Objective: To provide an assessment of a payment to farmers to affect agricultural actions in a way which is beneficial to biodiversity.

Achievements:

General information: The project develops measures of the positive and intentional impacts of individual farmers on biodiversity conservation and restoration and links these impacts to a corresponding payment.

The research project consists mainly of three parts :

i) simplified methods of measuring the increase in biological diversity in agricultural areas are developed on the basis of zoological and botanical bio-indicators, at regional, local, individual level, and tested in contrasting regions drawn from Portugal, Spain, France, Belgium;

ii) the impact on biodiversity of different agricultural techniques and practices are assessed both by a theoretical approach ( an inventory of existing techniques or practices that could be implemented by farmers in order to improve the biodiversity) and by observations on existing farms and agricultural landscapes in the same study regions;

iii) an economic analysis at the farm level assesses the costs of a given production system wich generate a biodiversity output. The research builds up methods of linking biodiversity impact with an incentive or a cost-covering remuneration system.

Finally a model for the remuneration to farmers of a given biodiversity product is proposed. A first exploration of the possible impacts of this system at regional and community level is done taking into account the compatibility with the goals of the new Common Agricultural Policy is done.