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ACTIVITY REPORT 2014

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Foreword .................................................................................................................................................... 2

Organisations ........................................................................................................................................ 4

ISSUES ........................................................................................................................................................... 6The Common Agricultural Policy ......................................................................................... 8Forestry ................................................................................................................................................... 8Biodiversity & Natura 2000 ..................................................................................................... 10Agricultural innovation ............................................................................................................. 12Crop Protection .............................................................................................................................. 14Climate Change .............................................................................................................................. 15Real Estate .......................................................................................................................................... 16

PROJECTS ............................................................................................................................................... 18The Wildlife Estates Label ........................................................................................................ 18The LIFE+ 3watEr project ......................................................................................................... 20Sustainable Futures for Europe’s Heritage in Cultural Landscapes (HERCULES): Tools for understanding, managing, and protecting landscape functions and values ......................................................................................... 22

EVENTS ..................................................................................................................................................... 24Forum for the Future of Agriculture 2014 .................................................................... 24The Regional FFA’s: Scandinavia and Romania ......................................................... 28Green Week 2014 “Circular Economy, Resource Efficiency & Waste” ........ 30European Biodiversity Conference ................................................................................... 31ELO General Assemblies .......................................................................................................... 32European Tree of the Year Award Ceremony ............................................................ 34

ENLARGEMENT ................................................................................................................................ 36EU Enlargement and External Relations ........................................................................ 36

PUBLICATIONS .................................................................................................................................. 37ELO Communication .................................................................................................................. 37Family Farming ................................................................................................................................ 38The ICREI Publication .................................................................................................................. 39

AWARDS ................................................................................................................................................... 40ELO Awards ........................................................................................................................................ 40NEW: The ELO’s European Bee Award ........................................................................... 42Natura 2000 Award ...................................................................................................................... 43

CONTACT WITH THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT .............................................. 44Biodiversity, Hunting, Countryside Parliamentary Intergroup ....................... 44

PARTNERS .............................................................................................................................................. 45Rural Coalition ................................................................................................................................. 45European Historic Houses Associations ........................................................................ 46Future of Religious Heritage .................................................................................................. 48RISE Foundation .............................................................................................................................. 50Friends of the Countryside ..................................................................................................... 52Young Friends of the Countryside .................................................................................... 54Europa Nostra .................................................................................................................................. 56Environmental Partnership Association ........................................................................ 58

PERSPECTIVES FOR 2015 ........................................................................................................ 60

ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS .............................................................................. 62

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While the political world changes and a new Commission and Parliament have taken their seats in Brussels and Strasbourg, the European country-side is now faced with the immedi-ate challenge of adapting to the new CAP reform, and we continue to face the long-term challenge of combin-ing environmental and food security. To answer this challenge, we will not only need to remind ourselves of the importance of jobs and growth in Eu-rope’s countryside and the role that landowners and managers have to play in maintaining both. However, we must also ensure that this prosperity is based on a sustainable environment; landowners know best our full de-pendence on well-functioning ecosys-tem services and a stable climate.

That the years of crisis in Europe have taken their toll on our citizens has been made clear by the European elections; the main party blocs, although they still maintain a sufficient majority, have been buffeted by election results that saw an increased on both the far-left and right flanks. To stem a tide of an-ti-European sentiment, the European institutions now face the difficult chal-lenge of proving the ability of Europe to deal with its most pressing matters;

unemployment, a still-unfinished cri-sis, as well as global threats such as climate change. If needed reforms are to be made, then those in the centre must work together and provide a clear demonstration of the values of European cooperation to its citizens and sometimes fractious national par-liaments.

To provide a space for discussions for MEPs, we are pleased to see the return of the Biodiversity, Hunting, Coun-tryside Intergroup at the Parliament chaired by Karl-Heinz FLORENZ. With substantial support from MEPs across the political spectrum, as well as a sec-retariat provided by the ELO and FACE, the Intergroup will work on the com-bination of environmental protection with economic prosperity. With the first meetings on natural capital and climate change already in the works, we will continue to work for the coun-tryside together.

The new Commission, with its focus on jobs and growth, provides a wel-come new structure and solid new Commissioners to carry out the many tasks before it. Never before have we seen so many high-level Commission-ers assembled, and this is only right in such difficult times. However, the ELO believes that the JUNCKER team is up to the challenge. Both Commissioners HOGAN (AGRI) and VELLA (ENVI) pro-vide a wealth of political and in-field experience and we look forward to working with both to demonstrate the capacities of all countryside stakehold-ers and land users.

One of the more pressing issues that will need to be faced by the Commis-sion is how to reinvent the Circular Economy package that has recently been dropped as part of the new smart regulation package. For land manag-ers, the need to reduce not only direct food waste, but also to recycle and re-

use inputs as best as possible will be-come an ever more vital issue as farm expenses rise. We have no objection to a second look at existing regulation, or to the idea that Europe should be ‘big on the big things and smaller on small-er things’, but we question whether the better regulation concept should have taken the Circular Economy as its opening bid.

Where we definitely need reform and an attitude that looks at the big picture is the simplification of the CAP. As we stated last year, the CAP is now more diverse and less common than it has ever been, and this has consequen-tially led to a greater entanglement of rules and options for Member States and for the farmers and land manag-ers who will have to follow and report back on these. With the expansion of options come a welcome diversity for Europe’s very different climates, envi-ronments and farms, but it becomes harder to maintain a global perspec-tive. To ensure that we do not drown in administration and so lose the heart of the CAP, we fully support the Com-mission’s plan for simplification.

Part of this simplification must be a revisit of what we mean by the green-ing of the CAP. Already, we are seeing Europe’s different capitals adapt vastly different rules, and we risk losing the essence of an idea that was meant to bring more sustainability and biodi-versity to our farms. If in 2020, at the next CAP reform, we will not have made measurable, visible changes to our countryside that demonstrate the results, we face an uphill battle to convince Europe’s citizens that farmers are indeed the best managers of our shared environment. We now have the chance to deliver solid proof in fa-vour of public payments delivered by private actors, and we must seize this opportunity.

FOREWORD ACTIVITY REPORT 2014

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One of the ways in which the ELO is already delivering on this promise is through our Wildlife Estates label, which has now reach nearly 1.000.000 hectares where private owners have pledged to ensure biodiversity alongside productive and profitable management. The expansion of the label this year into Bulgaria and new partners in Belgium demonstrate the Label’s power, and its new COO Kon-stantin KOSTOPOULOS will help propel it into even greater form in the coming years. Backed up by its Scientific Com-mittee, we will continue to demon-strate the value of the private offer.

The importance of the private offer and what can be achieved is our LIFE+ 3watEr project, which was awarded the first annual Natura 2000 Award for Reconciling Interests and Perceptions by the European Commission. Such and open and productive partnership between landowners, communities, state agencies and NGOs provides the next step for Europe’s nature conser-vation. Using the 3E model where we balance Economy, Ecology and Educa-tion, the project has delivered visible results; from over 85ha of ponds, to an increase 350 calling male tree frogs and 30 ha of wet and dry heath, this project has delivered soundly on its promises and shows the way forward.

Such cooperation between different actors will become ever more im-portant in the face of our changing climate. The 5th IPCC report demon-strates that these changes are already upon us, and urgent work is needed to stave off the worst effects. Adapta-tion and mitigation were therefore at the forefront of our annual Biodiversity conference, where new FFA Chairman Janez POTOČNIK warned that “the last 30 years on earth have been the warm-est in 1.400 years”. To land managers, unpredictable weather and more ex-treme events present a severe threat

to our businesses and our land, and we know that we have an important role to play in adaptation and mitigation strategies.

Europe’s forests will have a crucial role to play in the fight against climate change, but we must not forget that they too must be managed not only sustainably, but also profitably. In or-der to ensure this, we must allow land managers to use forest products in any way that secures the highest val-ue for their assets; to do this we must not adhere to a strict cascade of use. Fortunately, the EU Forestry Strategy that was launched in 2013 is working out well for our members, and we look forward to continuing our work on for-estry in the new Commission Advisory Group on Forestry and Cork.

The greatest determinant of the future prosperity of the European country-side, as well as for the reduction of waste and the adaptation to climate change will be our capacity to inno-vate. With the new European Innova-tion Partnership for Agriculture and Rural development, as well as the FP7 and Horizon 2020 programs, Europe is headed in the right direction, but more can and should be done to stim-ulate new ideas and practices, as well as to ensure that innovative businesses maintain their investments and offices here in Europe.

To stimulate this debate and showcase the latest ideas for balancing food and environmental security, the 7th Forum for the Future of Agriculture once again proved itself the premier venue for the agriculture and environment community here in Brussels. With over 1.600 people attending the day in per-son or streaming through the web, attendants had a chance to listen to, among others, Olivier de SCHUTTER and Pascal LAMY.

The next FFA, which will be held on the 31st of March, will once again fea-ture top-level speakers and guests such as Jeremy RIFKIN, Arun GANDHI and Commissioners HOGAN and VEL-LA, a renewed program with more space for networking and a bigger crowd than ever. The topics we will highlight this year include the circular economy, innovation and global trade agreements. It promises to once again be a highlight on the Brussels’ agenda, and we are proud to achieve greater successes every year.

Let me also take a moment to thank Franz FISCHLER, the departing chair-man of the Forum, for all his hard work over the years. Without his tireless ef-forts, we would never have been able to grow this event to what it is today. As his successor, we are glad to wel-come Janez POTOČNIK as the new Chairman of the FORUM and thank him for his efforts.

The European countryside remain a remarkable, green and economically vibrant place that millions of us call home. For those who manage its land, the responsibility for this generation and the next is a welcome challenge: the choices we make today will affect the world our children we live in. Our members know this by heart, and we are proud to continue to represent them.

Thierry de l’ESCAILLESecretary General, European

Landowners’ Organization

March, 2015

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SECRETARIATConsultative Committee; Think Tank on rural policy issues

Responsible for communication, logistic, organization of meetings, marketing and general coordination

The RISE Foundation

Think TankYFCSFCS

Member Organisations & Associates Members Grouping landowners

associations from 27 EUMember States + Acceding Countries

BOARDPolicy Group

Technical policy papers

EUROPEAN LIAISON COMMITTEEPolicy Group

Technical policy papers

GENERAL ASSEMBLYGENERAL ASSEMBLY GENERAL ASSEMBLY

BOARDPolicy Group

Technical policy papers

BOARD OF DIRECTORSPolicy Group

Technical policy papers

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Rural landowners, entrepreneurs and businesses asFriends & Young Friends of the Countryside from EU 27

PROJECTS & PARTNERS

Organisation

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VISION

The ELO aims to promote a sustainable and prosperous countryside through private owners´ activities and family businesses. European rural territories cover over 90 % of the EU27’s land area.

Therefore, a balanced development of aforesaid areas in line with the development of European urban areas is an essential key element to create a competitive and truly sustainable «Economic Future of Europe».

While pursuing its goals the ELO takes into account the climate change and the biodiversity loss challenges which we are facing today. The ELO promotes a balanced approach between strong economic performance

and a sustainable use of natural resources that considers economic, social and environmental dimensions.

ISSUES

1. Environment ; 2. Renewable energy ;

3. Water ;4. Agricultural and rural development ;

5. Status of private property and family businesses ;6. Forestry ;

7. Enlargement ;8. Trade.

MISSION

The ELO is committed to promoting a sustainable and prosperous countryside and to increasing awareness relating to environmental and agricultural issues. Engaging various stakeholders, the ELO

develops policy recommendations and programmes of action. The ELO organises interdisciplinary meetings gathering together key actors from the rural sector and policy makers at the local, regional, national and European level. Its ability to do all of this assures the ELO its unique position among the

think tanks in the agricultural, environmental and rural activities’ sectors.

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The EU Presidency in 2014

On the 1st of January 2014, Greece took the rotating Council Presidency with a file that was, as appropriate, more geared towards financial is-sues, with agriculture remaining on the sideline. The first EU semester fo-cused on promotion measures of EU agricultural products that the EC had pushed forward at the end of 2013, the animal and plant health package and the finalization of the delegated acts needed for the implementation of the CAP reform. Furthermore, the revision of rules governing the organic sector and discussions on GMOs and animal cloning were held by the relevant min-isters. On energy, the Greek Presidency promoted EU policies on energy and climate change beyond 2020, working towards the Communication of the European Commission’s “Framework for the 2030 climate change and en-ergy”.

For the second half of the year, Ita-ly took over the presidency of the Council on 1st July, 2014. Other than the legislative files, green growth and

jobs, the main expected issues were agriculture, trade, and climate and en-vironment.

For the agricultural files, food security was at the top of the agenda, as well as the Milan 2015 Expo, which was then being finalized. The Presidency also continued its work on the revised rules for the organic sector, with con-cerns remaining about the limited exemptions possible, as well as the implementation of control systems. At the end of 2014, a legally binding agreement on the organic sector was still out of reach, with many stakehold-ers claiming that the EC proposal was not adequate; these discussions will continue in 2015. Discussions of the EU’s support for school food schemes were also initiated under the Italian presidency, along with the proposal to allow individual Member States to ban GM crops on non-scientific grounds, the proposal for which was passed by the Parliament in early 2015.

