reports by Member States/regions, a selection of literature in the field, and informal contacts with experts. It aims to give an early overview on agri-environmental measures applied in the 2000-2006 Rural Development programming period. A comprehensive picture of the effectiveness and efficiency of agri-environmental measures will be available from the evaluation study on agri-environmental measures for which work has started in the beginning of 2005.

The report starts by providing some background on agri-environment measures, describes the sort of commitments they involve, examines some obstacles to effective measures, and then gives an account of the information available on environmental impacts of measures. It then looks briefly at the question of efficiency of measures. Finally, it enumerates key points arising out of past experience which were taken into account in preparing the Rural Development reform package of July 2004.

European Commission: DG Agriculture and Rural Development: Evaluation of the agri-environment measures, 2005 (Summary) http://ec.europa.eu/comm/agriculture/eval/reports/measures/ex_sum_en.pdf

European Commission: DG Agriculture and Rural Development: Evaluation of the agri-environment measures, 2005 (Full report: not all sections in English) http://ec.europa.eu/comm/agriculture/eval/reports/measures/index_fr.htm

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