29.01.2017 | Research, sDiv

Can the "greening" be greener?

Trees in line as an Ecological Focus Area (EFA) a useful networking element between road, bike path and field. Photo: Sebastian Lakner, University of Göttingen

Note for the media: Use of the pictures provided by iDiv is permitted for reports related to this media release only, and under the condition that credit is given to the picture originator.

The EU introduced the new "greening" instrument into the Common Agricultural Policy in 2015, with the intention to slow the rapid loss of biodiversity in agricultural areas. The idea is quite simple: in return to the subsidies they receive, farmers must now implement measures to protect wild animals and plants on their land. A group of scientists from the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), the University of Göttingen and other German, Austrian and French institutions examined how effective the flagship greening measure called "Ecological Focus Areas" actually is. Their conclusions, now published in the scientific journal Conservation Letters, are sobering: Ecological Focus Areas are implemented in a way that provides little benefit for biodiversity or farmers, and yet come at a high price to tax payers. However, there are many possibilities to improve the measure for the benefit of all sides. In the study involved was also Dr. Guy Pe'er of UFZ, a member of iDiv.
Read more in the press release of UFZ:
http://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=36336&webc_pm=1/2017

Publication:
Pe’er, G., Zinngrebe, Y., Hauck, J., Schindler, S., Dittrich, A., Zingg, S., Tscharntke, T., Oppermann, R., Sutcliffe, S., Sirami, C., Schmidt, J., Hoyer, C., Schleyer, C, Lakner, S., 2016. "Adding some green to the greening: improving the EU’s Ecological Focus Areas for biodiversity and farmers". Conservation Letters
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/conl.12333/full

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