Deliverable 3.3.C, WP 3.3
“Guidelines for adaptation of the present policy framework to include long
term changes, in order to anticipate policy schemes for mitigation of
desertification in the long term.”
Final version, Madrid, December 2004
Leopoldo Rojo Serrano
Tel: +34 91 596 46 57:
Dirección General para la Biodiversidad
Ministerio del Medio Ambiente
Fax.:
email: [email protected]
Gran Vía de San Francisco, 4
28005 Madrid Spain
Keywords
Desertification, policies, future trends, Guadalentín, environmental
changes, agriculture, forest, rural development, CAP, funds
Abstract:
The aim of this report is to give a general overview of the existing
trends on policies related to the combating of desertification in Spain
and consequently on the Guadalentín basin, as well as the expected
evolution of these tendencies.
Among other topics, it will be discuss the importance of these trends
over the environmental changes and the mitigation of desertification,
from the point of view of the Spanish most affected sectors.
The results reported rely mainly on existing studies, especially the
National Action Programme.
CONTENT
1. INTRODUCTION
2. ADAPTATION OF THE AGRICULTURAL POLITICAL FRAMEWORK AGAINST DESERTIFICATION
2.1. Trends toward change in the main agricultural usage in the Guadalentín basin.
2.2. Actions needed to be promoted in the adaptation of the agrarian political
framework
2.3. General trends in changes in the agricultural policy
2.4. Guidelines for the adaptation of the agricultural political framework and tools.
2.4.1. The inclusion of the environmental concerns in the direct support schemes
of the Common Organisation of the Agricultural Markets (CMO)
2.4.2. Measures introduced via incentives: the rural development policy
2.4.3. The irrigation systems and the management policy of water resources.
3. ADAPTATION OF THE FOREST POLITICAL FRAMEWORK AGAINST DESERTIFICATION
3.1. Trends toward change in the forest uses in the Guadalentín basin
3.2. Actions against desertification within the forest sector
3.3. The new framework of the national and regional forest policy
3.4. Recommendations for promoting the combat against desertification in the
implementation tools of forest planning.
3.4.1. Fostering of the forest -hydrological- restoration
3.4.2. Care over the new forests
3.4.3. Fostering of the agrosilvopastoral systems
3.4.4. Forest fires defence
3.4.5. Coordination with the Rural Development programming
4. CHALLENGES FOR FUTURE PROGRAMMING PERIODS.
REFERENCES
1. INTRODUCTION
Within the political framework relating to combating desertification, crucial processes of
change have started in the last few years, mainly aimed at the integration of environment in
several sectoral policies. These changes were promoted from the highest level (Earth Summit
1992, Agenda 21 implementation) and particularly from the EU environmental policy, through
consecutive action programmes regarding the environment; i.e.: the Cardiff Summit, that
started in 1998, or the European Sustainable Development Strategy. These change processes
have been reflected at national, regional and local level, where the main problems and
conflicts between the affected social sectors and social collectives have occurred.
2. ADAPTATION
OF
THE
AGRICULTURAL
POLITICAL
FRAMEWORK
AGAINST
DESERTIFICATION
2.1.
Trends toward change in the main agricultural usage in the Guadalentín basin
This Work Package has revealed some trends regarding land uses and their influence over the
processes causing desertification in the Guadalentín basin. They are summarised as follows:
The most important land use change to occur in the Guadalentín basin is the increase of area
devoted to water-intensive crops. The growth slows significantly in the nineties, as the
irrigated land remains more or less stable at a percentage near 39%, in relation to the total
agricultural area of the Guadalentín basin. During this last stage, an orientation of the
irrigation production, towards an intensive agriculture specialised in fruit and vegetables,
has occurred. These crops receive no CAP support and are therefore completely exposed to
the market, while representing 60% of the Final Agricultural Output and more than 80% of the
Final Vegetation Output. Of all the crops in the Guadalentín municipalities the weed tarps
crops, lettuce and broccoli have specially increased, taking up 5,014 ha in the year 2001 (55%
of the total in Murcia Region). The greenhouse production is less significant in these
municipalities, using up 639 ha (11% of the Murcia land devoted to greenhouses).
The evolution expected is the continuity of the intensification trend, but without noticeable
increases of the hectares devoted for such crops. The main consequences of this possible
augmentation over desertification processes will be the intensification of pressure on water
resources, particularly on aquifers, though this intensification is linked with various measures
to improve the water use efficiency. But the main pressure is on the soil, possibly aggravating
the salinization problems, the decrease of organic matter and deteriorating the soil structure.
After suffering serious reductions throughout the 20th century, the area devoted to
herbaceous rain-fed crops is currently following a not so pronounced tendency towards
reduction. The main uses of these hectares are the water-intensive crops or land
1
abandonment. The evolution of these crops could be oriented, on the one hand towards the
land maintenance, and regarding the decoupling of the aids for the production promoted by
the mid-term CAP reform in 2003. On the other hand, it could also be possible that they keep
on decreasing, causing probably a trend based on the increase of abandonment of these
lands; because it is most likely that the transformation of these areas into irrigated land
would not be of quantitative importance. The main reason is the limited availability of new
water resources.
The land use changes caused by the progressive decrease of the ligneous crops area might
have helped to decrease of the water erosion rates. The reason is that a percentage of those
lands have been transformed into forest with more or less tree cover, but frequently are
much more protective than the previous land use. However, it cannot be strongly stated
enough that the maintenance of rain-fed areas involves the increase of soil erosion, or that
the solution is the transformation as a consequence of abandonment. Each situation depends
both on the plots own circumstances and the management practices; then again, the
adequate measures for guaranteeing that the permanence of such crops would not involve a
progressive degradation by erosion, should be launched.