On climate, the EU heads of state agreed their climate and energy goals for 2030, with a 40% cut in greenhouse gas emissions and a 27% binding renewable energy target. These am-bitious goals form the cornerstone of the EU’s commitment to the Paris climate summit in 2015. The reform of the Emissions Trading System (ETS) will be among the key points in achieving these ambitious targets.

One of the last policy packages that was passed by Barroso Commission was the Circular Economy Package that pushed for higher recycling tar-gets and the complete elimination of landfills. Despite objections from the European Parliament and national en-vironment ministers, the new Juncker Commission has withdrawn this pack-age as part of its better regulation mission. It has, however, promised to re-table a more ambitious proposal in 2015.

European Institutions

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EUROPEAN ELECTIONS

European Parliament The Parliament changed itself after the elections at the end of May 2014, with the continu-ing economic crisis leading to a greater distrust of the European project than at any previous time. To counter this feeling and give the elections a more personable feeling, the main parliamentary fractions each proposed their own lead candidates (spitzen-kandidaten), that they would pro-pose as the new President of the European Commission when the relevant fraction gained the most seats in Parliament. While the S&D and EPP fractions remained the highest polling through-out the elections, the growth of both the far-right and far-left Eurosceptic parties shows that Europe’s citizens are not wholly satisfied with the direction and consequences of the European project, and the new Parliament and Commission will have to demonstrate the value of Europe more clearly than ever before.

The new EP’s agricultural Committee - ComAGRI (45 MEPs), chaired by Polish MEP Czesław Adam SIEKIERSKI (EPP) continues to be dominated by the two largest political groups, the EPP with 13 MEPs and the S&D with 9 MEPs. How-ever they have lost majority and will be reliant on the support of other factions to get their positions through. This is likely to make the process of reaching compromises more complicated and time-consuming in the coming years.

To ensure that the role of private land-owners and land managers was heard during the Elections, the ELO issued its own election manifesto, which clearly articulates the ELO’s vision of a pros-perous and sustainable countryside,

focusing on three key topics: prosper-ous rural business, innovation for the agriculture and forestry sectors, and proactive action on the environment. The Manifesto can be found on the ELO website.

European CommissionFollowing the elections, Jean-Claude JUNCKER became the new President of the Commission, after Parliament hearings and a vote in the Plenary Ses-sion. The former Luxembourg Prime Minister and centre-right politician had the backing of the centre-right, centre-left, and liberal groups. Mem-ber States then put forward their can-didates for Commissioners, with the Commission President leading talks on the allocation of portfolios.

Jean-Claude JUNCKER presented on September 10th a new structure of

high-level Commission-ers, with three former Prime-ministers and sev-eral former powerful min-isters. The new Commis-sion can be regarded as more balanced and am-bitious and as an attempt to convince the European citizens that the direction of Europe, especially in an economic sense, will change. It also responds to most of the issues raised by the European Parliament, who had to confirm the new college. With some surprises and a difference from the pre-vious structure, JUNCKER now counts a group of 7 vice-presidents who will oversee the work of oth-er commissioners; a new hierarchy that aims to coordination and efficien-cy. The position of first vice-president, the Dutch

Frans TIMMERMANS, will be particular-ly important as he will have a veto right over all new Commission proposals as part of his mandate for better regula-tion.

After a great deal of political trade-offs and submissions to the new Cabinet of Commissioners led by President JUNCKER, the new Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Develop-ment will be the Irish Phil HOGAN, a former environment minister. At the now-combined Environment and Fisheries Directorate-General, the Mal-tese Karmenu VELLA, a former Maltese MP and four-time minister, will take charge. The new Commission has formally taken its place in November 2014.

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Managing EuropE’s landfor thE futurEManifEsto for thE EuropEan ElEctions 2014

prosperous rural Businesses

proactive action on the

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agricultural and forestry

production

The ELO calls on the EU for policies that support:

i. iii.

ii.

The ELO EP Elections Manifesto

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The publication of the new European Union Forest Strategy (EUFS) on re-mains the most decisive development to affect the forest sector this year. Covering 40% of the EU area, it was vi-tal to develop a new holistic approach for forests, to ensure that they contin-ue to provide both jobs and the quali-ty of life we have come to expect from them. The on-going discussions in the Parliament and Council on its multi-an-nual implementation plan continue.

The publication of the European Cli-mate and Energy Framework for 2030 was another important topic for for-estry. With ambitious targets to com-bat climate change such as a pledge to reduce Green House Gases to 40% be-low 1990 emissions and a 27% renew-able energy target, this Framework policy also addressed items of specific importance for the forestry sector.

As biomass is part of the renewables target, their use may be regulated through the Sustainable Forest Man-agement (SFM) criteria and will also

have to address the issue of Indirect Land Use Change.

In 2015, the Council also formally adopted the conclusions of the Eu-ropean Forest Management Strategy (EUFS), underlining that the Lisbon Treaty does not recognize an EU-wide responsibility for forest management, and leaves the main responsibility to the Member States. However, as for-ests are a vital part of energy, climate, environment and other European pol-icies, the council recognized that the EUFS will provide synergies and coher-ence with these areas.

In order to manage forests through a holistic approach, the EUFS seeks to in-corporate all aspects of the forest val-ue chain by not limiting itself purely to forests. Therefore, it not only addresses key issues like rural development and biodiversity, but stresses the impor-tance of forests in terms of the forest based industries, bio-energy and cli-mate change mitigation. The primacy given toward Sustainable Forest Man-

agement (SFM) underlines multifunc-tional nature of forests, as they provide economic, social and environmental goods. By enabling the incorporation of national forest policies, the new For-estry Strategy attempts to address the differences in forests across the EU.

To draw up the criteria for SFM, the Commission has instituted a Working Group to set relevant, clear, and meas-urable indicators to achieve the 2020 goals set out in the EUFS. The Working Group will also facilitate data gathering and develop approaches and tools to ensure that the principles of SFM are widely spread. The results of the Work-ing Group are expected in the sum-mer of 2015, and the ELO, providing in-put as one of the main forest owners’ representatives in Brussels will defend the interest of its members and ensure that the solutions delivered are both sustainable and do not impact nega-tively on the forest owners’ business case.

Although the new EUFS represents an

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effective new approach to deal with contemporary issues, there have been a few points of concern throughout its development. The communication on the new EUFS discusses further developing the cascade principle for the forest sector. This principle, which has been effectively implemented to ensure efficiency in agriculture, would prioritize a cascading set of uses for wood materials. While this principle has served agriculture well, it would interfere with free market principles, thereby severely minimizing the bar-gaining position of foresters across the EU.

Making this principle legally binding would also drastically increase the bu-reaucratic and administrative burdens already faced by foresters. The ELO

continues to argue against the adop-tion of this principle in the appropriate forums.

The most important tool, currently available, for the funding of forests at EU level is the Rural Development Policy (RDP) 2014-2020. Given the his-torically low uptake in RDP funds for forests, the ELO will be following the implementation of the new RDP in or-der to incentivize more interest in the funds made available.

Finally, the proposed ReFIT exercise of the Birds and Habitats Directives may have a great impact on European for-estry. As more than half of all Natura 2000 sites are located in forests, this is another important process that is very much under the ELO’s purview which

we will monitor and contribute to sub-stantially in the coming year.

The aforementioned initiatives and activities, which the ELO monitors and contributes to, represent the core issues that currently dominate the ELO’s forestry dossier at the EU level. Nevertheless, there are a number of other forest-relevant initiatives, such as the 7th EU Environmental Action Plan, Green Infrastructure and Restoration, the mapping and assessing of eco-sys-tem services, the No Net Loss Initiative, the Invasive Alien Species Regulation, the Guidance document on Forest and Natura 2000, the bio-geograph-ical process and many more, that the ELO monitors and from which you can expect to hear.

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2014 was a transitional period in terms of environmental legislation, with the appointment of the new European Commissioner for Environment, Mar-itime Affairs and Fisheries Karmenu VELLA and the announcement of the Regulatory Fitness and Performance programme (REFIT) which will lead to the possible review of the Birds and Habitats Directives. The European Commission launched a questionnaire addressed to EU stakeholders organ-ization early 2015 and is expected to launch a public consultation in the spring of 2015. A high level conference is planned end of September. The ELO policy group is closely following the file. The findings of this exercise will serve as a basis for drawing policy con-clusions on how well EU policies have been performing and feed into possi-ble consideration on the future of the relevant regulatory framework.

However, the ELO made sure to be present and defend its members’ in-terest on several issues directly linked to the implementation of the EU Bio-diversity Strategy. It welcomed with interest at the beginning of the year the European Commission handbook on financing Natura 2000 in 2014-2020 giving the opportunity to understand better the EU financing opportunities.

Via working groups and conferences, the ELO was involved on biodiversity related aspects such as the topic of ‘land as a resource’ with the partici-pation at the conference which took place on Thursday 19 June 2014 in Brussels on the Mapping and Assess-ing Ecosystems and their Services (MAES). MAES is part of the European Commission’s commitment to protect-ing biodiversity through the widening of knowledge basis and deepening of data resources. Finally, the ELO was in-volved in the No Net Loss’ discussions. This issue has been brought to the at-tention of the ELO’s members before the ELO gave its answer to the Com-missions consultation.

ELO was also invited to take part to the Nature Directors meeting in Athens, 24-25 April 2014 and in Rome on the 24-27 November. Most of the discus-sions were focusing on financing the delivery of the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2020, and more specifically the imple-mentation of Target 1 and Target 2, the Cultural landscape, and the Fitness Check of the Nature legislations. The ELO, in collaboration with the Natu-ra 2000 Users Forum, presented the landowners/users viewpoints, best practices, and the need to associate stakeholders at the early stage of the processes.

The ELO was also in a position to exchange experience on the bio-geographical processes (manage-ment). Indeed, Natura 2000 seminars at the biogeographical level still con-tinued in 2014 with the participation of Member States representatives, and the Natura 2000 user’s forum with the ELO as key expert. The Mediterranean biogeographical seminar took place in May 2014 and other seminars for Continental, Pannonian, Steppic and Black Sea Regions are foreseen in 2015. These seminars aim is to improve and strengthen the implementation of Natura 2000 and ensure progress to-

wards key EU 2020 Biodiversity Strate-gy targets. A series of sensitive issues are at stake such as non-intervention management, threshold of activities, integration versus segregation or mul-tifunctionality, sustainable forest man-agement (SFM), forest management plans and Natura 2000 management plans, conservation objectives, conser-vation measures etc.

A new Regulation on invasive alien species was published on the 4th of November 2014 and entered into force on the 1st January 2015. The ELO was involved at an early stage in the draft-ing of this new piece of legislation and organised meetings on the thematic as well as met MEPs and European Commission representatives.

The ELO also closely followed the elab-oration of the European Commission Guidance document on Forest and Natura 2000 and has been a member of the writing group. It aims is to pro-vide clarification and guidance for ad-ministrations and managers. The EC is solely responsible for the final version which will be available first quarter of 2015 and some interpretations are still worrying our type of organisations, such as the inclusion of a Natura 2000

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management plan. A major event took place on the 10th June 2014, when the ELO, together with 8 other stakeholder associations, signed an agreement to launch The EU Platform on Coexistence between People and Large Carnivores the ELO agreed to co-chair with the EC. The platform aims at supporting the exchange of ideas and best practices between conservation-ists, hunters, landowners and scientists on Large Carnivores management. The seven stakeholder associations signing the platform agreement were: CIC – The International Council for Game and Wildlife Conservation; Copa-Co-geca – European Farmers and Europe-an Agri-cooperatives; ELO - European Landowners’ Organization; EUROPARC Federation; FACE – The European Fed-eration of Associations for Hunting & Conservation; Joint representative of Finnish and Swedish reindeer herders; IUCN – The International Union for Conservation of Nature, European Un-ion Representative Office; and WWF –

World Wide Fund for Nature, European Policy Office. Copa-Cogeca decided to resign from the platform early 2015.

Europe’s brown bear, wolf, wolverine, and lynx – all of these have suffered dramatic declines in numbers and distribution. However, increasing pro-tection and public awareness about their vital role in sustaining healthy ecosystems have caused many pop-ulations to stabilize or increase in size. Now, they are gradually returning to the areas they had been absent from for decades or even centuries, which leads to additional local difficulties for farmers and managers

The Platform will hold one annu-al meeting and organize additional workshops on selected topics in 2015. It is supported by a webpage and a monthly bulletin that will serve as the main tool to disseminate informa-tion on the activities of the platform, identify good practices in the form of

documents or a manual, and act as a gateway to the portals of the member organisations

Finally, the ELO annual Biodiversity Conference has been organised on the 8th December in Brussels under the thematic of climate change. For-mer Commissioner POTOČNIK gave the keynote speech and addressed the important aspect of sustainable resources management.

The ELO maintained its project driven implication via its participation to the first Annual EU Business and Biodiver-sity Conference. The EU Business @ Biodiversity Platform was launched in 2008 and now counts over 170 organ-isations, of which the ELO is one. This event marks the start of Phase 2, which engages businesses of all sectors to-wards specific work streams and tan-gible results.

