Nature and Agriculture in the European Union New Perspectives on Policies that Shape the European Countryside

About this book

Nature and agriculture both shape the European countryside and one of the main challenges for the years to come will be to strengthen their interaction for the future development of rural areas. In this topical book, the authors demonstrate how economics and ecology can play a critical role in maintaining and sustaining this relationship. The book identifies the dilemmas facing European agriculture and explores their economic and ecological consequences. The authors believe a better understanding of these problems will be crucial in recognizing the potential options for the future role of agriculture and nature policy and will guide the identification of suitable policy instruments. They highlight current threats to the relationship between agriculture and nature - such as abandonment and intensification - and demonstrate how these problems can be resolved by a rational policy mix. The book also provides extensive empirical evidence from four case studies and concludes by scrutinizing the major changes in market conditions and the Common Agricultural Policy which could upset this important but fragile balance between agriculture and nature. Providing a state-of-the-art overview of current thinking on the relationship between agriculture and nature in the context of EU policy, this book should be welcomed by policymakers and those studying and working in the fields of agricultural and resource economics, geography and agri-business.

Contents

Agriculture and nature in conflict?, Floor Brouwer and Jan van der Straaten. Part 1 Methodology: economics and the interface between agriculture and nature, Francois Bonnieux and Pierre Rainelli; ecology and the interface between agriculture and nature, William M. Stigliani; agri-environmental policy development in the European Union, Clive Potter; environmental valuation methods in rural resource management, Clive L. Spash and Claudia Carter. Part 2 Cases on the interaction between agriculture and nature: water availability in the Mediterranean region, Consuelo Varela-Ortega et al; agricultural policy and nature conservation in the UK, Bob Crabtree; the pivotal role of the agricultural land market in the Netherlands, Jan Luijt and Carel P.C.M. van der Hamsvoort; broadening the sectoral perspective on agricultural policy in Greece, Leonidas Louloudis and Nikos Beopoulos. Part 3 Mitigation and regulation: marketing public goods and externalities provided by agriculture and forestry, Maurizio Merlo; cooperative agreements to improve efficiency and effectiveness of policy targets, Ingo Heinz; integrated rural development, Markus F. Hofreither. Part 4 Outlook: agriculture and nature - retrospect and prospect, Floor Brouwer and Jan van der Straaten.

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