In the Murcian Guadalentín basin, the area devoted to ligneous crops nearly doubled its size
from 1947 up to 1990, but since 1989 the hectares have been decreasing. The annual data
series of the 1994-2003 decade (see Deliverable 3.3.b) shows that in this last decade the
almond1 growing area is still stable, despite the ups and downs of the previous years. It is
expected that such a trend is land maintenance will go on, even more bearing in mind that
recently a new area payments regime for this sector was approved (Regulation 1782/2003),
substituting the aids granted by improvement plans.
Is obvious that if the situation remains as it is, the situation of serious soil losses in the
ligneous crops placed on steep slopes will equally stay unless soil conservation measures are
implemented.
Regarding the evolution of livestock census, after the significant growth of cattle, sheep and
goat headage during the nineties, the attached table shows that the last years’ census (from
2000 to 2003) in the Murcia Region is more or less stable. Yet, the trend is not that clear, for
there are considerable differences from one year to the following. Because it is probable that
no significant increase of the livestock premia is forecasted, the dependent headage probably
would not grow, and it might even decrease slowly.
1
Almond is the ligneous crop using up the biggest hectares amount.
2
HEADAGE
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
CATTLE
45,869
46,910
38,855
41,141
35,425
47,961
46,525
55,356
SHEEP
793,088 690,977 579,624 628,006 911,823 707,632 604,838 613,308
GOAT
137,007 145,809 146,147 133,037 149,426 128,615 173,877 135,037
Table 1: Evolution of the livestock census in the Murcia Region
Source: Murcia Regional Statistics Centre
In view of this situation, and regarding the influence of the cattle herd evolution over
desertification, the only thing to be said is that the trend points out that the possible current
situations of over-grazing, in general isolated, will still be causing trouble.
Generally speaking, the trend in these municipalities is similar to the tendency followed by
the whole Spanish agriculture, in which some situations drives directly both towards the
abandonment of tilling in the less productive areas because of climate or structural reasons,
and the crops displacement to areas with better natural conditions or more effective
productive structures. An example of these measures, that are the driving forces of changes,
is the tendency to reduce the Community aids, the global market liberalisation, and the
consequent price reduction, or the progressive ageing of the rural population and scarce
handover of work from one generation to another.
2.2.
Actions needed to be promoted in the adaptation of the agrarian political
framework
The adaptation of the political framework supporting the combat against desertification
within the agricultural sector, should necessarily include the promotion of actions aimed at
correcting those land degradation processes supposed as being persistent or even getting
worse in the agricultural productive systems.
One of the main actions to be considered is the promotion of the sustainable agricultural
practices. This can be a consequence of the implementation of either a set of practices
(conservation agriculture, integrated production systems, organic farming…) or one of those
activities in particularly, such as the establishment of protective covers in strips or the
maintenance and recovery of the soil conservation structures and the farmland drainage net.
The experts consider that the fostering of a technique for the conservation and improvement
of the soil structure and fertility is a prior activity, because of the climate and soil conditions
in the Guadalentín basin. There are many organic matter sources: green fertilisers,
incorporation of the harvest stubbles, agricultural organic amendment (purines, liquid
manure, agricultural composting), as well as a controlled implementation of the urban or
industrial organic waste. This line is the focus of many experiences in the last few years and
can be considered as an interesting line of action.
3
Concerning the control of the over-grazing effects and previously to the achievement of the
adequate livestock management, a certain management of the extensive stock-breeding in
arid and semi-arid areas is required. This will avoid degradation situations and might as well
contribute to improve the soil structure and fertility and consequently the vegetation cover.
It is especially necessary to carry out an evaluation research on the whole fodder production
and the carrying capacity of the semi-arid pastures, in order to increase and regularise the
fodder production in arid and semi-arid areas and avoid the degradation of the grazing land.
These studies are the base to establish the adequate carrying capacity considering the fodder
production, as well as to create intensive measures like the introduction of fodder bushes or
perennial leguminous plants, or extensive measures as fertilisation or the improvement in
livestock management.
The land use change, mainly a consequence of the afforestation of the marginal and/or
abandoned farmlands suffering degradation processes, has demonstrated it is an important
tool for the mitigation of these processes.
Concerning the combat against desertification on the irrigation system, the action measures
are framed in the wide objective of a policy on the water resources sustainable management,
especially focused in the water saving and efficiency. Some of these measures are the
following:
- Reinforce and fostering of measures and activities to enhance the water economy:
desalinisation, purification and re-use.
- Actions for the extension of the reservoirs’ working life.
- Improvement of the hydrological structures efficiency.
- Restructuring of those irrigation systems considered to be inefficient, wrongly planned, or
supplied by over-exploited water resources.
- Implementation of adequate and efficient irrigation techniques, i.e.: use of low
consumption irrigation systems, adequate irrigation management and optimisation of the
irrigation doses.
- Selection of less water demanding crops and crops for less water consumption periods.
- Aquifers sustainable development.
Those irrigation systems suffering salinisation need a measure for preventing and mitigating
the process, like the control of the irrigation water quality and the performance of controls
and monitoring measures only in the irrigations supplied by salinisated water, whether from a
fresh or groundwater source. A programme for the recovery of salinisated soil should be
implemented in the most serious situations.
4
The abovementioned actions should include the results of the research and experiences
implemented in the field related to farmlands in arid and semi-arid zones. Particularly, it can
be pointed out the necessity of promoting the implementation of biotechnology in the
development of crops varieties adapted to arid areas.
2.3.
General trends in changes in the agricultural policy
The fight against desertification in the agricultural/agrarian sector is framed in the wide goal
of integration of the environment in all the sectoral policies, and specifically in the
agricultural policy. Though many advances in the environmental optimisation of agriculture
were accomplished in every sector it is recognised that there is plenty of work still to be done
before achieving such a large objective, as it is the full sustainability. This change wave of
change cannot be halted and every statement of decisions is getting progressively involved:
beginning with the high international bodies, who are continuously proposing guidelines,
continuing with the EU orientation towards a sustainable agriculture, and down to the
implementation of the national and regional policies. These try to bring down to earth those
guidelines while accomplishing the difficult task of supporting the farmers in the
reorientation of their production and management techniques towards a more sustainable
method.
