Biodiversity Archives - Page 6 of 8 - Agricultural and Rural Convention

For the Sake of Nature and the Climate, Europe must not CAP its Ambitions

April 9, 2020 ARC

The European Commission continues to describe the Common Agricultural Policy as “ambitious”, yet its own evaluation of the CAP’s impact reveals that the farm subsidy scheme is inflicting massive damage on Europe’s biodiversity, water resources and nature. In this in-depth feature, Célia Nyssens of the European Environmental Bureau (EEB) explains why the CAP is not fit for purpose and outlines how it can be reformed. […]

Poking Holes in Farm to Fork: Environmental Groups Seek a Coherent Vision

March 24, 2020 Louise Kelleher

Healthy ecosystems are the foundation for food production, but they are pushed to breaking point by the current system. In the face of existential threats, Farm to Fork needs a coherent vision. Friends of the Earth Europe, WWF, Birdlife Europe, Greenpeace, ClientEarth and Pesticides Action Network weigh in on the European Commission’s Roadmap to food sustainability. […]

Study Shows ‘Frightening’ Decline of Insects and Spiders

November 10, 2019 ARC

Scientists behind a decade-long biodiversity study published, which showed “frightening” declines of insects and spiders in German grasslands and forests, are calling for a “paradigm shift” in land-use policy. […]

Interview with Mary Reynolds | Acts of Restorative Kindness (ARK)

September 13, 2019 ARC

Having won the biggest awards in Landscape Gardening including the Chelsea Flower Show, had a Hollywood movie made about her (Dare to be Wild), and been commissioned for some of the most striking and creative landscaping projects in Ireland, Mary Reynolds stopped being a landscape gardener. So what came next? (Hint – its different to ARC – its an ARK!) […]

Organic Livestock Farming is for the Birds!

July 22, 2019 Oliver Moore

Organic livestock farming is the only CAP supported agri-environmental (AES) measure that has been shown to correlate with higher bird numbers. This finding comes from newly published research on birds in Finland. […]

20 Essential Earth Day Reads from ARC2020

April 21, 2019 ARC

Its Earth Day Monday 22nd and to celebrate we’ve selected our twenty favourite, most appropriate, most thought-provoking and compelling reads to get in the mood. From rewilding to climate change, pesticides bans to the role of livestock in climate-friendly farming, and a gripping personal account of front line action in the Paris COP 21 climate change talks….it’s all here! […]

UK | Chapter 3: Preserving and Enriching the Natural Environment

April 19, 2019 Stuart Meikle

Biodiversity must exist across all British farmland. Farming must be about food production, stewardship of the environment and our landscapes. Food and farming policy must promote a mutually beneficial approach to produce wholesome food, enhance farmland biodiversity while preserving Britain’s landscapes. […]

Pesticides under Pressure | EU Parliament and Progressive Places Putting Biodiversity First

March 20, 2019 Louise Kelleher

With insect Armageddon and biodiversity collapse making the headlines, pesticides are public enemy No. 1. Scientists are now naming and shaming pesticides as a key driver of biodiversity loss. Even the European Parliament has caught the bug. MEPs insist that the new CAP must do more to shrug off our dependency on agrochemicals. Meanwhile farmers are showing that – with the right supports – instead of scapegoats for biodiversity loss, they can be part of the solution. […]

Letter from a Farm | Growing Relationships in Romania

January 30, 2019 Brindusa Birhala

We are back on Brindusa’s farm in Romania as she reflects on what worked in 2018 and what she will work on in the coming year. Not to be underestimated: the importance of steady, reliable relationships to consumers keen for larger quantities. […]

Beyond Agroforestry? An Introduction to Syntropic Farming

November 26, 2018 Julia Ruff

Swiss farmer Ernst Götsch has developed a variant of agroforestry called syntropic farming. So what is it – what’s different about it – and can it be part of the regenerative agriculture movement? Julia Ruff attended a workshop in Spain with Götsch and tells us about it. […]

CAP in Bulgaria Part 2 | BirdLife’s Reform Model – good for farmer’s income and the environment

June 14, 2018 Sebastian Lakner

Magdalene Trapp and Sebastian Lakner simulated the potential effects of a CAP reform more oriented towards environment and biodiversity, in Bulgaria. They tested six scenarios on eight farm types, and analysed the income impact for farmers. So what did they find? […]

Future of CAP – is the Commission ambitious or backsliding?

June 8, 2018 ARC

Here we round up some recent perspectives on the Commission’s CAP proposal. This includes a summary of the 18 months of work that went into the document(s), concern over capping backsliding, a briefing on conditionality, which member states want to keep the cash as it was, and an Urgenci (CSA) and Birdlife perspective. […]

Unplanned Vegetation is Important! A.K.A weeds provide for needs

May 17, 2018 Cian Blaix

Cian Blaix tells us about the benefits that weeds and field margins provide in agriculture. These ecosystem services provides by weeds can be divided into three categories: cultural services, provisioning services, and regulating and maintenance services. […]

Ireland | More Organic Producers Would Improve Farming’s Overall Sustainability

May 14, 2018 Oliver Moore

With Ireland edging towards reopening its organic farming scheme – closed since 2015 to new entrants, and closed in 2014 for a year too too – the context of organic farming within the overall agri-food sector is worth exploring. What would it mean for Irish agriculture in general to have a bigger, more vibrant organic sector? Particular attention is paid to the public goods of biodiversity and water quality. […]

How Art & Elemental Words Fed Ireland’s Festival of Food Sovereignty

April 29, 2018 Anja Murray

Ireland’s Maynooth University hosted the 2018 Festival of Food Sovereignty mid-April. The intention was to connect activists, scholars, practitioners and social movements from around the world interested in creating a food system rooted in principles of justice, ethical production and consumption, sustainability and democracy. […]