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Over the past year and a half, the Eu-ropean Union has shown increased support to integrate the concept of innovation into European policy. In 2013, the European Commission set up the European Innovation Partnership (EIP) which is acting “across the whole research and innovation chain, bring-ing together all relevant actors at EU, national and regional levels in order to: (i) step up research and development efforts; (ii) coordinate investments in demonstration and pilots; (iii) antici-pate and fast-track any necessary reg-ulation and standards; and (iv) mobilise ‘demand’ in particular through better coordinated public procurement to ensure that any breakthroughs are quickly brought to market”. This is in addition to the Horizon 2020 pro-gramme, which is the biggest EU Re-search and Innovation programme ever with nearly €80 billion of funding available over 7 years (2014 to 2020). Horizon 2020 is the financial instru-ment implementing the Innovation Union, a Europe 2020 flagship initia-tive aimed at securing Europe’s global competitiveness.

After the elections at the European Parliament and the new Juncker Com-mission, it has been decided to not re-new the independent scientific board of the President of the Commission, which was led for the past 5 years by Professor Anne GLOVER. This decision came after the comments made by Prof. Glover caused controversial dis-cussions that questioned the scientific independence of the Bureau.

As the Bureau’s role was to advise the president of the European Commis-sion about science-based issues such as the interpretation of scientific re-sults on Genetically Modified Organ-isms, endocrine disruptors in food and beauty care products that may affect human health, the new Commission felt it was better not to renew her

Agricultural Innovation

mandate and possibly to review the structure of this advisory group.

For the agricultural sector, the word in-novation not only refers to new tech-nologies and mechanic modernisation of a farm, but also to the way society and the countryside are rethinking agricultural production and the devel-opment of the rural landscape. A farm nowadays not only produces crops and livestock, but also establishes bi-ogas plants, dedicates some areas to biodiversity conservation and natural habitat to address the ecological con-

cerns of the society. This new spread model of income generation and busi-ness cases is part of the drive of the 21st century land managers to innovate his or her farm and forestry operation. The ELO believes that support for innova-tion should thus not only be awarded to technological advances, but also to these new farm models and practices.

However, the ability to innovate, es-pecially on-farm is contingent on the finding of investment and funding. Changing land management opera-tions to a more sustainable model is of-

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ten a high-cost, long-term investment, and the delivery of cash-flow mecha-nisms that enable capital investment can still be unstable. The use of longer-term contracts with crop traders or crushing companies that bind farmers to four-year delivery contracts at a set price is an option, but the use of the open market, where price fluctua-tions provide possible higher margins but also greater downsides are by far the commonality. On Europe’s farms, the question of investment vs. repay-ment scheduling and the provision of incomes not only for the farm but often for his or her personnel remains a question. The delivery of innovative tools with capital outlays takes place when the upsides of such a propos-al are attractive enough to dedicate deep investment to these, or when the burden of regulation, market forces, or other factors becomes too high that investment in innovation becomes a necessity.

In any such endeavour, however, in-vesting and innovating also means risking failure, and this is where the scientific communities and the institu-tional bodies should join forces in or-der to offer an attractive environment to any innovative entity willing to take risk. As investment and innovation in-herently come with a measure of risk, Europe should accept that this is the proper measure by which to regulate and weigh existing legislation, not only for the countryside business case, but also for new tools and technolo-gies that can make a positive impact in the market. Risk/benefit analyses should thus be a standard part of the decision-making process, as well as a thorough understanding of current practice by decision makers.

But innovation means adapting the current economic model to tomor-row’s reality. Over the last five years, the European Commission has put

great effort in delivering a concrete concept of Circular Economy in order to encourage a review of the current economic model, quantifying the economic benefits of circular business models and lays out pathways for ac-tion. It puts emphasis on the urgent need to recycle waste, make an effi-cient use of available resources and reduce certain types of energies such as fossil fuel. This model is to ensure enhanced flows of goods and servic-es and the European Commission has shown, from a regulatory point of view a final proposal in 2014 to implement the concept. This concept would cer-tainly give space, in Europe, to more innovation and answer to many of to-day’s environmental challenges.

Innovation in the agricultural sector has proven to be harder to be accept-ed by the larger European community. The values attached to the production models, and to food in Europe, are closely related to tradition and nation-al identity and culture, and European are rightly proud of these values but this also breeds an innate conserva-tism and resistance to change. The deep-seated feelings towards the food supply and the European countryside are challenged due to the ever chang-ing and internationalisation of Europe’s society, but also by the increasing gap between producer and consumer. The reaction is to refute innovation and de-sire to main ‘what is good’. This is one of the root causes why the development of agricultural innovation is resisted in Europe. Furthermore, there is a definite need to demonstrate the added value of innovative products to Europe’s citi-zens; the failure to communicate these by industry and farmers has in the past led to a lack of public support.

To correct such perceptions, Europe’s farmers and forester need to be more open to communicating about their daily practice. The concept of open

farm days is growing in Europe, and every effort should be made to ex-pand these. However, we should be honest on such days: show not only the ‘postcard’ side of modern farming but demonstrate how these enterprises really work – only this can lead to mutual understanding. Through the various networks and meetings organised by ELO, a strong emphasis is put within the ELO mem-bers to share best farming practices.

A similar approach is needed at the innovative level; universities and scien-tists must learn to communicate their research with the larger society and demonstrate their efforts and com-municate openly; not only about the positive aspects, but about associated risk and threats as well. All stakeholders benefit from having access to a broad spectrum of quality information, and ignorance only breeds fear of the un-known.

ELO therefore hope and wishes to see continued effort of the EU institutions in bridging the multi-disciplinary ap-proach of innovation in agriculture over the coming year. The ELO be-lieves that the sustainable intensifica-tion of agriculture and the increase of knowledge per hectare in all facets; precision farming, machinery, crop protection, best practices and envi-ronmental protection provides the best way forward. To demonstrate the practical application of sustainable in-tensification, the ELO has given strong support to the RISE publication on this topic in 2014, and will continue to do so in the future.

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Nearly all forms of European agricul-ture depend in some measure on the effective and safe use of crop protec-tion tools to combat pests, diseases, and weeds. This is not just done to ensure that crop losses are kept to a minimum, but also with the vital ob-jective of securing a safe food supply for global consumption. However, the vast majority of these products have achieved a negative reputation throughout Europe.

The reputation of crop protection products, the choice between risk and hazard-based regulation and the colli-sion between agriculture and environ-ment came to a high in 2014 with the debate on the use of neonicotinoids – a seed coating that is held respon-sible for large-scale pollinator losses. To the detriment of both sides of this argument, one of the major tools used during the year was the undermining of scientific, peer-reviewed sources of information on the complex nature of pollinator losses. In doing so, trust in the scientific method was undermined right at a time when scientific literacy is desperately needed to combat hy-perbole. At the end of the current two year ban on neonicotinoids, Europe will have more information about the

role these products have played, and what the best way forward will be on the long term.

While the ELO acknowledges that crop protection products may play a contributory role in affecting biodi-versity, we argued that for pollinators the more relevant solutions should be sought in the restoration of habitats and year-round feeding spaces in the agricultural landscape. With the gradu-al loss of field margins, hedgerows and other structures, the spaces available for this group have steadily been with-drawn. Through our projects such as the Pollinator Network initiative (PNi) and Wildlife Estates, the ELO hopes to educate and assist land managers in the (re-)introduction and maintenance of such spaces as part of a trade-off where farmers can maintain the use of crop protection products in the high-yield areas while providing vital habi-tats for biodiversity in the margins or less-productive areas.

A further debate that will remain con-troversial in the new CAP is whether or not pesticides and herbicides may be used in the new Ecological Focus Areas that are part of the Greening Measures. After long debate, the Com-

mission has decided to allow Member States to decide individually.

In the coming year, endocrine disrup-tion and its causes will take centre stage in the debate on crop protec-tion products. For Europe’s farmers, the use of the azole family of prod-ucts to combat fungal infections is a vital component on delivering safe and abundant wheat and other crops. Without this class of products, which could be regulated under endocrine disruption classifications being drawn up by the Commission, land managers would be left with very few tools to combat these threats, and those that do remain are highly susceptible to the development of resistance problems.

The use of crop protection products will always remain a controversial sub-ject that will attract highly charged debates over their uses and effects. Europe must recognise, though, that their use is essential for its safe food supplies. While all care must be taken in their use and development, and many regulatory checks are already in place, there are no sensible alternatives that could wholly replace these neces-sary tools.

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On 24th of October EU 28th Member states leaders agreed the main points of the 2030 Climate and Energy Frame-work, based on the European Com-mission Communication from 22nd January. The endorsed objectives in-clude a binding EU target of 40% less greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, compared to 1990 and a target of at least 27% renewable energy con-sumption. Concerning the EU emis-sions trading system (EU ETS) reform, the EC proposes to establish a market stability reserve at the beginning of the next ETS trading period in 2021.

Being an active member of the UN-FCCC (United Nation Framework Con-vention on Climate Change) the EU is furthermore leading global Climate

Change talks aiming for the success at the COP21 – UN conference in Paris in December 2015. The U.S.- China bi-lateral agreement on Climate Change and Clean Energy cooperation, signed in November, and world leaders meeting in Lima in December during COP20 to discuss the post-Kyoto II agreement for reducing global emissions after 2020, are steps in right direction, but the long term commitments are still ahead of the global community.

As pointed out by Dr Rajendra PACHAURI, Chair of the Intergovern-mental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), in November in the European Parliament, energy and agriculture sectors are on top of main sources of emissions and should be tackled in

priority, and even if there have been effective steps keeping forestry and other land use sector under control there is still work to be done. After the presentation of this IPCC report, Miguel Arias CANETE, new EU Climate Action and Energy Commissioner, de-clared: “The science is clear. The time to act is now”.

The ELO is aware of these challenges, and continues to closely follow inter-national process as climate change poses a profound challenge to agricul-ture and rural development sectors. We welcome such initiatives as the Cli-mate Summit 2014 aiming to catalyse action by governments together with private business, finance, industry and civil society to build solid foundation for the successful implementation of future climate agreements.

To furnish examples and better ex-plain that land managers should be recognised and rewarded for the pos-itive environmental effects provided by good practices such as carbon sequestration, erosion control, water filtration and storage; the ELO is plan-ning an active participation in COP21. Landowners and land managers are a major sector who can deliver adapta-tion as regards food, forestry and bi-odiversity, but this is only practicable within a low range of climate change.

The ELO continues to follow the Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forest-ry (LULUCF) and other discussions, and plans to attend meetings and follow works of the EP Intergroups, confirmed in December 2014, such as “Climate Change, Sustainable De-velopment and Biodiversity” or “Rural, Mountains and Remote Areas”. We continue to take part in works of the Advisory Group on Energy and Non-Food Crops, from July being replaced by new civil dialogue groups (CDG), in-cluding the Environment and climate change group.

Climate Change

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The ELO is working in partnership with several key organisations from the private building sector on several priorities which were at the agenda in 2014:

n Commission Climate and Energy 2030 Package

In this Communication, the Commis-sion has issued its policy framework for climate and energy in the period from 2020 to 2030. There are plans for a 2030 40% GHG emission reduction target and a renewables target of 27%, but no specific energy efficiency targets for real estate are pending.

The Coalition drafted a response in March 2014 to the 2030 Green Paper and argued for “a legally binding over-all target for energy efficiency/intensity” but “no more detailed energy efficiency building or renovation requirements”. This was restated during the meeting that ELO and other Coalition’s mem-ber had with Commissioner for Energy OETTINGER in July 2014.

Following this meeting, the coalition was asked to send its comments on a future observatory of the building stock aimed at enhancing the Com-mission’s knowledge on the building stock in the context of energy effi-ciency policies. The partners mainly addressed several missing points such as the national differences in calcu-lating floor area, the need to specify what falls under tenure status (without forgetting co-ownership), the need to factor the renovation of the old building stock in identifying the age profile of the stock, the extension/specification of the questions related to investment and financial schemes and others.

The European Building Owners will continue to be vigilant on this issue as they have seats in the Resource Ef-ficiency Expert Group form DG energy.

n Revision of the Energy Efficiency Directive

In December 2014, the ELO, together with the Coalitions’ Members, ad-dressed a letter to the EC’s head of Unit of Energy efficiency entitled “Next Phase of EU Energy Efficiency Policy for Buildings”. This paper states some of the major issues that the coalition has foreseen concerning the review of the provisions of the Energy Perfor-mance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) on measures to ensure minimum energy performance requirements, scale of renovation, financial incentives and certification as well as overlap with other directives. Through this letter, the Coalition wishes to be involved in the drafting of the terms of reference in the call for tenders for Impact As-sessment consultants as it believes that its experts can contribute usefully to the Commission’s work on this issue.

n European Parliament and Sustainable Buildings

The Coalition has been involved in the sustainable building consultation which has been published by the Commission in 2013.

This consultation has been followed by the publication of the Communica-tion on sustainable buildings entitled “ resource efficiency opportunities in the building sector” published in July 2014 and will be also subject to a re-port at the European Parliament. The Coalition is foreseen to have a meeting with the EP rapporteur in 2015.

n EU Economic Governance Planning Reform

Several meetings were organised to formalise position papers on the hous-

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ing rental market in some countries as Denmark, Portugal and Romania.

This work was made in the context of Commission DG ECFIN Memorandum of Understanding on Specific Eco-nomic Conditionality for Financial As-sistance which is working on the mon-itoring and follow-up of housing rental market reforms. The Coalition met the Commission in several occasion on this subject for example in June on the Portuguese paper, with the special participation of the President of the Portuguese Historic Houses Associa-tion. Questions as the increase in prop-

erty tax or the shadow economy in the rental market were at the heart of the discussions.