Therefore, the EU itself keep on improving and introducing new adjustments in the CAP
through consecutive reforms. It could be highlighted two well known necessities: the first,
related to the implementation of an action focussed on rural development, including budget
readjustments between the two CAP foundations2. The second demands an analysis on how
the lines on rural development are organised, in order to approach both the compensation of
the natural limits and the unpaid multifunctional issues.
In the national level we could draw attention to the White Paper on Agriculture and Rural
Development recently elaborated by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fishery and Food, following
the motto “The future agriculture: everybody’s compromise”. The main goals of the works
performed were to fulfil key questions like competitiveness, multifunctionality and
sustainability. The current projects include the elaboration of a Law for the Orientation of
Agriculture and Rural Development and to implement an agricultural policy for the whole
group of the Autonomous Communities. This policy will allow the adaptation of the tools for
bringing the holdings up to date for each Autonomy and to value the services generated by
the multifunctional agriculture through the Territorial Use Contracts.
2.4.
Guidelines for the adaptation of the agricultural political framework and tools.
2
The two CAP foundations are: the price and market policy through the CMOs and the rural
development policy.
5
Basically, the two main ways for the Public Administration to contribute to the environment
in the agriculture are the restrictions (protective regulation) or the incentives (promotion of
activities trough more attractive aid systems)
Up to now the restrictions are mainly focussed in the cross compliance and the introduction
of environmental concerns within the Common Organisation Markets.
The incentives developed until now are the “accompanying measures” (aids for the less
favoured areas, agri-environmental measures and afforestation of agricultural land measure)
and some other measures for the improvement agricultural structures.
Other considerations regarding the abovementioned ways/paths from the point of view of
potential tools for combating desertification are listed below.
2.4.1. The inclusion of the environmental concerns in the direct support schemes of the
Common Organisation of the Agricultural Markets (CMO)
One of the consequence of the development in Spain of the rules for the implementation of
the Council Regulation (EC) No1259/1999 (and subsequent modification by the Council
Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003), is a set of environmental requirements at national level that
was approved by the Royal Decree 2352/2004. This is a crucial set for the progress in
combating desertification and is meant to be compulsory for those farmers receiving direct
payment within the CMO framework; some remarkable requirements are:
- Prohibition of tilling herbaceous crops following slope direction when it is over 10%
- In general, tilling is prohibited in the vineyards, olive groves and nut plantations when the
slope is steeper than 15%, except when adopting soil conservation practices, i.e.: terraces,
protection strips, a conservational tilling method or complete soil cover)
- If in the olive groves the soil is going to stay naked, the strip roads perpendicular to the
slope’s direction must maintain some vegetation cover.
- The pulling up of stem is banned when the slope is over 15%.
- The farmland, set-aside and fallow land will be maintained by traditional cultivation
practices, minimum tillage or maintenance of an adequate vegetation cover.
- The specific restrictions established by the competent authority should be observed in
those areas with erosion risk.
- The existing impoundment terraces, steep banks and ridges must be kept in good
conservation state, i.e: maintaining the drainage capacity, avoiding accretion and landslides
and specially the creation of gullies. If any of these happens, it should be mended or the
appropriate measures be implemented.
- The prohibition of burning stubble fields must still be observed except those officially
authorised due to phytosanitary.
6
- The farmers in those areas with over-exploited aquifers must prove their right to irrigate their
farmlands with the adequate document. On the other hand, every owner of the privately used
water must maintain discharge measurement systems.
Bearing in mind the peculiarities of the different agricultural regions, the Autonomous
Communities are the responsible for the detailed development of the R.D. implementation
rules3. In the autonomous regulation derived from the previous rules, the requirements and
levels established by each region are slightly different, which crucially changed some issues
of the general conditions. Therefore, it would be desirable that the regional regulations
derived from these provisions, which establishes the environmental conditionality of aid,
would take into account the serious desertification problems that affects to some of the crops
receiving direct payments; i.e.: irrigated and rain fed herbaceous crops, including set-aside
land, ligneous crops like almond and olive groves, aids for goat-sheep. It would also be
needed a very strict regulation in order to move forward in the mitigation and prevention of
such problems, particularly those requirements that require a more specific definition by the
competent authorities, i.e.: “the specific restrictions in areas with risk erosion”.
On the other hand, the progress in the regulation regarding cross compliance seems to lead
towards a slowing down in the introduction of a minimum set of environmental rules in the
various sectoral Common Organisations Markets. This could cause the neglect of certain
problems due to the general nature of the common environmental requirements.
One example of the abovementioned situation are the aids in the sector of sheepmeat and
goatmeat, where no direct payment to foster the extensification is considered4, like those
included in the beef and veal sector. The environmental requirements proposed in the
national regulation for the time being, does not take into account the possible problems
consequence of an excessive grazing load in certain places or dates. Being more accurate,
not even one simple restriction regarding grazing load would be enough, because it does not
guarantee the endurance of the extensive livestock holdings. These are comprised in wider
concepts related to the rational management of livestock depending on the feeding
resources, as it was mentioned in the section devoted to the needed actions in combating
desertification.
The aids for the nut sector could be another example. Up to now, none of the former
improvement plans or new area payment systems has included environmental concerns like
the aid restriction or modulation in those areas suffering serious erosion problems. Though
the recently approved requirement for limiting tillage if the slope is more than 15% is a
considerable improvement, it does not prevent the fact that some erosive processes are still
granted, fostering the persistence of the problem.
3
These rules only consider those general practices that contribute to homogenise the aids deduction in
the whole national territory.
4
Though there are some extensification programmes, they are originated from the environmental
measures.
