Crank House
Banagher
Co. Offaly
Ireland
t: +353 (0) 5791 51676
e: [email protected]
w: birdwatchireland.ie
Patron
Michael D. Higgins
President of Ireland
Éarlamh
Micheál D Ó hUigínn
Uachtarán Na hÉireann
+++ BirdWatch Ireland Press Release +++
Scientists confirm worst fears: EU Policy on Agriculture is bad for Ireland’s wildlife
“The EU failed to stand up to their promises of greening the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)”: these are the
conclusions of an academic paper published today in Science1 (EU agricultural reform fails on Biodiversity) authored
by leading European scientists, conservationists and agricultural policy experts.
Almost 40% of the EU budget, approximately €360 billion, is spent on agriculture, affecting 50% of the EU land area.
For many years, scientists and environmental NGOs have been warning that intensive agricultural practices have
been destroying habitats, altering ecosystems and causing the extinction of a large number of species, ultimately
endangering future EU food security and the health of its citizens.
In response to criticism of European agricultural policy and its support schemes, the European Commission
announced that the environment and climate change challenges arising from farming would be addressed in the
new CAP, agreed in December 2013. To justify the huge funds allocated to the largely untargeted CAP budget, 30%
of direct payments to farmers were made conditional on compliance with three greening measures which would
promote and support biodiversity: establishing Ecological Focus Areas (EFA), maintaining permanent grasslands, and
setting minimum requirements for arable crop diversification to avoid conversion into monocultures.
However, following a thorough evaluation of the reformed CAP, the broad number of exemptions introduced to the
greening measures now facilitates exemption of over 88% of the farmers in the EU, and over 48% of its agricultural
land. The new measures set thresholds that will allow the ongoing intensification of farming practices under a green
label.
EU Policy Head at Birdlife Europe, Ariel Brunner, commented: “We now have scientific evidence stating that the
‘new’ rules are almost as bad as the old ones and are dramatically inadequate to save nature.” Brunner added: “We
can only hope that Commissioner Cioloş and his successor will not ignore the new evidence. On our side we’ll keep
campaigning for a review of the new CAP and, at national level, for governments to use the flexibility they’re given
to stop the destruction of farmland ecosystems.”
Dr Alex Copland, Senior Conservation Officer with BirdWatch Ireland, commented that the “stark figures contained
in this scientific publication are alarming and highlight just how badly the reformed CAP will fail the public interest
of protecting the natural environment from harmful farming practices”.
The value of greening to Ireland is around €2.2 billion over the 2015 to 2020 period (30% of the €7.3 billion
allocated to Direct Payments2). In a written response to a question raised in Dáil Éireann last week3, Minister
Coveney stated that the various greening practices, such as on-farm Ecological Focus Areas will, in the majority of
cases, require “no further action” for Irish farmers; that maintaining permanent grassland would impose “no
obligation” on individual farmers; and that crop diversification “will have very little impact”. Essentially, farmers will
not have to do anything additional to get their greening payment in Ireland.
1
http://www.sciencemag.org/
http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/cap-funding/budget/mff-2014-2020/mff-figures-and-cap_en.pdf
3
http://www.kildarestreet.com/wrans/?id=2014-05-29a.230
2
Directors: K O’Byrne (Chairman), J Cromie, J O’Halloran, B Lavery, P. Moore, JB Peart, E Sides, J Wilson
Registered charity no. 5703. BirdWatch Ireland is the trading name of the Irish Wildbird Conservancy, Cairde Éanlaith Éireann, a company limited by guarantee.
Registered in Ireland, no. 116468. Registered office: Unit 20, Block D, Bullford Business Campus, Kilcoole, Co.Wicklow, Ireland.
Crank House
Banagher
Co. Offaly
Ireland
t: +353 (0) 5791 51676
e: [email protected]
w: birdwatchireland.ie
Patron
Michael D. Higgins
President of Ireland
Éarlamh
Micheál D Ó hUigínn
Uachtarán Na hÉireann
Dr. Copland has responded to this statement with alarm: “although the lack of political support to deliver on
commitments to protecting our increasingly threatened environment in the EU is very worrying, Ireland’s position,
as stated by Minister Coveney, to effectively ignore greening requirements is shocking and short-sighted.” Dr.
Copland continued “claims about the sustainability of Ireland’s agri-food sector must now be questioned, as will the
legitimacy of the €2.2 billion of taxpayer’s money that is effectively being misappropriated away from its intended
objective of supporting farming systems that maintain and enhance our environment and landscape.”
Member States have until the 1st of August to notify the European Commission of their plans.
+++ENDS+++
Notes for Editors
1. BirdWatch Ireland is the largest independent conservation organisation in Ireland and its focus is on the
conservation and protection of Ireland's birds and wider biodiversity. It is a registered charity with over 15,000
members and 30 regional branches. For more information, please visit www.birdwatchireland.ie.
2. For further information please contact:
Dr. Alex Copland
Senior Conservation Officer
BirdWatch Ireland,
Crank House, Banagher, Co. Offaly.
Tel: +353 (0)86-123-3932
email: [email protected]
Directors: K O’Byrne (Chairman), J Cromie, J O’Halloran, B Lavery, P. Moore, JB Peart, E Sides, J Wilson
Registered charity no. 5703. BirdWatch Ireland is the trading name of the Irish Wildbird Conservancy, Cairde Éanlaith Éireann, a company limited by guarantee.
Registered in Ireland, no. 116468. Registered office: Unit 20, Block D, Bullford Business Campus, Kilcoole, Co.Wicklow, Ireland.