The Coalition will continue to work on this issue as two new reports on the rental market situation will be drafted for France and Austria in 2015.

n ELO participation to the European Housing Forum (EHF)

The EHF is the informal platform gath-ering representative organisations of

the entire housing sector in order to share their expertise and raise the is-sues that this sector faces towards the EU institutions. The EHF currently has 15 members, among them ELO. With four meetings this year, the European Housing Forum actively worked on the renewal of the Housing Intergroup in the new elected Parlement but also dealt with various subjects such as the New Investment Plan and the Energy Union plan of the European Commis-sion.

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The Wildlife Estates (WE) Label recognises exemplary estates that voluntarily agree to adhere to the philosophy of wildlife management and sustainable land use.

All labelled estates are fundamentally united in their goals to preserve and enhance their natural, cultural and social environment. Since its begin-ning, the project has gone beyond expectations, and ensured that the WE Label keeps expanding and improv-ing. Currently, the WE Label is pres-ent in 17 European countries, with 13 national delegations that assess the quality of the estates in each of these countries. In total, there are now more than 150 labelled estates, covering about 1,000,000 hectares in all Euro-pean biogeographic regions. The sizes of labelled estates range from small, holdings a few tens of hectares, to big estates covering tens of thousands of hectares. The ELO believes that the WE Label is an excellent tool for taking the next step, where conservation meth-

ods work for biodiversity, for business, and for owners and managers.

2014, ANOTHER EVENTFUL YEAR FOR THE PROJECT

Scientific Committee continues its work

The second meeting of the WE Sci-entific Committee took place in Paris on February 28, 2014. Reflecting their continued support, the Sommer Foun-dation welcomed the members of the committee for the one day meeting which focused on the adaptation of the Wildlife Estates methodology in each country and the support that experts will give to the national dele-gations in this process. Following the ongoing discussions the ELO has had with DG Environment it was also de-cided to create an annex dedicated to Natura 2000 to be filled in by the eval-uators. The Wildlife Estates Label was also presented during the EC Nature Directors Meeting and the Member

Representatives showed considerable interest for the project.

Plenary Session, Holkham, UK

On September 2nd-4th the WE annual Plenary Session took place at Holkham Estate, currently the only WE Labelled estate in England. It was one of the most successful WE Plenary Sessions ever. A total of 65 delegates were present and this included 30 English, for whom most this was their first at-tendance to an ELO or a WE event. The meeting represented an important step in WE history towards establish-ing an English national delegation. This event was also a great opportu-nity for an exchange of views on im-portant issues, such as recognition of the work carried out by the members, better links between the WE Label and European legislation on nature protec-tion, how to introduce coherence in the WE methodology as regards the completion of questionnaires and oth-er subjects.

The Wildlife Estates Label

Left to right: Gustav Hagemann von Levachoff, Hans Wachtmeister, Mrs. Carl Hans Wachtmeister, Mr. Carl Hans Wachtmeister, Pia Buccela, Mr. Hans Wachtmeister, Thierrry de l’Escaille

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After the Plenary Session, the sec-ond WE Steering Committee meeting of the year took place, where the new COO, Konstantin KOSTOPOULOS, was introduced to the national delegates.

As result of the Plenary Session in UK, the CLA (the ELO’s English member) decided to organize an English work-ing group to establish the project in England as well.

Other WE events, activities

The WE Secretariat presented the proj-ect on many occasions during the year, such as the Finish WE workshop on “Why join the WE network, what does it bring to an estate?” organized by the Finish national delegation in Novem-ber or the Eurosite Sustainable Wild-life Management workshop: on inte-grating hunting practices with nature conservation planning organized in England in the course of the year.

New countries

The WE Label continued to expand into new Member States during 2014 as well. As part of this process a new pilot estate was visited by the WE Sec-retariat in Bulgaria and a new national delegation was formed in Romania.

The Belgian delegation has been tak-ing over by the Fondation Wallonne pour la Conservation de Habitats. The agronomist Patrick MIEL will be in charge of evaluating the new terri-tories in 2015 and to consult the WE National Committee composed of the Belgian Wallonia administration and key stakeholders on the conservation field.

Launch of the new website

After the WE Steering Committee’s decision on April 2, 2014 Brussels, the WE Secretariat created and launched a new, modern, user-friendly website for the project. This new website will be the cornerstone of WE communi-cation activities.

Activities planned for 2015

The COO of Wildlife Estates, Konstantin KOSTOPOULOS has been invited by the European Commission to present the project during the Coordination Group for Biodiversity and Nature (CGBN). The main objective for the WE will be to raise awareness on the proj-ect’ advantages for the administration to the national representatives who have seats in this working group and who are responsible for implementing

the EU nature legislations in the EU member states

The WE Secretariat initiated the first WE Evaluator Training session to ed-ucate evaluators who will be able to support applicants filling out the WE questionnaire and objectively assess their eligibility. The first training ses-sion will be organized on April 2-3, 2015 in Brussels.

The WE Secretariat will enlarge its activ-ities to Poland in order to facilitate the creation of a Polish national delegation. As a first step a local workshop will be organized in early May, 2015 to intro-duce the project to the wider public.

The WE Secretariat will continue its efforts to support the national dele-gations in their communication and dissemination activities with preparing tools adaptable to local languages.

For more information concerning the project please contact the WE Secretariat or visit the project’s web-site at www.wildlife-estates.eu

The next WE Plenary Session will take place in Spain in September 2015 from 14th to 16th September.

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Pollinators Network initiative

The ELO and the Members of the FCS, together with Syngen-ta, continued its efforts in 2014 to raise awareness about the importance of multifunctional field margins in the preservation of farm biodiversity.

Syngenta expert, Geoff COATES visited two interested estates in Belgium during the year and gave guidance on how to implement multifunctional field margins. As a result of his visit flowering field margins were created in both locations.

The partners will continue their efforts in 2015 to develop a network of farmers and land managers acting for biodiversity and willing to use field margins as a “bed” of plants as their field border. These can be particularly adapted for pollination as well as to develop a comprehensive database of existing field margins in the PNi network.

Konstantin Kostopoulos, WE COO At the Holkham Plenary Session

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After 52 months of hard work, obtain-ing permits, educating guides, placing panels, restoring ponds, creating dry and wet heath, shaping bittern breed-ing islands, guiding interested groups, an opening and a closing conference, 44 visits to events and many other activities, the LIFE+ 3watEr project is being wrapped up. The after-LIFE care for the project will continue for at least another 20 years however, with all partners having signed a commitment to do so.

The LIFE+ 3watEr project, located in near Hasselt in the larger Wijers nature area, got its start, broadly speaking, through the long-term problematic re-lationships between private landown-ers and economic actors on the one hand, and nature protection organi-sations on the other. Private landown-ers in the area had long voiced their opposition to increasing regulations, which they had perceived as restrict-ing their ability to use their property for economic gain as well as rural and traditional activities such as hunting. Besides social issues, ecological issues

included a long-term lack of care for the traditional pond systems in the area, which had mostly been caused through poor incoming water quality, lack of use as traditional fish-farming activities became unprofitable or left the area. Due to these factors, many of these ponds had become overgrown or filled with tree and shrub species, making it difficult for water birds such as the Bittern to find suitable habitat and procreate.

The overall objectives of the project were twofold; both the restoration of the 3watEr project area, including tra-ditional ponds and oligotrophic wa-ters, wet and dry heather, and the ex-pansion of educational activities and

opportunities throughout the project area. The ecological and educational actions in the project have all been de-signed with economic use in mind – allowing landowners to be financially viable as well as economically respon-sible, with forestry and fish farming forming a long-standing economic staple of the area.

Specific terrain objectives are the res-toration of the ecohydrological regime in the area, restoration of the tradition-al ‘open landscape’ in the area, resto-ration of the mesotrophic ponds, type 3130, and the Bittern habitat, reduction of fox and marten predation on Bittern nests through the creation of islands in the 3watEr pond area, restoration of additional foraging habitats for the bittern, restoration of the aquatic breeding habitats for the tree frog, res-toration of the land habitat of the tree frog, restoration rare bank vegetation, restoration of wet heathland, and res-toration of dry heathlands.

Remaining threats to the area includ-ed the deterioration and alteration of hydrological conditions and inade-quate water management, fragmen-tation of habitats, re- and afforestation which threatens mesotrophic and oli-gotrophic ponds and dry heathland, as well as a reduction in quality of wet

The LIFE+ 3watEr project

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Tree Frog (Hyla arborea)

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heathland and a significant growth of local predator populations such as fox and marten, which threaten local bird populations such as the bittern by pre-dating on nests.

Socio-economic improvements in-clude the expansion of local tourism opportunities through improved eco-systems, especially with regards to bird watchers. Local camping (especially the Heidestrand site in the heart of the project) benefits greatly from the pro-ject. Fish-farming will continue in the region, due to its inclusion in the pro-ject, which will maintain local labour in the area.

In total, the project has protected 85,2 ha of oligo- to mesotrophic standing waters (3110-3130), 6.3ha of Northern Atlantic wet heath (4010), 23,7ha of Eu-ropean dry heath (4030), and 42.9 ha of hydrophilous tall herb fringe communi-ties of plains (6430). These are expected to be maintained in favourable status.

We have already seen a large increase in the resident population of tree frogs, and as they are independently expanding to the new pools created under the project, it can be expect-ed that this population continues to grow. The monitoring report has con-firmed almost 500 calling males over 17 ponds, and we can assume that

this population continues to grow. The number of pools where tree frogs are confirmed to be successfully breeding has grown from 12 to 17, an increase from 39% to 50% success. The moni-toring report also notes a high tempo expansion by geographic area.

The outlook for the bittern is pro-gressive. In 2013 seven (or possibly 8) calling males were recorded by the independent monitoring done by ABO consulting as part of action E. However, a lack of good breeding sites and feed sources still pose prob-lems for the bitterns. The partners are committed to solving these problems through the further adaptation of the breeding islands and by re-stocking the ponds in the coming seasons with better-adapted fish species.

For vegetation, the independent mon-itoring report shows that the dry heath in particular is doing well, especially on the properties of the private land-owners where the thinning of the pine forest and scraping off of nutrient top-soil has created drastic improvements. The development of wet heath is not as well-progressed, but the monitor-ing and partners are confident that the full development will take place in time. For the rare species found in Oli-gotrophic to mesotrophic waters (type 3130), the results for partners OVML

and ANB are positive; seedlings of the appropriate types have been found. The results on the properties of ANB are deemed especially positive. The monitoring report notes with satisfac-tion that 3130 is already on present on relatively many ponds, and has already developed very well in some places.

Future actions include a restoration of the upstream water flow to improve its quality. In a program that will like-ly start in 2015, project partner ANB will implement a serpentine reed bed system that will act as a natural water filtration system. The improvement of water quality will have a positive impact on all the terrain actions per-formed by the project. The educa-tional tools developed by the project such as the educational package for schools, the documentary, and the training of the Wijers-Guides (local volunteers trained by the project who can be asked to accompany walks in the area) will help ensure that existing and coming generations will know the area and its challenges much better – this will greatly help with public ac-ceptance.

To maintain the financial support of the After-LIFE of the project, the new legislative structure for nature funding in Flanders will give equal access to pri-vate landowners and terrain-owning nature organisations, this new structure will greatly help the participating land-owners acquire the funding needed to maintain the works done by the project.

This project is supported by the Euro-pean Commission Directorate-General Environment under the LIFE+ Nature Program (grant agreement no. LIFE08

NAT/B/000036)

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While the adoption of the European Landscape Convention (ELC, 2000) has attracted much attention from the sciences, policy makers and the gen-eral public, cultural landscapes are in need of further action to ensure their continued existence. With this in mind, the HERCULES project brings together 13 partners from European Univer-sities and research institutes, small and medium-sized enterprises and

non-governmental organisations for 3 years to develop a holistic approach that incorporates diverse stakeholder perspectives to appropriately address landscape changes that may threat-en the ability of cultural landscapes to continue to deliver the many services they provide, emphasizing the need for effective and holistic safeguards.

Stakeholder engagement is one of the project’s cornerstones

One of the most important objectives of HERCULES is to link research with practice while making everyone more aware of the importance of cultural

landscapes; not only in terms of social well-being, but also of economic and ecological rural prosperity. The proj-ect’s vision is to identify local needs for landscape management and to pro-vide a forum for general exchange on findings developed by its researchers. The engagement activities take place at several levels; worldwide through internet based communication chan-nels, EU and local level through series of events, to bring together different stakeholders, including policy makers, farmers, practitioners, scientists, NGOs and industry.

Sustainable Futures for Europe’s Heritage in Cultural Landscapes (HERCULES): Tools for understanding, managing, and protecting landscape functions and values

Local workshop in Rupsi village, Estonia on Linkages between landscape and cultural heritage preservation in Kodavere

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The ELO’s role in HERCULES

During the project’s first year the ELO supported the organisation of sever-al local workshops (in Spain, Estonia, Greece, France and the UK) and or-ganized an EU level workshop enti-tled “European Cultural Landscapes at a Crossroads”. The workshop pointed out that we must as a society integrate landscape considerations in the econ-omy, in the interest of the communi-ty so that local people will support landscape policy. Quality landscapes should not be just an accidental out-put or a protected bubble, but rather an aim in the agenda of all actors at different levels.