7
Consequently, the future progress of the integration of the environmental concerns in the
agricultural market policy could be channelled through the elaboration of Good Farming
Practices Codes, one for each productive system and region sufferings serious desertification
processes. The planning and consequent implementation of the mechanisms for a
participative definition of these codes is more than convenient.
However, it should be bear in mind that the implementation of the environmental
conditionality, and even more, progresses like that afore suggested, of establishing stricter
codes in each CMO, runs counter with the social and economic repercussion of these kind or
restrictive measures. Farmers often denounce the serious difficulties resulting from the
implementation of some compulsory practice or requirement. In fact, the agricultural sector
has been claiming for a long time that is essential to assign higher incentives, because the
environmental limitations might contribute to a loss in competitiveness with third countries
that lack of those limitations (“environmental dumping”). This definitely is an issue framed
within the complex task of integrating environment in the sectoral policies, which requires,
not only a debate, but a consensus between the various sectors involved.
These considerations lead us to face the idea that the implementation of any kind of
restrictive measures must come with a resource diverted from the direct payment policy to
the rural development policy, following the incentive procedure, so the farmer would
performed his work of protecting environment adequately. The last CAP reforms followed this
direction 5 but not with enough impetus.
2.4.2. Measures introduced via incentives: the rural development policy
In the Deliverable 3.3.b is described the important contribution that the 2nd CAP foundation,
the rural development policy, means for combating desertification, even more after being
reinforced in the last reforms. However some concerns have arisen from the sector related to
the development of this policy. The most important of these is the scarcity of common funds
for the implementation of these kinds of policies, because despite the aforementioned fact
that the CAP reforms were going to come accompanied by a significant fund diverted towards
rural development, this reoriented budget is, finally, less than predicted. This problem is said
to be the main limitation to develop an authentic sustainable policy on rural development. In
addition, the rural measures are to be jointly financed by the Member States, and many times
this is but an obstacle in the measures implementation.
Anyhow, the resource transfer from the first to the second CAP foundation, although scarce,
is an already launched and consolidated trend. Hopefully this will be a growing entity and a
good opportunity for both the farmers and the public administration. Nonetheless, the nature
of these second foundation resources is different from the nature of direct payments,
5
First it was the aid reduction due to the failure to observe the environmental requirements, and
afterwards the modulation, that is, the direct payments reduction for financing rural development
measures.
8
because they consist of incentives to produce differently, i.e.: considering environmental
concerns like among other issues. In order to be granted, the farmers and their organisations
must dedicate a greater effort than for direct payments. This effort should be supported by
agricultural administrations, including an endurance maintenance payment for creating stable
expectations.
The lines of action that can be considered as activities contributing to combating
desertification, in the framework of rural development aid in the agricultural sector, are on
the one hand, those included in the “Rural Development Programme on Accompanying
Measures in Spain” (agri-environmental measures, afforestation of agricultural land and
measures to support less favoured areas). On the other hand, some measures for the
improvement of the agricultural structures. As it was already mentioned, both types of aid
are managed by the Autonomous Communities.
The observation of the usual good farming practices is a basic requirement to obtain both
supports: the agri-environmental and the less favoured areas. In the last programming period,
the good practices to be observed were:
~ the prohibition of tilling following the slope’s direction,
~ the implementation of crop rotation adequate for each land,
~ the efficient use of water resources,
~ the rational utilisation of pesticides, considering the vulnerable zones and the
comparative levels established in both the “Nitrates Directive” and in the Autonomous
Communities’ Action Plans in the vulnerable zones.
~ the prohibition of burning stubble fields,
~ the prohibition of tilling following slope direction and to observe the established grazing
load.
Hopefully, in future programming periods a progress in this set of good farming practices will
be achieved, especially after the recent approval of the CMO’s environmental conditionality,
being sometimes even stricter than these practices.
The programme of agri-environmental is the tool for combating desertification with a bigger
potential of all the aid lines. The launching of these measures in Murcia in comparison with
the whole national territory is quite satisfactory. A great deal of measures have been
launched, some of them being very popular among farmer, like the one regarding the erosion
in ligneous crops, integrated control and organic farming.
This programme has its own mechanisms for review, monitoring and coordination via the
Programme Monitoring Committee, and the Technical Committees to be created in each
Autonomous Community, in order to set the criteria for the better observance of the
measures’ goals. The adequate participation of the environmental management authorities in
9
the Technical Committees should be guaranteed to contribute to the integration of the
environmental on the whole, and to the combat against desertification in particular. It should
also be guaranteed the incorporation of priority criteria that considers the seriousness of the
desertification processes, able of being mitigated by a certain measure.
In any case, the fostering of this line will always depend on granting the agri-environmental
programmes with a bigger budget support. The reason is that the shortage of budget is one of
the main limitations, both for dealing with the applications on the already started lines and
for launching those other measures comprised in the national regulation, which may have
positive effects over the Murcian crops affected by desertification processes; i.e.: combating
erosion in herbaceous crops, which promotes minimum tillage or direct sawing practices, or
the irrigation water saving in areas with over-exploited aquifers.
The promotion of the launching of a programme devoted to the extensive livestock
management in semiarid areas, could be based in these agri-environmental programmes. Still,
this line will need measures for supporting research in this field among other things.
Thanks in part to the afforestation of the agricultural land programme, the forest land in
Murcia increased in 8,500 ha, 2,600 of which were in the Guadalentín Basin. The aids for this
activity includes the afforestation costs, a five year endurance maintenance payment and a
compensatory allowance for twenty years of lost income, being altogether a very high financial
burden that seriously encumber this measure’s budget. In fact, this is the reason why in Murcia
the programme for responding to new compromises in the current financial period (2000-2006).
