Policy Integration for Sustainable Agricultural Landscapes: Taking Stock of UK Policy and Practice

Abstract

This paper examines English experience with agri-environment schemes as a tool to promote sustainable landscapes. Evidence is drawn from policy and academic literature and selected recent research. Performance is assessed by reference to key notions of sustainable landscapes: spatial coherence, functionality and socio-cultural meaning. Whilst now widespread across England and well-supported by the environmental community, agri-environment schemes suffer from weaknesses in design and delivery including insensitivity to the evolving needs and concerns of farming businesses, the wider policy context, and thereby to the integrity of the landscape. An upland case study illustrates problems of poor communication and advice, narrow and inconsistent delivery, and under-recognition of social issues which together work against more sustainable agricultural landscapes. In the context of emerging EU and global challenges, a shift of emphasis towards systemic approaches, developed territorially in partnership with farmers, is needed. Emerging non-policy innovations and new initiatives may offer lessons for an improved approach.

Editorial: Pathways towards Local Scale Policy Integration in Agricultural Landscapes

“…In her paper, Janet Dwyer (Dwyer, 2014) critically reviews recent UK agrienvironmental policy, practices and outcomes, and concludes that despite an encouraging start some 30 years ago, policy is now stagnating. The evidence suggests that established approaches are underperforming for a variety of reasons, including theoretical weaknesses, undue complexity, poor targeting and a combination of excessive costs and under resourcing.…”

Verder vergroenen, verder verbreden : naar een effectieve bijdrage van het Europees landbouwbeleid en beleid voor agrarisch natuurbeheer aan groene opgaven

“…In de internationale literatuur is breed gepleit voor het benaderen van landbouwmilieumaatregelen (inclusief agrarisch natuurbeheer) op landschapsschaal (Dwyer et al 2014;Kleijn et al 2011, Merckx et al 2009). De belangrijkste reden hiervoor is dat de schaal van het individuele boerenbedrijf vaak te klein is om maatregelen effectief te laten zijn (Merckx et al 2009).…”

Guiding carbon farming using interdisciplinary mixed methods mapping

“…Within the European Union, one possible mechanism for encouraging and enabling carbon farming is to introduce it through agri‐environment schemes (soon to be replaced by an environmental land management system of payments in the UK; HM Government, ). Agri‐environment schemes have been a dominant feature of rural policy in Europe for over 30 years (Dwyer, ). They work alongside incremental environmental regulation of the farm sector to promote and support more environmentally sustainable agricultural landscapes (Dwyer, ).…”

“…Agri‐environment schemes have been a dominant feature of rural policy in Europe for over 30 years (Dwyer, ). They work alongside incremental environmental regulation of the farm sector to promote and support more environmentally sustainable agricultural landscapes (Dwyer, ). However, agri‐environment schemes have received mixed reviews regarding how beneficial they have been for farmland biodiversity and whether they are cost‐effective (Batáry, Dicks, Kleijn, & Sutherland, ).…”

“…However, agri‐environment schemes have received mixed reviews regarding how beneficial they have been for farmland biodiversity and whether they are cost‐effective (Batáry, Dicks, Kleijn, & Sutherland, ). Boatman et al () and Dwyer () suggest that management instruments are often not sufficiently sensitive to local social and ecological conditions to achieve desired environmental outcomes. Dwyer (, p. 6) explains that “little attention has been devoted to how they [agri‐environment schemes] affect farmers’ evolving relationship with their landscape”, and she highlights how such schemes can even result in negative effects on long‐standing relationships between farmers, their land and its stewardship.…”