As leader on communication, dis-semination activities and policy rec-ommendation the ELO developed numerous online and printed com-

munication tools, such as the project’s website, leaflet and the Cultural Land-scapes Blog, that seeks to highlight research, to engage practitioners from the field, to showcase best practices, and contribute to discussions, to reach different stakeholders.

In 2015 additional local workshops and EU level workshop are foreseen to identify the research and policy needs. HERCULES will be presented during the 8th FFA and partners have been invited to share the first outcomes during the 2015 Green Week.

Knowledge Hub – a repository of spatial data paired with web-based GIS application

The Knowledge Hub is a major com-ponent of HERCULES that allows its

users to access, use, archive, share and distribute the data produced through-out the study. By being freely accessi-ble to all, the Knowledge Hub enables anyone to contribute their own data and ideas, which can be fused with ex-isting models and results for new and innovative approaches to landscape management.The ELO and the project partners are dedicated to collect good landscape management practices.

For further information on the project please visit www.hercules-landscapes.eu or write to info@hercules-landscapes.eu

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“This project has received funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement no 603447.” FP7, Collaborative Project, 1 December 2013 – 30 November 2016

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AR 2014 – EVENTS - FFA 2014: How to sustainably produce more with less

and trade better

Building on a rich six year history of free and open debates on the future of agriculture, the annual Forum for Ag-riculture (FFA) returned to Brussels on Tuesday April 1st. FFA2014 continued to be the premier meeting place for those who have a stake in the future of agriculture

Two thoughtful keynote addresses

During his opening address, Pascal LAMY, the honorary president of the Notre Europe Jacques Delors Institute and former Director General of the World Trade Organisation, highlighted two main trends in the trade dimen-sion of today agriculture, firstly quanti-tative and secondly qualitative.

First, the quantitative growth of the global farm trade, which reached one trillion euro, derives from the growth of the world population and the chang-ing diet of a growing middle class that looks for meat, vegetables, and fruit. This new middle class will reach five billion by 2030. Second, Mr. LAMY identified the qualitative change as “what society expects from it food, sup-posing a higher food safety process”.

The changing challenges of open-ing markets face different challenges from the classic tariff and subsidies

obstacles, but rather one based on precaution and consumer protection. This means that we must engage with issues beyond pure science, such as opposition to GM technology. To cope with these challenges, Mr. LAMY pro-posed a new model of negotiating trade deals. Finally, he claimed that the WTO was no longer equipped to han-dle negotiations based on regulatory and quality burdens of the food trade, and that a renewed WTO mandate could ensure further convergence of regulatory differences.

Taking a different approach, the sec-ond keynote was given by Olivier DE SCHUTTER, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, explained why agro-ecology may be the solution of the main issues of 21st century agriculture. According to him, trade could not satisfy food supply by itself as the preceding policies that favoured large-scale farming had made poor countries ever more dependent on imports as not enough was done to support local production, making local populations even more dependent on imports. Mr. DE SCHUTTER proposed instead to support countries’ ability to

feed themselves and to increase sup-port small farmers, which would both alleviate poverty and increase food supplies.

Secondly, the UN Rapporteur identi-fied a need for a greater emphasis on nutrition. A narrow range of commod-ities, more processed foods and sed-entary lifestyles were leading to health issues like obesity. The coupling of ag-ricultural growth and health problems could be undone through shorter pro-duction chains and more diverse pro-duction. Finally, Mr. DE SCHUTTER stated that agro-ecology is not a form of return to the past but a 21st century- science which will help to reach smart-er agriculture.

Session 1: Environment – Land Use and Natural Resources in EU Policies

This session brought together an inter-national panel to discuss the way the European Union regulates resources, and were put into perspective by in-ternational speakers.

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Former European Commissioner for Environment Janez POTOČNIK intro-duced the first session, stating that it was imperative that agricultural stake-holders halted soil degradation, and that renewed intensification was fully dependent on its sustainability. He fur-ther identified food waste as a major issue, with Europe wasting one-third of all food produced. Without vastly reducing waste, it would be impossi-ble to work on sustainable production.

Responding to the Commissioner, four panellists next to the stage.. First Juergen VOEGELE, Director of Agricul-ture and Environmental Services at the World Bank, made clear that we are far from having a sustainable agricultural system, especially outside Europe and so investment in agricultural research was urgently needed.

From the farmers’ perspective, Michael zu SALM-SALM, President of the German Landowners’ Association, stated that local land managers were best placed to provide solutions rath-er than Brussels-based policy makers,

especially with regards to a proposed Soil Directive. In his view, local and re-gional actor would be better placed to deal with the huge variety of different soil and places.

The environmentalist Ignace SCHOPS, Director of Regionaal Landschap Kempen en Maasland, from Belgium warned the farm world about losing of connections with society. He further identified two global issues where Europe should take the lead: climate change and food security. He also agreed that local solutions should be the answer of these global challenges. Finally Bob Young, Chief Economist and Deputy Executive Director for Public Policy at the Amercian Farm Bureau federation stated all available technologies should be used to bring solution to the soil degradation, and to find a way to reach an intensive and sustainable agricultural production.

The 7th FFA innovated in its format and initiated the concept of three breakout sessions taking place simultaneously, and all developing one aspect of the

“Sustainable Intensification of Agricul-ture”.

Breakout session 1

Erik MATHIJS, Professor at the Univer-sity of Leuven, introduced breakout session one and launched the topic of identifying a common definition of sustainable intensification, which is still problematic. According to the Profes-sor, it is about doing more and better with less and should be understood as a complement of many efficiency strategies. In contrast, Ross MURRAY, Deputy President of the Country Land and Business Association, preferred to use the term of smart farming which denotes “forward thinking, good tech-nology and farming”. Professor Alois HEISSENHUBER of the Technische Universität München explained that today attention is given to leakage and side effects rather the relationship between inputs and outputs, which would be more useful in measuring sustainable intensification. Claudia OLAZABAL, Head of the Agriculture, Forest and Soil unit at DG ENVI, agreed that there was no common under-standing of sustainable intensification but that there is a common need to be long-term. She supported an incentive system for farmers to promote sustain-able intensification. She added that it should not focus only on agriculture but also on all countryside sectors.

Breakout session 2

Policy approaches to sustainable in-tensification were the main theme of the breakout session two. Allan BUCK-WELL, Senior research fellow at the Institute for European Environmental Policy explained the communication problem between those who use the concept when drafting legislation and those who have to implement it; “it is

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accepted by everyone but nobody knows exactly what it means”.

Tassos HANIOTIS Director of Economic Analysis, Perspectives and Evaluation at DG AGRI challenged BUCKWELL’s view by arguing that the main goal of the current CAP reform was not about defining sustainable intensifica-tion but about fixing mistakes. Marco CONTIERO from Greenpeace stated that the CAP reform had not been in-clusive and too weak on the Greening Measures. Mairead McGUINNESS MEP to his criticism, stating that problems were from the global market, and that the EU could not fix these.

Breakout Session 3

Robert SICHINGA, former Minister of Agriculture in the Republic of Zambia introduced the breakout session three on sustainable intensification perspec-tives outside Europe. He explained that African agriculture has moved from a model of sustenance to a mod-

el of profitability and business. With agriculture as the main job creator in Africa, he emphasised the necessity of fair trade and diversification. Finally, he emphasized the lack of subsidies in third world economies, claiming that he did not understand why the EU seemed to be against subsidies de-spite working well in his country.

Giving a perspective from India, panel-list Professor Swapan K. DATTA, Depu-ty Director General of the Indian Coun-cil of Agricultural Research, stated that Indian agriculture was undergoing a revolution with major investments, improving crop seed varieties, new on-farm technologies and on-site in-frastructure. Farmers are beginning to grow more profitable crops, Indeed, Professor DATTA encouraged Europe to become more positively engaged in the biotechnology. Roberto RIDOL-FI, Director for Sustainable Growth and Development at DG COOP concluded that even if China is increasingly invest-ing in business opportunities in Africa, the biggest ‘aid’ for trade partner in

Africa remained the European Union.

After 3 intensive discussions about the concept of sustainable intensification of agriculture, the Forum plenary ses-sions continued with a second panel discussion on how to increase com-petitiveness and investment in the farming businesses.

Session 2: Increasing the Competitiveness and Investment in Farm Businesses

Robert Lewis CARLSON, President of the World Farmers’ Organization opened the session by highlighting the vital role of governments in facil-itating investments for technologies to help farmers achieve sustainable intensification. Indeed, over-regula-tion and low commodity prices could stop farmers from investing. Mikhail ORLOV, founder and President of the Ambika group, claimed that increas-ing farm investment could be done by eliminating intermediaries and cutting

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transport costs. From an American perspective, Maurice HOUSE, Agri-culture Minister Counsellor of the U.S Mission to the EU identified three tasks for governments: encourage the use in technology, ensure safe agricultural products and useable by all.

Finally, he encouraged governments to assume their responsibility for com-municating risk effectively. Pierre-Ol-ivier DREGE, Director General of the French Wheat Growers Association responded that producers profit could be increased by increasing market ac-cess and infrastructure.

Session 3: The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), an Agricultural Perspective

The final session of the day looked at the challenges in in the Transatlan-tic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). For Paola TESTORI-COGGI, for-mer Director General in the European Commission’s DG SANCO, “these ne-gotiations are not about compromising consumers safety standards for commer-cial gain”. Marc VANHEUKELEN, Head of Cabinet to former Trade Commission-er Karel de GUCHT, explained that the labels of geographical indicator are where Brussels would seek a “pragmat-ic solution”, and that the US needed

to ensure quality standards for dairy products and burdensome testing procedurse for fruit and vegetable imports. Both Darci VETTER, Deputy Under Secretary, US Department of Agriculture, and others admitted that there was a need to make the two reg-ulatory systems more compatible. “We are in uncharted territory” she said; “reg-ulatory approximation has never been tried before”.

Both the EU and US agreed that priori-ty was set to first find an agreement on mutual recognition of standards and

certificates, and then move to a mutu-al recognition of the regulation policy. This approach was strongly welcomed by John ATKIN, COO of Syngenta, who stated that compatible food safety sys-tems would create a more stable and predictable environment for produc-ers. In contrast, Allen HERSHKOWITZ, Senior Scientist at the Natural Resourc-es Defense Council, highlighted that key topics such as sustainable agri-culture, biodiversity and greenhouse gas emissions were currently not ad-dressed in the negotiations.

Investing in Knowledge per Hectare

Concluding the event, FFA Chairman and former Agriculture Commission-er Franz FISCHLER called for innova-tive and “out of the box” thinking and preparation of new policies and new forms of negotiation. “We need to in-vest in knowledge per hectare: this is the future yield needed if we would like to be successful. If we achieve some of this mentality change then this conference will be a success.”

For more information, please visit www.forumforagriculture.com, follow on Twitter @ForumForAg and friend on facebook “forumforagriculture”

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Scandinavian FFA

For the seventh consecutive time the Forum for the Future of Agriculture (FFA) has organised its satellite confer-ences, the first taking place the 30th of September 2014 in Copenhagen (Denmark). In association with the Danske Godser og Herregårde, Sverig-es Jordägareförbund, Yara SA/NV and RISE Foundation. This event enriched and explored the debates that were started during the conference in Brus-sels.

With the objective of improving food and environmental security at inter-national and local level, the speakers focused their attention on three main themes during round table debates: 1) Global vision: responses to Climate change and other global challenges; 2)

Regional vision on practical & political approaches (including innovation, nu-trients components, proteins content for export) and 3) European vision & Sustainable Intensification of Agricul-ture.

Participants agreed that the global and local levels were equally important and needed to sustain both compet-itiveness and the trade of agricultural products. This means not just produc-ing 100% of our local consumption, but 100% of what we can sustainably produce as would be of benefit for (in-ter)national trade. This means accept-ing both the necessity of exports and imports; agricultural specialisation is of benefit to all.

The day after was followed by a field visit to the Jordberga Estate in Swe-

den. The owner of the farm explained the history of the farm, and the Tull-storp Stream restoration project: From Source to Sea, explaining the objec-tives, the method, and the biodiversity existing there.

Romanian FFA

The second regional FFA on “How to sustainably produce more with less and trade better” took place the 9th of October in Bucharest (Romania), and was co-organised with LAPAR, and fur-ther to show the agriculture potential of the country.

Vasco CAL, Adviser, Bureau of Europe-an Policy Advisers of the President of the European Commission presented

The Regional FFA’S: Scandinavia and Romania

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the findings of the European Commis-sion study on trends and global issues for 2030. The Forum focused on global agricultural issues, including the dis-cussions on the TTIP such as the ben-efits of the Free Trade Agreement with the United States regarding intensifi-cation of trade, with opportunities for the agricultural food sector including dairy, fruits and processed products; and concerns about undermining the European Union food safety and envi-ronmental standards.

Daniel CONSTANTIN, Romanian Min-ister of Agriculture and Rural Devel-opment, underlined that “agriculture cannot exist without a protected environ-ment and the environment cannot exist without an underdeveloped agriculture”. Discussion followed on challenges Romania has still to face like land frag-mentation (with 74% of the farms be-

low 2 ha), yield rates or infrastructure for irrigation and transport.