The initial goals of this measure were aimed at the diversification of the agricultural activities
through the forest re-use of the surplus farmland. But this objective might sometimes not
coincide with the combat against desertification in a certain place, as the priorities are not the
same; from the erosion point of view, it might be more interesting to afforestate the areas
affected by the highest soil losses instead of those chosen by de farmer. However, after the
Agenda 2000 reform, these objectives are reoriented and comprised in the environment
protection because of the increase of the forest land. Then again, this change of orientation
moved various forums to claim that if the current objective is to increase the forest land, the
afforestation of agricultural land with the present aid rates is being extremely expensive6, and
that the same results could be achieved at a lower cost. In fact, within al the Commission
proposals for the envisaged reform of the rural development regulation for the financial period
2007-2013, a significant decrease in the level of aids for this measure is proposed.
It looks quite possible that the envisaged aid reduction may contribute to the loss of this
programme’s economic attractiveness for farmers. Still, the really damaging aspect might occur
when the reduction does not come with the enabling of the necessary mechanisms (via the EU
regulation or its national/regional transposition) to reach a point where such saving rebound to
6
The Community expenditure on forest within the Rural development framework in the financial period
2000-2006, is distributed as follows: half of it is devoted to the afforestation of agricultural lands, while
the other half is for the other forest measures.
10
increase the forest hectares through other channels. All these other routes obviously go through
the forestation itself, either in private areas or those managed by the forest Administration.
As it was already mentioned in Deliverable 3.3.b., the main contribution of the aids for the
less favoured areas to combating desertification is the compulsory granting of the
Compensatory Allowance if the farmer observes the good farming practices (no tillage on
sloping crops, avoid burning stubble fields, limitation to the grazing loads, …). The goals of this
aid line have gone through an environmentally sound reorientation during the last reforms, and
apparently the trend will be stressed in the future. Therefore, this objective reorientation should
be accompanied by either an aid increase or the fostering of other benefits in these zones for
making these requirements observance attractive and profitable.
Within the programming possibilities of the measures to modernise and diversify agricultural
holdings, are comprised some measures that may have similar goals as the desertification
combat has, though obviously that is not their main target. The promotion of such actions is a
possibility to bear in mind in the regional rural development programming, after pointing out
the measures that might have bigger synergetic effect in the mitigation of the desertification
processes.
2.4.3. The irrigation systems and the management policy of water resources.
Significant new trends in changes spotted in the irrigation systems, thanks to the mental
approach of the irrigators who are conscious of the extremely serious situation of scarceness
and deterioration of the water resources. In the last decade, both the public and private have
increased together their support towards the policy of irrigation improvement and
modernisation. These actions were consequently promoted after National Irrigation Plan’s
approval in 2002. Therefore, the Irrigators Administrations and Communities are together
developing a whole series of plans for the irrigation improvement and modernisation in the
Murcia Region, aimed at the achievement of a higher efficacy in the use of irrigation water.
The focuses of these plans are the traditional irrigations as well as the new ones, created in
the second half of the 20th Century.
As it was previously mentioned, during the last few years the tendency of the Murcian
irrigation systems is to be oriented towards an intensive agriculture specialised in fruit and
vegetables. The basic objective within this framework is the capacity of adopting specific and
adequate strategies for the model’s characteristics, based especially on the knowledge
implementation in the restructuring of the productive systems. These systems are aimed
towards the reduction of the productive methods’ consumption of water, fertilizers,
pesticides, etc.- and the progress in the management and control systems, regarding the so
called “systems of precision farming”, which are based on technology and knowledge.
All these technology progresses, which the farmers privately used and incorporated to their
holdings, are aimed at the increase of water efficiency through the rationale and exhaustive
management of water resources. The result is an important pressure over the soil,
11
deteriorating its physical characteristics and consequently losing its structure. The soil
physical degradation is also caused by the irrigation process itself as well as the use of heavy
machinery and intensive manpower.
The Murcian agriculture is therefore a global reference, being a really advanced system in
every positive and negative issue. That is, the Murcian agriculture was the first to be
conscious, at a practical level, of the big deterioration of the physical soil characteristics
when suffering the intensification of farming. It should consequently be the reference for
correcting those problems, and in fact, several actions are already being implemented and
developed in this regard.
Facing such situation, a continuous innovation in which the centres of research and
experimentation are so extremely involved, is really necessary, requiring the collaboration of
every chain link. In the Murcia Region, the collaborations between producers, companies and
researchers, are already bearing fruits, even though the relationship between them was
nearly inexistent until a short time ago. Therefore, apart from important activities of the
productive sector itself, various entities of the Region are nowadays fostering this
technological innovation within the intensive agriculture field: national and regional official
research Centres, the local Universities, private Centres of research and experimentation,
etc.
In short, the agricultural Southeast Spanish productive sector is said to be extremely dynamic,
innovative, very advanced from a technological point of view and, consequently, really
competitive. It is currently capable of uniting together the producers, manufacturers of
technology and researchers, with the sole aim of keeping up the impetus, while maintaining
the adequate management of the soil and water resources. Bearing in mind the significant
tension of the past few years, this close collaboration of all the stakeholders is especially
significant for this sector.
The public sector for their part must continue fostering the rational search and use of the
additional and/or alternative water resources as well as the programmes for saving and
containment of water demand. Besides, as the Segura Basin Hydrological Plan points out,
there are important problems regarding the administrative management of abusive risks and
the groundwater use, so it is urgent to radically intensify the methods for control and
monitoring these illegal situations.
On the other hand, two important tools related to the desertification problems, the “Special
action plans for warning situations and possible drought” and the “Action Plans on
Groundwater”, are to be developed by the Basin Bodies, according to the implementation of
the Law of the National Hydrological Plan and the Basin Hydrological Plans.
12
3. ADAPTATION OF THE FOREST POLITICAL FRAMEWORK AGAINST DESERTIFICATION
3.1.
