Latest from EU Member States

Romania | How Wild Is Too Wild?

What would you consider to be an acceptable level of personal risk for you and your family in livestock farming? Imagine life in a small caravan with two young children on the edge of wilderness where wolves and bears freely roam. Imagine these same apex predators testing your ability to protect your flock at night whilst you are trying to sleep. This is the constant reality for a young family trying to make a living from their land in Transylvania. Photo essay by Paul White. […]

Main stories

UK | Pond Life Revives Hope for On-Farm Wildlife 

Pond restoration yields dramatic results for nature. Seedbanks, dormant for 150 years, spring back to life; rare indigenous plants return within months. Invertebrate populations explode, significant for severely declining freshwater biodiversity. Insect chimneys attract huge numbers of birdlife and twice the species normally seen in the area. Ursula Billington reports on a farmer-inspired project to restore pondlife in Norfolk, UK. […]

Latest from Brussels

CAP | Billions Spent on Biodiversity with Little Impact – Auditors

The EU has funnelled €66 billion into farmland biodiversity since 2014 – and has little to show for it. That’s the conclusion of a special report released on Friday by the European Court of Auditors. The auditors slammed the half-baked targets of the EU 2020 biodiversity strategy, its odd-couple relationship with CAP, lack of monitoring, and some very un-smart spending by the European Commission. A series of recommendations have been made. Louise Kelleher reports. […]