Laurentiu BACIU, President of the Farm-ers’ Association of Romania (LAPAR), warned that “The European Commission must take into account the specificities of each country or there will be a slowing down in farming activity”, emphasizing the need for more transparency in the development of regulations, so that farmers understand them and are able to follow, insisting that “education and prevention, information and warnings are better than penalizing farmers”.

Dacian CIOLOS, outgoing EU Com-missioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, focused on reassuring farmers saying that if transgenic crops were assessed as harmless by the EU, individual Member States may be able to plant them if they so wish.

An animate debate focused moreover on the two-year ban from 1st Decem-ber 2013 on the use of neonicotinoids to control the corn weevil. Maize growers underlined Black Sea regional specificity that does not exist in West-ern Europe and the feeling that the EU is being insensitive to the situation of individual countries.

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From left to the right: Prof Allan BUCKWELL, ELO Board Adviser on CAP, Mogens ERLINGSON, Yara Head of Strategy and Business Develop-ment, Henry ROBINSON, CLA President (UK), Natalie PAUWELS, Member of Cabinet to EU Environment Commissioner Janez POTOČNIK,

Annika ÅHNBERG, Former Minister for Agriculture of Sweden

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The Green Week is the biggest annu-al event on European environmental policy in the EU. In 2014, it took place from the 3rd to 5th June in Brussels, on the theme of ‘Circular Economy, Resource Efficiency & Waste’. A cir-cular economy is the logical solution for a resource-constrained world; the idea is to create a place where almost nothing is wasted, where the re-use and remanufacturing of products has become standard practice, and where sustainability is built into the fabric of society. In 2014 the Commission set out a new proposal enabling Europe to unlock the potential of the circular economy, underlining the need to change our way of thinking about de-sign.

As in the past, the ELO together with Friends of the Countryside (FCS), the European Cork Confederation and the

RISE Foundation were represented at two stands of the Green Week, explain-ing how dynamic countryside entre-preneurs are dedicated to modern and sustainable management principles in rural businesses with members across the European Union. We showed how cork agro-systems are fundamental-ly circular. Apart from the manpower required to harvest cork, the industry requires near to no additional inputs making it highly competitive and sus-tainable in the long run. Any form of waste produced throughout the pro-duction process, such as cork dust, can be reused for energy purposes.

Together with RISE, the ELO also show-cased the nutrient cycle and the sus-tainable intensification of agriculture by providing the public with the op-portunity to participate in an inter-active puzzle. The participants were

asked to piece together the nutrient cycle stages in order to illustrate where and how waste occurs with respect to phosphorus, nitrogen and potassi-um. After solving the puzzle solutions, based on the sustainable intensifica-tion concept, were discussed with the guests, who displayed a high level of interest.

The ELO will be involved in the next Green Week 2015 which will be en-titled “our wealth, our health” and where it will showcase the HERCULES project in particular.

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“Climate change is with us and land managers have a role to play”; this was the message of the ELO’s 2014 Biodi-versity Conference, where participants examined the resilience of the Europe-an countryside to climate change, as well as exploring the economic neces-sities of public payment for improved land management that benefits all.

This event took place on the 8th of De-cember at the Press Club Europe, in the heart of Europe. Land managers, policy makers, industry, NGO’s and media came together to listen to ex-perts and participate in an intensive debate on climate change. As keynote speaker Janez POTOČNIK, made clear: “We are already seeing changes in our global water resources. We only need to look at different rainfall patterns, the in-creased melting of snow and ice, […] the floods in the UK, the high heat in the US and Russia […] to realise that something is going terribly wrong with our climate system.”

Different actors agreed with the for-mer Commissioner for Environment’s observation. Paul LEONARD, Head of

innovation and technology policy at BASF, expressed his concern about the lack of innovation and technological possibilities in the European Union. The necessity of initiatives such as the Natura 2000 –which at 18% of the EU’s land mass stores enough carbon to cover the whole world’s emissions in 2013– or the new LIFE packages, was underscored by DG Research’s Chris-tos FRAGAKIS who stated that “grey infrastructure is not enough”. He empha-sized that we need solutions such as wetland restoration and expansion as well as an EU-wide database of practi-cal solutions.

Individual players proved that the the-ory is transferable to practical adapta-tion in the field. Otto VON ARNOLD, manager of the Jordbega Estate, rec-ommended a mixed bottom-up and top-down approaches to avoid “loss of translation between the European, national and local level”. He showed the audience that an approach that focused on community acceptance through the carrot was more efficient in his estate than the stick of puni-tive measures. Durukan DUDU of the

Anatolian Savory Institute proved that local solutions can also come from outside Europe, stating that it was pos-sible to reverse soil depletion as well as reducing livestock farming costs by 2/3rds with a holistic land manage-ment strategy.

Finally, the conference underlined how much public and private sectors have to work together so we can adapt to climate change. Edit KONYA of DG AGRI demonstrated the many ways in which the CAP would help, showing that the public sector has a “crucial role to play; providing decisions, accurate information, tools for farmers and main-streaming climate change in different EU policies”. For example, Jean Marc JOSSART said that financial oppor-tunities were available in the bio- energy sector. As for the private sector, Richard MARKWELL, President of CEMA, stated that efficient tools for farmers were being developed. R&D and innovation would help the devel-opment of smart and interconnect-ed machinery, and precisely applied fertilizers.

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Twice a year, members of the ELO gather for the General Assemblies. A focal point of interaction between the members, part of the team in Brussels and other interested stakeholders, the GAs provide a unique and important ability for landowners to connect. The General Assemblies are traditionally held in the country that is about to as-sume the Presidency of the European Council. In 2014, the General Assem-blies were held in Italy and Latvia.

These General Assemblies further provide a focal point of interaction between the different members and policy officers of the ELO’s member organisations, with plenty of space for in-depth policy discussions. As expected, the reform of the CAP was a continued point of discussion, but agricultural innovation, forestry and the continued support for multifunc-tional landscapes and estate business-es were also high on the agenda. To guide these discussions, both the Pres-ident of the ELO, Christoph BUREN, and the Secretary-General, Thierry de l’ES-CAILLE, provided extensive presenta-tions of the work of the ELO in Brussels.

Above all, the General Assemblies en-able the hosting countries to exhibit some of their agricultural and forest-ry achievements and concerns, with many high-level dignitaries being wel-comed at the ELO’s conferences and events.

The General Assembly in Rome, June 18-19

Organized with the support of Pro-prieta Fondiaria, the setting for this first of two annual meetings was the headquarters of Confagricultura (The General Confederation of Italian Ag-riculture) where ELO members and Italian guests held a spirited debate on the priorities of the Italian presidency. Another addition to this GA was the meeting of the ELO’s European Policy group, allowing board members and

policy thinkers to mix and exchange the best ideas on how to move Eu-rope’s agriculture forward.

During this meeting, the General As-sembly decided to appoint Corrado PIRZIO-BIROLI as Honorary President of the ELO in recognition of his dedi-cated work over many long years in defence of the interests of landowners and managers throughout Europe. He joins Mark THOMASIN-FOSTER in this signal honour.

As a keynote speaker, Felice ASSENZE, Director General for International Pol-itics and the EU, defended the results of the new CAP reforms, which he stressed were the best possible under the circumstances, and that the green-ing measures were a necessary com-ponent of getting both the environ-ment and agriculture on the table in

the same reform. He further noted that the 2015 Milan Expo would be one of the forums in which the combination of food and environmental security would be further discussed.

During a spirited debate, the con-ference’s panel discussed the needs of agricultural innovation, including Italy’s decision to remain GMO free. Among the new practices and tech-nologies that could be used were new digital tools that help farmers use in-puts best while taking care of the envi-ronment, as well as beehive strips that would help reduce varroa mite infesta-tions, and drought resistant corn. How-ever, multiple speakers emphasized that investing in innovation will help fuel productivity and environmental protection, but only if there is a clear regulatory framework in place.

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The key message from the General Assembly in Rome was a review of the challenges of sustainable intensifi-cation within a new and greener CAP, but that it is vital to stop looking at the constraints – regulatory or otherwise – but instead to focus on crafting a new reality. New environmental considera-tions should thus not be considered as restraints, but rather as opportunities to innovate, develop and further com-pete in a global economy. However, those present recognized that a posi-tive attitude must not only be seen in land management, but also in regu-latory approaches to create a positive balance between innovation, risk and application.

The General Assembly in Riga, November 25-27

Forestry was one of the main high-lights of the General Assembly in Riga, where ELO was generously supported by the Association of Latvian Forest Owners. With a field trip to a ply-wood factory, the Latvian delegation showed the importance of its forestry,

which employs 40.000 people in the country, as well as generating a turno-ver of 2.2 billion Euro in 2014.

The Baltic states received further atten-tion during the two days of the Gener-al Assembly, where Arnis MUIZNIEKS, President of the Latvian Forest Own-ers, provided an in-depth analysis of the farming and forestry sectors in Lat-via, with a special emphasis on forestry rights, as there are still a vital concern in a country that only gained its inde-pendence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

This emphasis on forestry was sup-ported by the Latvian Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry of agricul-ture, Armands KRAUZE, who told the delegates that Latvia would support sustainable agriculture, and compli-menting the present land managers as the “incubators of ideas for sustaina-ble agriculture”. He further explained the goals of the Latvian presidency, announcing that they would strive to avoid creating additional regulato-ry burdens during their presidency. As a member of the country’s Green

Party, he stressed that his team, to-gether with the ELO, are well-laced to promote environmental policies that are both prosperous and sustainable. These priorities were echoed by Gun-tis PUKITIS, State Secretary of the Min-istry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development, who added that, with forest covering 46% and ag-riculture another 37% of its land mass, Latvia was uniquely placed in Europe in its capacity to absorb Co2 and help mitigate climate change.

The evening event of the Latvia Gen-eral Assembly took place at the fami-ly-owned and managed Birini Castle, where the gracious hosts welcomed ELO members and shared the story of the estate and their long-term vision. With a wonderful evening of Latvian music, cuisine and entertainment, as well as the first snowfall of the season, the second General Assembly of 2014 had a memorable closure. The European Tree of the Year (ETY) contest originated in 2011, when nom-inations from five countries competed for this title for the first time. This con-cept was inspired by the popular Tree

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of the Year contest, which has been organised in the Czech Republic for many years.

The European Tree of the Year is a widespread concept that draws the attention of decision-makers and lo-cal people to their natural and cultural heritage, as well as showing how they can get involved in their protection. The purpose of this initiative is to high-light the significance of old trees that deserves our care and protection. Un-like other contests, the European Tree of the Year does not focus on beauty, size or age but rather on the tree’s sto-ry and its connection to people. The ETY looks for trees that act as a gather-ing focus of a local community. Every year thousands of people participate in the contest. The number of coun-tries participating has increased from 5 to 14 and with continuous support from the European Commission and

European Parliament it is now reaching its fifth edition 2014/15.

The European Landowners Organiza-tion (ELO) recognized the importance

of this initiative right at the beginning, and since the third edition of the con-test became its main supporter among the Brussels organizations. Together with Tetra Pak, who became the spon-

European Tree of the Year Award Ceremony

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sor of the event and with the main organizer the Environmental Partner-ship Association (EPA), the ELO put the Brussels Award Ceremony among the most important social and political events of this nature in Brussels. With its connections among main Europe-an agri- and forestry stakeholders, the ELO makes the event a platform for informal discussions among environ-mental NGOs, industry organizations, associations, politicians and decision makers. The distinguished guests and participants can learn more and dis-cuss about how they see their role and responsibility regarding natural capital protection and cultural heritage.

In 2014, under the patronage of Janez POTOČNIK, now a former European Commissioner for the Environment and Pavel POC, member of the Euro-pean Parliament and Vice-Chair of the Committee for the Environment, Pub-

lic Health and Food Safety, host of the event in the European Parliament, the ceremony reached a wide audience and put a green heart in the middle of Brussels.

Every year, the Award Ceremony is accompanied by an exhibition of pho-tographs of the finalists and presenta-tions of award ceremony organizers and sponsors. There are also stands available for main supporters of the event, including ELO. It gives oppor-tunity to our members to discuss their issues with experts, usually from the agro and environment fields.

In 2014, participants enjoyed a cultural presentation of the winner – the Bul-garian town of Sliven and its folklore dancing and singing group. It gave the event a taste of local culture, which is as important for the local communities as their “hero” trees.

In 2015, the European round of the con-test will count with the participation of four new countries: Belgium, England, Estonia and Spain. The winner will be announced early March, after a month of online voting.The winning tree will have the leading role in the Award Cer-emony on the 20th of April in Brussels.

The European Tree of the Year is a growing contest with 14 countries already participating, and is always looking for new partners in European Countries so that the protection of trees becomes a topic of wider debate.

For more information, contact the contest coordinator at ana.canomanuel@elo.rgwww.treeoftheyear.com and friend the trees on facebook: TreeOfTheYear

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The 2014 winners of the TotY with MEP Pavel POC, host of the event

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2014 definitely proved that EU has to be a stronger global actor; as was pointed out by Jean-Claude JUNCKER, the new President of EC, in his Com-mission priorities. Those objectives includes bringing peace and stability to the European neighbourhood by continuing ongoing enlargement ne-gotiations, notably with the Western Balkans, while ensuring no further en-largement takes place over the next five years. The 10th anniversary in May of the biggest EU enlargement with the accession of ten Member States proved the mutual political and eco-nomic benefits of EU membership. Those goals have a special meaning as when those words are written (Feb-ruary 2015) Ukraine is preparing the 1st first commemoration of Maidan protests and the peace talks with Rus-sia are still of deep concern while the world is commemorating the 70th an-niversary of the End of World War II.