Trends toward change in the forest uses in the Guadalentín basin
The main cause of the slowness of the changes experimented by the forest harvesting in
comparison with the farming sector is the own nature of the formers. Nonetheless, some
trends in changes trends have been taking place during the last decades, and a significant
increase of the wooded forest area, unlike the decreasing rangelands area. One of the main
causes of the wooded area expansion is obviously the reforestation, but with Deliverable
3.3.b’s figures in mind, is not the only one. The main reason is said to be the negative
evolution of the economy in the mountains, which drove the farmers to abandon those
marginal cultivation lands whose productivity was under the profitable limit; these areas are
then colonised by the neighbour forest stands. Another reason is the abandonment of the
extensive livestock practices, mostly linked with the transhumance. This allowed the
regeneration of degraded forest areas, and helped in the progress of certain species in
rangelands and old pastures, as the pressure over buds, sprouts and young stems started to
decrease.
In short, the colonisation of esparto field, less productive pastures and other marginal or
abandoned agricultural lands, in addition to the afforestation of the agricultural land fostered
by the agricultural EU policy, has facilitated a certain restoration of the territory.
Consequently, the initial potential use of forest has been recovered, bearing in mind that, if
it hadn’t been essential, they should never have been tilled, due to their own scarce
productive nature and their physical limitations- namely physiographic and of soil. Possibly,
this tendency will continue in the future, though a bit more slowly in the first instance,
because, as we have already said, for example, the old significant reduction of the rain fed
herbaceous crops, which is the main land use suffering abandonment, is nowadays occurring
at much smaller rates.
3.2.
Actions against desertification within the forest sector
As shown in Deliverable 3.3.b, there are many actions to combat against desertification
within the forest field that are regularly/constantly being developed both in Spain and in the
Murcia Region, depending on socioeconomic conditions, which comprise the availability of
hectares as well as budget.
The classification of the above mentioned actions is based on whether their main goal is
aimed at the prevention and reduction of the vegetation cover degradation or, on the other
hand, the restoration of degraded land.
The sustainable management of forest stands contributes to the prevention and reduction of
the forest land degradation. This measure includes the implementation of Forest Management
Techniques, from the point of view of considering the special characteristics of the
13
Mediterranean
forests,
i.e.:
heterogeneity,
instability,
scarce
profitability,
outputs
importance. It should be bear in mind that this management always involves the
implementation of the adequate silvicultural problem for improving the quality and biological
diversity of the protective forest stands, and guarantee their stability and their endurance
and functionality under extreme conditions. This framework also includes the protecting and
improvement actions over non-wooded protective vegetation cover.
Other tools focused on prevention are the defence actions in forest and rangelands, namely
the prevention and fight against destructive ¿agents? of soil and vegetation, i.e.: fires,
plagues and diseases. The forest fires is one of the main degradation causes in the
Mediterranean scope, and within all the actions oriented to the prevention and fight against
it, we could highlight the following: the preventive silviculture, the improvement of the
preventive infrastructure and surveillance net in forest and rangelands, the continuous
enhancement of the extinguishing methods and strict control of the burning stubble fields.
The restoration of degraded areas is channelled through the forest-hydrological restoration
frame, whose most relevant actions are:
~ the reforestation, which, when implemented in arid and semi-arid zones, is specially
focused over the installation of a protective vegetation cover, capable of withstanding
extreme drought
~ silvicultural treatment for improving the degraded vegetation cover and
~ the building and maintenance of the hydraulic structures.
3.3.
The new framework of the national and regional forest policy
The mentioned actions are included in a framework of national and autonomous forest plans,
where the forest policies crystallise, and whose objectives and activities coincide with those
of the combat against desertification. Curiously, every factor of the planning framework at
the national and regional level has been approved very recently. Nowadays, several
agreements and initiatives for implementing them are being launched, and will therefore
need some time before they are completely consolidated, and their effectiveness can be
evaluated. The attached table includes an outline of the various tools existing in the three
scales of the forest planning; some of them being explained in detail in Deliverable 3.3.b.
14
PLANNING SCALE
TOOLS
GENERAL
Spanish Forest Strategy (1999)
Spanish Forest Plan (2002)
Forest Act 43/2003)
ESPECIAL
PNAP: National Plan of Priority Actions in ForestHydrologic Restoration, Erosion Control and
Combating Desertification (2002)
Nacional planning of forest fires protection
NATIONAL
REGIONAL
Murcian Forest Strategy (presented in 2003)
Management Plan of the Forest Resources (PORF)*
PLANIFICATIÓN Y
IMPLEMENTATION
IN THE FIELD
LOCAL
Projects on Forest-Hydrological Restoration l
Forest Management
Defence and protection against forest fires
* PORF: New programming tool included in the Forest Act (2003).
3.4.
Recommendations for promoting the combat against desertification in the
implementation tools of forest planning.
The development of the Spanish Forest Plan is a duty of the Ministry of the Environment, but
is also linked to the Autonomous Communities collaboration as the two bodies signed the so
called “Frame Agreements”. The Murcia Region Agreement was signed during the Plan’s first
operation year (2002), and it includes investments in the Forest-Hydrological Restoration
(RHF), though the total amount was fixed in later specific agreements. Regarding RHF, the
Central Government contribution is channelled through a double route. On the one hand,
throughout the continuation of the agreements with the State Biodiversity Office, which were
launched in the late eighties and have been a successful model of collaboration between
administrations since then. The other route is based on the relationship between the water
and forest policies, which is settled by the current regulation. These rules state that the
hydrological planning must include the necessary Forest-Hydrological Plans and Plans for the
Soil Conservation for protecting the basins and to regulate the hydrological cycle. Hence, the
River Basin Authorities an the regional government have signed collaboration agreements for
the implementation of the RHF planned activities in the National Hydrological Plans,
approved in 2001.
