Wednesday 25 November 2020

Grassland conservation options in AEOS from a results-based perspective

In a 2017 post, we outlined the main results from a publication (Ó hUallacháin et al., 2016) that compared the vegetation in three different options for grassland conservation under the Irish agri-environment scheme (Agri-Environment Option Scheme, AEOS). Here, we outline the main results of that study, and develop it further with a more detailed interpretation of that work from the perspective of results-based approaches. Across the three grassland options in that study, the options had the effect of preferentially enrolling and financially rewarding lower-quality vegetation. We show how a results-based approach could better target, incentivise and reward the provision of higher-quality vegetation, and make a greater contribution to biodiversity conservation.


Tuesday 17 November 2020

SmartAgriHubs: pilot incorporation of farmland habitats in Teagasc National Farm Survey

Teagasc is investigating how to incorporate biodiversity into ~300 participant farms in the Teagasc National Farm Survey. This is being piloted as part of the EU SmartAgriHubs project, which focuses on digital innovation in the agrifood sector. Here, I briefly describe why biodiversity should be included in sustainability assessment, the aims of the pilot project and our methodology, and its potential contribution to improving biodiversity monitoring in farmland.



Friday 6 November 2020

Report: Independent evaluation of environmental effects of GLAS

The Green Low-Carbon Agri-Environment Scheme (GLAS) has been the Agri-Environment Scheme in Ireland over the RDP period 2014-2020. GLAS. A report from summer 2020 provides an evaluation of GLAS by an independent environmental consultancy. The report is available on the DAFM website here: Evaluation of the Green Low-Carbon Agri-Environment Scheme (GLAS): Synthesis of evidence, and includes an Executive Summary and list of recommendations in addition to the main report. 

Thursday 29 October 2020

Methodology to include farmland habitats in sustainability assessments

A new Teagasc publication to be published in the Irish Journal of Agricultural and Food Research outlines the development of scalable methods to include farmland habitats in sustainability assessments. Here, I give a brief 'taster' of the content of that paper, and an overview of the approach that is based on categorising farmland habitats using satellite imagery. 


Monday 12 October 2020

 

Farming for Nature: the role of Results-Based Payments 

A new book published by Teagasc and the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) (www.teagasc.ie/farmingfornature) highlights several Irish case studies of results-based payments for biodiversity conservation.





 

 

The EU Biodiversity Strategy: on the path to biodiversity recovery by 2030

John Finn and Daire Ó hUallacháin

The EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 has proposed a number of challenging targets that will inform policy, practice and research for the coming decades. Here, John Finn and Daire Ó hUallacháin highlight the main features of the Biodiversity Strategy, and focus on those that are most relevant to agriculture.