The Russian ban of EU food products strongly influenced the agricultural and energy sectors. The six-month Latvian Presidency of the Council of the EU proved once more the capacity to face various challenges, including monetary one, as Riga joined the Euro area from 1st of January 2014, and was

followed by Lithuania from 1st of Janu-ary 2015, enlarging the euro-zone to 19 Member States.

To strengthen its relations with mem-bers and partners from Central and Eastern Europe, the ELO undertook concrete actions in 2014 . First, the ELO has welcomed the Polish Association of Rapeseed and Protein Crops Pro-ducers as well as the Croatian Union of Private Forest Owners Association. A regional Forum for the Future of Agri-culture, co-organised with LAPAR, took place in Bucharest on the 9th of Octo-ber, and was followed by a field trip to Bacau region. The General Assembly in June was joined by a delegation of National Farmers from Moldova to de-bate the ratification of its association agreement as first Eastern Partnership country to join the ELO. Topics of spe-cial interest for Baltics States such as forestry and game management were highlighted during the ELO General Assembly which took place in Novem-ber in Latvia. WE meetings took place in Bulgaria and in Czech Republic, and a local HERCULES workshop took place in October in Estonia.

Special interest for actions dedicated to such issues as land consolidation, property and tenancy, fiscal tax re-form, and energy were pursue during all year long. Organised with Polish member Employers-Lessors and Farm Owners Association and with support of YARA, The 1st European Congress for Agri-Managers (EKMA) took place in November, focusing on three I’s: inno-vation (special focus on European Inno-vation Partnership), intelligent develop-ment and integration. The 2nd edition is planned for autumn 2015.

Sharing experiences is of high impor-tance for the ELO and its network. Our members and partners regularly visit our Brussels office to discuss their con-cerns and participate in various events. The ELO continues to organise target-ed conferences and seminars, visit its members, and meet public authorities and private stakeholders. Furthermore, the ELO develops international experi-ence to assess existing legislations and anticipate future trends.

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CountrySide Magazine

Published for more than 16 years, the Country-Side magazine celebrated its 150th edition in March 2014. Throughout the years, the maga-zine has remained the voice of land managers and rural entrepreneurs, giving space for their opinions as well as those of policy makers and academics with an interest in the future of the European countryside and beyond. The magazine informs its more than 15.000 read-ers on the latest EU policy developments and presents local, regional and national points from inside the EU and the world. Global and European experts, members of the ELO team, and many others contribute articles and give the magazine a broad and sharp perspective.

Its readership includes members of the EU institutions, land managers, academics, as well as decision makers in all EU capitals. Ed-ited every two months in English and French, with a German and Spanish 4 page abstract, the paper version is composed of 16 pages. It is distributed in the EU and beyond. An elec-tronic format is sent when needed.

All issues published in 2014 are available on the website at www.elo.org

For more information please contact its Chief

Editor at Emmanuelle.mikosz@elo.org

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This year, our Biodiversity Conference has demonstrated one thing beyond all doubt: we must make wiser and full use of our resources or risk permanent damage our biodiversity and rural economy. This is a challenge not only for land managers, but for all parts of our European society.

It is vital that we move towards a circu-lar economy that makes optimal use of its resources – the traditional method of in-puts leading to production leading to the garbage belt is can no longer be support-ed. Our members, who have a long-term vision for their businesses, are aware that reducing inputs will mean less costs and more sustainability; twin goals for any successful land manager.

However, the challenge is not only on our side, but Europe’s food chain must take its responsibility. Over 100 million tons of food are wasted every year; a staggering and futile loss of the efforts of land man-agers and the whole of the food chain. It is a complete negation of our hard work and sweat. Farmers themselves, transport-ers, supermarkets, restaurants and con-sumers – everyone along the food chain - should not only think about the envi-ronment, but also of the efforts, time and money involved in getting safe and abun-dant food to market.

The New Year’s resolution for 2015 for the whole food chain must be a promise to reduce waste and re-use our scarce re-sources.

Thierry de l’ESCAILLESecretary General

Editorial

Resisting “the perfect storm” – the 2014 European Biodiversity

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The ELO Online

To enhance the relations and contacts between the members and partners of its community the ELO Secre-tariat is increasing the com-munication through digital media:

A monthly electronic newslet-ter is sent out to all members of the ELO, containing all the latest developments in Europe as well as new initia-

tives that are in the pipeline. The newsletter is a prime point of contact between the ELO of its members.

The ELO website is refreshed with new information, con-ferences, as well as infor-mation on our members and their actions. For ELO members, www.elo.org also provides the access point for its secure Intranet, where a wide range of documenta-tion is stored.

You can also follow us on Facebook, updated with event summaries and espe-cially pictures of our events, meetings and field visits. If you want to share your thoughts directly or com-ment, or simply just ‘like’ what we do, become our friend! (Account name: Euro-peanlandowners)

The latest and fastest way of keeping up is the ELO’s Twitter feed, where pictures, news, and views are shared in 140 characters or less. (@EULandownersOrg)

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Following the EC conference on family farming in November 2013, and a fur-ther regional FAO event, it became ap-parent that the 2014 UN Year of Family Farming was about the recognizing small-holder agriculture worldwide. The United Nations is concerned with ensuring that global policies do not facilitate the systematic economic ex-clusion of small holder family farmers. While the issues in Europe are, on the whole, very different, the EU cannot be excluded from regional discussions on this topic, particularly when fam-ily farms account for 97% of all EU28 farms. There is widespread agreement within Europe that not all family farms are small; but, the majority of policy discussions are currently revolving around market disadvantage of small-er scale agriculture at a global level.

For the ELO, the concept of a com-mercially-minded farm family busi-ness is more relevant than that of the semi-subsistence family farmer. Nev-ertheless, there are still a handful of contributions that the ELO can make to the debate on family farming. One of these concerns the importance of well-defined property rights, a princi-ple applicable to all economic levels. Competitive farm family businesses are an excellent example of how bet-ter market access, and better access to credit and further capital can be en-sured through the strong enforcement of private property rights.

During 2014, the ELO closely followed the discussions on family farming, paying particular attention to dia-logue and rhetoric. To this end, ELO published a position paper on Family Farming in 2014 to inform decision makers on desirable developments of the family farming concept, and

attended the Global Forum and Expo on Family Farming, hosted by the Min-istry of Rural Development of Hungary and the FAO, in Budapest between the 4th and the 6th March 2014. The pro-gramme included an impressive array of speakers from across the public, pri-vate and civil society sectors.

While the focus of the conference was largely on developing country, small scale agriculture, the closing plenary session provided some interesting insights into the direction policy dis-cussions are moving. Gerda VERBURG, Chair of the Committee on World Food Security, and previous Minister of Agriculture for the Netherlands, made the very important and pragmatic point that definition is all very well, but concrete investments are key: “we do not want to keep small family farms small”. This was reiterated by Mr Rasit PERTEV, Secretary of the International Fund for Agricultural Development, who argued that there are significant differences between small and large family farms, but all should be treated as businesses not charities.

To ensure that the voice of the ELO’s members and Europe’s land managers is heard, the ELO published a booklet demonstrating the differences and vibrancy of farm family businesses in Europe. Drawing examples from eight countries across the EU, the publica-tion recommends respect for prop-erty rights, the encouragement of intergenerational family management that focuses on growth and competi-tiveness, avoiding the rhetorical trap of preferring ‘small’ family farms to larger ones, and the improvement of data collection in order to make well-fund-ed determinations.

The Brochure “Families – The Entrepreneurs of the Countryside” is distributed at ELO events and available for download on the

website.

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Publication of the abstracts of the 9th International Conference entitled:

Agriculture and Forestry; Property Rights, economics and the environment

By Max FALQUE, Henri LAMOTTE

Edition BRUYLANT

The 9th International Conference was organised by the International Center for Research on Environmental Issues (ICREI) and the University Aix Marseille in Aix-en-Provence (France) in June 2012 with the support of the ELO. The ICREI’s team has edited and published all abstracts of the speakers who con-tributed to the success of the confer-ence in this book. The publication of these abstracts has been possible thanks to the financial support of the Friends of the Countryside.

An intensive 3-day debate took place from the 21nd to 23rd June 2012 which allowed over 40 speakers from twelve different countries to address, and oc-casionally be challenged by a public of over 150 academics on the correlation between property rights, economics and the environment. Attended by lawyers, land owners, industry and international public bodies, the event aimed at having a cross- sector anal-ysis of today’s legal framework for landownership, as well as land and re-source management.

The 27 papers presented reflect a full spectrum of opinions concerning the new and somewhat unexpected role of property rights and markets for agriculture and forestry conserva-tion and management, especially in setting up compensation schemes in the complex diversity of formal and informal property rights. Like for other environmental resources, it is clear that new types of property rights and mar-

kets are useful complements and/or alternatives to regulation (Command and Control). The content is divided between ‘Environmental Stakes and Evolution of Agricultural and Forestry Policies’, and ‘The Role of Economic Instruments and Property Rights. ELO Secretary-General Thierry de l’ES-CAILLE contributed an article on “Re-connecting Society with Agriculture: Policy, Tools and Innovation”.

Abstracts of all papers as well as the introduction and general report are translated in French and English.

A comprehensive index will allow the reader to identify and cross-reference all relevant topics and/or authors to fully understand what is at stake and become an informed participant in the current debate on our economic, social and environmental future.

IBAN 9782802741800

The ICREI Publication

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During 2014, the ELO and its partners rewarded outstanding achievements in sustainability in the European countryside. These environmental awards are open to all Europeans, and consist of three different sectors within the environment. The three awards are: the Soil and Land Management Award, the Anders Wall Award and the Belleuropa Award.

Soil and Land Management Award

Through the Soil and Land Manage-ment Award, the ELO draws the atten-tion of politicians and decision mak-ers as well as the general public, to the fact that good land management is essential for the enhancement of biodiversity, soil improvement and the maintenance of our cherished landscapes. This award is held under the auspices of the Commissioner for Environment and the Joint Research Centre. and in association with the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU) of Vienna, Syn-genta International AG, as well as the

Centre for Soil and Environmental Sciences of the Ljubljana University. In 2014, the award was bestowed on Roger JUKES, founder of the Welsh

Pontbren project which started in 1997 with three farmers and today has 10 covering an area of over 1000 hectares who came together to find a way of improving efficiencies of their upland livestock farms. They received the top prize along with €5.000 from Natalie PAWELS, Member of Cabinet of Commissioner Janez POTOČNIK. Nominated by CLA Cymru, Pontbren was the unanimous winner among 15 other applicants.

Anders Wall Award

For 11 years, the ELO and the Swed-ish Anders Wall Foundation, together with the Friends of the Countryside, DG Environment and the Royal Agri-culture Academy of Stockholm have given an annual award to encourage and promote efforts made by creative entrepreneurs who have contributed to creating a “positive rural environ-

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Mark TITTERINGTON, Ross MURRAY, Roger JUKES, David JENKINS, Natalie PAWELS, Thierry DE L’ESCAILLE, and Professor Winfried E. H BLUM on the Award Ceremony

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ment”: landscape preservation, bio-diversity enhancement, cultural herit-age conservation and contribution to the rural economy within the Europe-an Union.

In 2014 the Prize committee for Anders Wall Award has decided to give the 2014 award to Christophe LENAERTS of the Heihuyzen Estate, Belgium. The prize of €15.000 was awarded on the 6th of June 2014 at the General Assem-bly of the Friends of the Countryside in Castello Di Udine, Italy. A diploma was also awarded on this occasion to Stefano CANTELMO, on behalf of the Fasola Bologna family for their 360° Green Revolution project at Castello Monte Vibiano Vecchio.

Belleuropa Award

The Belleuropa Award honors a Wild-life Estate (WE) territory which has realised an important step forward to maintain, protect or improve land for the benefit of biodiversity, using agri-environmental measures and

achieving significant results from an environmental point of view. This award serves to highlight the com-

mitment of some managers to com-bine productivity together with a real respect for nature.

The Belleuropa Award was presented on the 8th of December 2014 on the occasion of the European 7th Biodiver-sity Conference. The award was be-stowed on Elisabeth SIMON, the own-er of the newly WE labelled Belgian Graux Estate for her achievements in sustainable estate management.

The winner was selected in a close collaboration with the “Fondation Wallonne pour la Conservation des Habitats” as the newly appointed delegate in charge of the WE Label in Belgium Wallonia.

For more information, please check our website www.elo.org or contact the ELO Award Coordination at julianna.nagy@elo.org.

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Winner Christophe LENAERTS with Pia BUCELLA, Johan NORDENFALK, Ake BARKLUND and Thierry DE L’ESCAILLE

Elisabeth SIMON receives the award from Janez POTOČNIK, former Commissioner for the Environment and Francesco NATTA, sponsor of Belleuropa Award

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This year, the ELO has set up a new prize for the protection of bees and other pollinators in the farmed envi-ronment: the European Bee Award, as part of its continuous commitment to promote common solutions for the benefit of biodiversity. This prize is awarded in partnership with CEMA, the European Agricultural Machinery Association. The European Bee Award rewards farmers, landowners, land managers or rural entrepreneurs who encourage the protection of pollina-tors by developing outstanding pro-jects that can make a difference on the ground and that can be adopted more widely by other farmers across Europe. The winner receives a prize of €5,000 and a diploma of recognition, awarded at the European Parliament in Brussels in the framework of the Bi-odiversity Conference.