From the point of view of the mitigation of the degradation processes and in order to obtain a
greater efficiency in the implementation of these actions, is better to continue reinforcing
and improving these administrative coordination tools. One of the consequences would then
be the adequate determination of prior activities, based on the necessity of correction the
most serious erosive processes. This aim can rely on the National Plan of Priority Actions in
Forest-Hydrologic Restoration, Erosion Control and Combating Desertification (PNAP), which
15
was already mentioned in Deliverable 3.3.b, and that created in 2002 with the collaboration
of every administrative section involved in these actions.
On a lower planning level we can nowadays count on a new entity created by the Spanish
Forest Act 43/2003: the Plans for the Management of Forest Resources (PORF). These PORFs
are tools of the local forest management, which is integrated in the land management
framework, and is the link between the autonomous forest plans and the executive tools in
the forest itself. The Autonomous Communities are to create and approve the PORF, which
should include:
~ the establishment of different zones depending on to their uses and aptitudes;
~ the framework for the signing of agreements for the management of the forest, between
the Public Administration and the private owners;
~ and the planning of the necessary actions for the Plan’s implementation, including the
anticipated reforestation, forest-hydrological restoration, forest management and the
improvement and management of pastures, should the occasion arise.
3.4.1. Fostering of the forest -hydrologic- restoration
The not-yet-created Murcia Region PORF should specially consider the management and
restoration of the degraded basin, and consequently the actions related to the ForestHydrological Restoration. The Forest Strategy of the Murcia Region considers this basin
management, also known as agri-hydrological, as a basic tool for the planning of activities
aimed at the restoration of the vegetation cover for the protection of both the soil and the
hydrological cycle. The Strategy also establishes the convenience of relying on the PNAP and
the measures of the Hydrological Plan support.
This is a Region where the RHF has been most widely implemented (both in the time and land
area covered), beginning in the late 19th Century with the work in Sierra Espuña. A more or
less intensive performance continued all through the 20th Century, so every sub-basin in the
Guadalentín, including gullies and wadies (in Spanish “rambla”), has been the focus of at
least one RHF projects- and often several. The new works planning must come with the
pertinent reviews and evaluation of the works previously performed, regarding the efficacy
and possible ameliorations.
There is a need to progress in the integration of the specific restoration techniques in arid
areas when implementing the RHF actions. This is to be channelled through the fostering of
the policy on research and experimentation as well as its implementation in fields like the
restoration of vegetation in arid zones, the bio-engineering techniques in the erosion control,
the implementation of restitution techniques of forest soil, the genetic selection of plants
capable of bearing extreme conditions. All these lines and some other related to them are
already the focus of many research groups in Murcia, in addition to the experiments over
various techniques performed in the field by the technicians responsible of the land
16
management. A good tool for fostering the coordination between the researchers is the
implementation of demonstrative projects for the restoration and sustainable development in
areas suffering desertification, in which both public and private entities participate.
In order to implement the actions proposed by the planning instruments is essential to foster
the establishment and/or development of those necessary tools for the involvement and
participation of the owners of the private land focus of the projects. E.g.: the framework of
the execution of management and restoration of basins projects, since the forest land is
mostly private.
This task is crucial for the Murcia Region where nowadays, regarding the forestation works,
the land under public management available to be reforested is very scarce. This is why the
regional administration created several tools for the promotion of the restoration of the
vegetation cover in the private land. So, for several years, the administration carried out a
policy based on the purchase of land, which almost amounted 8.000 has. Another tool
currently in force is the Decree 44/1989, which establishes the rules for the transfer
agreements for the improvement of the natural setting and the forest-ecological regeneration
in Murcia. It is also the vehicle of the Administration to perform the necessary regeneration
and conservation works, who pays for them fully and gets no benefit out from the created
resources (forest cover). The owner is therefore free of charge. This initiative has not been
popular for the time being, as it did not come along with a good informative propaganda for
convincing the owners. The Murcian Forest Strategy considers this is the best tool for
restoring the land, provided that an adequate forest extension programme is developed.
3.4.2. Care over the new forests
Continuing with the previously mentioned Plans for the Management of Forest Resources
(PORF), this should take into account, within its guidelines and goals, the new forest areas
incorporated in the last few years. They should also include the adequate forecasts for
integrating new more hectares.
During the nineties, the reforested area in Murcia amounted more than 8.000 ha., but as the
Graph.1 shows, a high percentage of this area is the result of the CAP’s programme on
afforestation of agricultural land. The law considers this all new area as forest, so it must be
taken into account when managing the Murcian forest resources, in order to guarantee its
remaining in time and place and an adequate management for ensuring the soil protection
against erosive processes.
A strict priority order must be followed when granting the aids to those areas with higher soil
losses in order to achieve a greater efficiency in the soil protection. This is, of course
17
supposing, the afforestation of the agricultural land programme would still be counting on
funding in the future7.
In fact, the trend should be oriented towards the complete aligning of both the legislative
and planning treatment, and consequently the aid level, for promoting the forestation of the
degraded private land independently of the agricultural or forest classification of the land in
the property register. This necessarily requires of the collaboration between the agricultural
and forest administrations, supported by the existing Decree 44/1989.
One of the focuses of the creation of the PORF should be the aforementioned creation of new
areas coming from the abandonment of the marginal agricultural land. These areas are
nowadays in restoration (re-naturalization). Since there are several possible evolutions of the
vegetation cover in these areas, it is recommended the launching of a programme for the
research and monitoring of these zones. This is oriented towards planning of the adequate
and specific treatments for the promotion of the regeneration of the optimum plant
formation (wooded, shrubby and/or pasture-like) depending on the zone characteristics.
3.4.3. Fostering of the agrosilvopastoral systems
The comprising of the management of pastures and degraded8 rangelands in the PORFs, is
aimed at the harmonization of the pastures usage with the regeneration of the vegetation
cover and the adequate soil protection. In this way, the promotion of the agrosilvopastoral
sustainable systems is possible, including the evaluation and adaptation of the traditional
systems. These systems are the focus of an increasing attention, because they are considered
very valuable ecosystems and of great interest from the point of view of the rural
development. These systems interface nature, resulting from their special characteristics,
imposes an obligation to develop an adequate coordination between administrations so that,
for example, a satisfactory integration and synergy of all the aids involved, can be achieved.
3.4.4. Forest fires defence
An important budget heading of the whole Murcian budget for the forest actions is devoted to
the activities on fire defence. As it was concluded in Deliverable 3.3.b, the fact that Murcia is
not one of the most affected Spanish Regions regarding the burned area during these last few
years, shows the strength and efficiency of the prevention and extinguishing methods. Still,
considering the necessity, and endless benefits, of avoiding or extinguishing these phenomena
as fast as possible and without any loss, the reinforcement of the preventing measures is
always convenient. Therefore, the development and implementation of the Preventive
Silviculture is strongly supported through those silvicultural treatments aimed at the breaking
of forest fuels continuity and the creation and maintenance of the firebreaks, among others.
7
In the Deliberable 3.3.b was set out that Murcia, for the time being, has not yet launched the
afforestation of agricultural land programme for the new applications to come.
8
The cause of the land degradation could either be the abandonment or the over-exploitation.
18
3.4.5. Coordination with the Rural Development programming
It is a universally acknowledged truth, that most of the aforementioned actions are supported
by EU funds within the rural development programming framework. Consequently, it is
necessary to establish an adequate connection between all the existing planning tools,
especially the future PORFs, during the planning phase of the rural development programme
for the next European financial periods. It is strongly recommended to include, within these
planning tasks, counting on the participation of the professional forest and agricultural
organisations, as well as other rural development stakeholders, and the participation and
collaboration of both the agricultural and forest administrations. This will help, for example,
in driving the appropriate the attention over the increasing forest surface coming from the
land abandonment. These planning tools could be the supporting basis for not only the
promotion and strengthening of the successful action lines in combating desertification, but
also, and mainly, the launching of the new lines including the new demands. An example of
these is the aforementioned necessity of the adequate management of the marginal
abandoned crops that are already being colonised by forest species.
4.000
3.531,90
3.500
2.878,97
3.000
hectáreas
2.500
2.000
1.459,41
1.500
1.000
546,83
500
290,30
201,00
135,00
119,00
80,00
163,00
342,00
331,60
121,00
114,50
0
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
Common
Agricultural
Policy
Política Agraria
Común
1996
1997
1998
1999
Murcia
Región Region
de Murcia
Graph 1- Forested area per year and promoter.
Source: Third National Forest Inventory (IFN3) in the Murcia Region
4. CONCLUDING REMARKS, CHALLENGES FOR FUTURE PROGRAMMING PERIODS.
Now is a good moment for introducing in the political framework those new changes aimed at
the progress of the sustainable development of those areas focus of this work package; that
is, the arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas. This goal is included in the wider objective of
19
supporting more sustainable agricultural production systems, while appropriately rewarding
the environmental good and services supplied the less productive systems.
On the other hand a debate over the new Common Rules on Rural Development9 is held within
the EU. This regulation will take effect in the new programming for the financial period 20072013. The Commission’s proposals impose an obligation to take an strategic approach on the
rural development. This approach should be framed within a “Common strategic guidelines”
and each Member State should translate it into a “National Strategic Plan”. On the other
hand, this process is being developed at the same time as various Spanish sectors are claiming
for an integrated State policy for creating a sustainable model of rural development. Such
model must look into the agri-food production process and the rural economies in an
integrated manner, and would be supported by the Basic Law on the Rural Development and
Agriculture.
At a regional level, the Autonomous Community of Murcia is responsible for the planning of
the new programmes of Rural Development for the next period following the community and
national guidelines. As far as possible, these programmes should include the measures for the
encouragement of the mitigation of the severe desertification processes, which affects to a
high percentage of the Murcian area, including the Guadalentín basin. As it has been
mentioned already, the promotion of a good coordination between the several public services
is strongly recommended, as it is considered the cornerstone for the resource optimisation,
the making good use of the synergy between several aid lines and the promotion of new
measures within the common fields. This coordination is channelled both in the vertical
course, from the Central Government to the Regional Government, as well as the horizontal,
between the services on agriculture, nature conservation and the water resources
management.
Along this deliverable, the necessity of increasing the financial support of certain investments
or aid lines was mentioned several times. On the other hand, it has also been stated that, for
the time being, most of the aforementioned actions have been supported by the EU funds,
which permitted the launching of novel actions during these last few decades. The results
have been extremely positive and helpful in the combat against desertification in Spain, e.g.:
the agri-environmental measures of the afforestation of the agricultural land programme.
Other already launched lines have also been supported by the European funds, though this
time it did not rebound to increase significantly the global investments. Such is the case of
the actions aimed at the forest-hydrological restoration or fire defence.
We are now facing a new European financial period (2007-2013), and the EU funds that
supported those lines10 considered most interesting for combating desertification, are going
to be significantly reduced. The two main reasons are the effect of the EU’s enlargement and
9
COM(2004)490 final. Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION on support for rural development by the
European Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD)
10
Nearly every line is included in the new regulation for supporting the Rural Development.
20
the economic development of Spain. In particular, Murcia would no longer be an Objective 1
region, due to the “statistical effect”, that is the artificial increase of its relative income,
resulting from the new less developed members’ accession.
Therefore, a continuous support of the already launched actions is a difficult challenge for
both the administrations and the affected groups/collectives, not to mention trying to
increase those of greatest interest or to open new action lines. However, is by all means
necessary to achieve this financial support, if we want to progress towards the sustainability,
and particularly the combat against desertification. Such effort could be supported by the
increasing awareness-raising relating the conservation/preservation of the environment,
fostering the idea that the whole society is the focus of the long-term benefits resulting of
these policies promotion. Consequently, is the whole society who must increasingly support
the land managers, i.e.: arable and livestock, land owners, for adequately achieve that task.
21
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22