An independent jury chaired by Pro-fessor GODFRAY from the University of Oxford, and supported by inter-national experts, members of the

European Institutions and NGOs, is in charge of assessing which practices and innovative ideas in agriculture can contribute to preserve the health of pollinators in Europe and is most deserving of the Bee Award itself.In this first edition of the European Bee Award, 24 projects were submit-ted, from which the Bavarian Farmers’ Association emerged as the winner with their “Flowering frames” initia-tive. “Flowering frames” is a coopera-tive effort to enhance biodiversity in the farmed environment by sowing flower strips around maize fields and other crops and is supported by the Bavarian Association of Beekeepers, the agricultural cooperative BayWa and the seed company BSV-Saaten.

The award ceremony took place on the 9th December at the Europe-an Parliament in Brussels with the support of Vice President Mairead MCGUINNESS MEP and the presence of Albert DESS, Bavarian MEP. The award ceremony brought together

more than 100 representatives from the European Institutions, civil soci-ety groups and the agri-food sector. Ladislav MIKO, acting Director-Gen-eral of DG SANTE and member of the jury, together with Professor GODFRAY, handled the prize to Wal-ter HEIDL, President of the Bavarian Farmers’ Association. During the cer-emony, Gilles DRYANCOUR, Honorary President of CEMA, highlighted the role of the Award in helping “to share best practices and leverage innovative approaches and technologies that can help farmers to minimize the impact of farming operations on honeybees and other pollinators.” Albert DESS MEP welcomed the establishment of the European Bee Award by ELO and CEMA as “an important step in joining forces of public and private actors in the commitment to protect bees and pol-linators in the farmed environment in Europe”.

After the big success of the first edi-tion of the European Bee Award, the ELO and CEMA will continue the contest in 2015, and have commit-ted further reward the project that is ranked second. As, in words of Thierry de l’ESCAILLE, ELO Secretary Gener-al: “The fierce competition for the Prize made it difficult to choose a winner. Yet the high number and quality of projects submitted is a great tribute to the dedi-cated efforts that are being made across Europe to halt bee decline and enhance biodiversity.”

For more information about the Bee Award, please contact Ana Canomanuel, Award coordinator at ana.canomanuel@elo.org

NEW: The ELO’s European Bee Award

Walter Heidl receives the European Bee Award from Ladislav MIKO and MEP Albert DESS

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For the first time ever, the European Commission has handed out awards to nature projects that have achieved outstanding results. These Natura 2000 awards were handed out in 2014 to attract more attention to the European Commission’s work to pro-tect Europe’s nature. The LIFE+ 3wa-tEr project, coordinated by the ELO, received the first prize in the category of ‘reconciling interests and percep-tions’. The project has strengthened the pond area of Midden-Limburg in Belgium through a combination of economy, ecology, and education. The success of this project is largely due to the good cooperation be-tween private landowners, nature or-ganisations and the administration, as well as the support of the European Commission through the LIFE+ Pro-gram.

The Life+ 3WATER project has been working for over 5 years to improve the Pond Area of Midden Limburg, near Hasselt in Belgium. During the project, several dozen islands have been created where birds can breed safely, heathlands have been im-proved and many dikes and ponds have been actively restored and im-proved. This has all been done while paying attention to economic neces-sities and the creation of added value for visitors. The area is in the largest complex of ponds and waterways in Belgium.

The project received the European Commissions’ Natura 2000 Award due to its innovative cooperation be-tween private landowners, nature or-ganisations and several government bodies. New European and Flemish environmental regulations had often been seen as infringing on the rights of private owners, and this has led to discord in the past. Because the Life+ 3watEr project has taken the wishes of private landowners into account from the start, a much larger area has become available for restoration, and – much more importantly – hugely

increased the acceptance of the pro-ject in the area.

According to Thierry de l’Escaille, Sec-retary-General of the ELO “the partic-ipation of private landowners in this project shows that we are committed to providing a green and prosperous countryside, and that private actors can be just as effective as public bodies in protecting biodiversity”. Among the at-tention paid to business owners was making good agreements that ensure that local fish farmers could continue their work while simultaneously im-proving habitats on their terrain.

Speaking in proud support of the award, Els Martens of the Agency of Nature and Forests (ANB), one of the main Life+ 3watEr partners, said that “this award recognizes and supports the participatory approach that helps all relevant stakeholders integrate na-ture conservation into their own land use. The aim of ANB, based on this ap-proach, is to bring nature into the heart of society. The stakeholders of the 3wa-tEr project have taken up this challenge and now act as true ‘ambassadors for

nature’. Through working together we can conserve biodiversity for our wellbe-ing and that of future generations”.

Although the current project is near-ing completion, the partners partici-pating in Life+ 3watEr have all com-mitted to maintaining their efforts for at least 20 years.

To learn more, please visit www.3water.eu

The project is supported by the European Commission Directorate General Environment under the LIFE+-Nature programme (Grant Agreement N° LIFE08 NAT/B/000036).

Natura 2000 Award

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2014 has been the year of changes for the Intergroup with the election of a new European Parliament, the Intergroup “Sustainable hunting, biodiversity, countryside activities and forestry” has been renewed un-der the name “Biodiversity, Hunting, Countryside”. The new President, Mr. Karl Heinz FLORENZ has been active-ly promoting the continuation of the Intergroup which have been success-fully accepted among the 28 groups confirmed for the next 5 years. With regular meetings, the Intergroup of-ten intermediates between the Euro-pean Commission and European Par-liament to give the necessary political impulse to take action on hunters and landowners’ interests. The ELO will continue sharing the secretariat of the EP intergroup with the Feder-ation of Associations for Hunting and Conservation of the EU (FACE) and work towards a better recognition of landmanagers, hunters and anglers’ positive impact on the management of natural resources.

During 2014, the Intergroup organ-ised two meetings. In February 2014, FACE organised a meeting entitled ‘legal firearms in the EU”. The meet-ing was based on the Commission’s Communication “Firearms and the internal security of the EU: protecting citizens and disrupting illegal traffick-ing”. Following this event, the ELO was responsible of the last Intergroup meeting under the auspice of MEP, Ms Veronique MATHIEU-HOUILON, which took place on the 18th of March 2014.

The seminar entitled “Land manage-ment in the EU: green, private, profit-able?” focused on identifying private land management practices that generate both economic revenue and ecological benefits, putting the future of European rural areas square-ly into the hands of landowners and managers. It was also a special occa-sion for the MEPs to call for the rees-tablishment of the Intergroup for the next legislature.

Following the formal approval of the

Bureau of the Intergroup, the ELO will propose a work plan for 2015 address-ing several important issues. The ELO plans to organise an event on the question of “How to value our natural capital?”. With this meeting, the focus will be on the importance of natural processes, ecosystem services (clean air, soil preservation etc.) in sustaining development and growth. It will par-ticularly address the question of how the EU legislations tend to value nat-ural capital through the implementa-tion of the greening measures, forest-ry and biodiversity strategies.

The Intergroup will further try to de-velop a position regarding climate change in the context of the upcom-ing climate summit in Paris.

In addition, the ELO is ready to ad-dress other topics which might arise during the year and will stay contin-uously vigilant that land managers’ concerns have a voicein the European Parliament.

Biodiversity, Hunting, Countryside Parliamentary Intergroup

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The ELO is part of the Rural Coali-tion of Europe, together with five European organisations involved in rural activities that share the goal of strengthening the voice of Europe’s rural population and increasing the competitiveness of the EU agricultur-al sector.

In 2014, the Coalition sent a letter to the new Juncker Commission, con-gratulating the President on his elec-tion and expressing its support for the new “cluster system” of vice-pres-idents and the appointment of First Vice-President Frans Timmermans, who will work on better regulation. With the complications of the new CAP and its administrative systems, the Coalition urged the new Commis-sion to make work of regulatory sim-plification and the cutting of red tape.

The Coalition further stated that the cooperation inside the Commission

on agriculture and environment should go beyond simplification however, and urged the Juncker cab-inet to simultaneously focus on trade, with important global trade deals with a certain impact on Europe’s ag-riculture. The Coalition has expressed its worries that there is no formal cooperation structure between Agri-culture Commissioner HOGAN, Trade Commissioner MALMSTRÖM, and EU High Representative MOGHERINI.

The members of the Rural Coalition also agreed a strategic agenda and main actions for 2015. The Coalition is expected to be active on the ENRD (European Network for Rural develop-ment), to follow the implementation of the new RD policy, make proposals for the EIP focus groups, agree on po-sition on Climate change in the con-text of COP 21 in Paris and support the work on the Natura 2000 Users Forum.

Rural Coalition

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Members of the Coalition:

Copa-Cogeca – European farmers and European agri-cooperatives

CEJA - European Council of Young Farmers

ELO – European Landowners’ Or-ganization

FACE – The Federation of Associa-tions for Hunting and Conservation of the EU

UECBV – The European Livestock and Meat Trades Union

CEPF – Confederation of European Forest Owners

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As a close partner of the European Landowners’ Organization, the Eu-ropean Historic Houses Association pays attention to the topics of energy efficiency, environmental protection, sustainability and biodiversity, which are values shared by ELO and other organizations we work with, such as Europa Nostra and the 32 members of the European Heritage Alliance 3.3.

The primary goal of the EHHA is to de-fend, at the European level, the inter-ests of more than 50.000 private his-toric houses, which contribute to the cultural heritage and attraction of Eu-rope. In 2014 European Historic Hous-es Association went from strength to strength, as it welcomed three new members in 2014: Ellikini Etairia from Greece, Fredet from Norway and the Latvian Castles & Manor Houses Asso-ciation, raising our organization to 24 European countries.

With this expansion comes the inclu-sion of the generation that will one

day take over the management and protection of historic houses across Europe. Thus, the European Historic Houses Association chose to involve the younger association through the creation of a Next Generation Group in its organization, allowing them to learn how to take care of our heritage, but also listening to their fresh ideas and giving them the opportunity to make their voice heard at the political level.

This year, the organization will remain in close contact with the newly elect-ed European Parliament in order to re-mind policy makers that reduced VAT, energy and environmental issues are crucial for both social and economic wellness of private cultural heritage of the European Union.. Indeed, 2014 has been carried important momen-tum for the demonstration of the cul-tural and economic power of cultural heritage. Two major decisions have been adopted by the highest political body of the EU:

• EU council Conclusions on cultural heritage as a strategic resource for a sustainable Europe. On the 20th of May 2014

• European Communication “To-wards an integrated approach to cultural heritage in Europe” on the 22nd of July 2014

These EU decisions clearly focus on the importance of the cultural her-itage putting as one of the priority “the built patrimony” which has until now, been left on the side compared to cultural activities such as music, art, audio-visual, cinema etc. EHHA ac-knowledges that the Communication delivers an important overview of what is at stake for cultural heritage at the EU level, and was particularly in-terested that the EC is referring explic-itly to the Alliance 3.3 activities. Some important initiatives are foreseen following those important decisions such as the Own-initiative procedure (2014/2149) about the European Com-mission’s Communication.

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The EHHA further underlined the im-portance of private historic houses through major events. Notably, the 2014 General Assembly took place in Lisbon from the 1st - 4th of October 2014. This was the perfect occasion to gather the representatives of its 20 member Associations and 3 observer countries. This 3-days event, marked by a high level conference, a gala din-ner and two days of visits to historic houses in the Provinces of Lisboa, was the occasion to exchange about the aims and priorities of the Association. The theme of the conference Her-itage, “Use it or lose it! The cultural importance of heritage preservation, civic pride” emphasized the necessi-ty of preserving our heritage as be-ing an economic and social asset for the growth and development of EU members’ states.

For the first time this year, our events

agenda included the organization of a conference with our sponsor part-ner, Dorotheum. On 19th march 2014 at the Cercle de Lorraine in Brussels, Dorotheum and the European Histor-ic Houses Association offered a con-ference on the current and sensitive topic of movable objects entitled : “Between family heritage and universal remnants of the past: the management of movable objects nowadays”. For the occasion, top-level speakers such as Mr. Henry Bounameaux, experts in works of art and founder of the firm Bounameaux but also Mr. Emmanuel de Wilde d’Estmael, lawyer, author and lecturer in the field of property law, Mr. Ghislain d’Ursel, Honorary president of European Historic Hous-es and Mr. Stéphane Théfo, Interpol shared with us their practical knowl-edge of the topics of cultural and valuable objects inventories (or how it should be implemented), succes-

sion, and the illicit trafficking of works of art.. The 2015 conference will keep the structure of the 2014 one and will mainly consider the subjects of dona-tion and preservation of the movable objects.

This year, fortified with our new part-ners and members, we will aim to continue raising awareness of the value of the historic houses and how much they contribute to the social, economic and cultural importance of Europe. By monitoring EU policies, fortifying our alliances and launching major events , the European Historic Houses Association is ready to take a step forward.

For more information, visit www.europeanhistorichouses.eu

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A future for rural religious heritage

Of Europe’s 500.000 religious heritage buildings, the majority are in rural are-as; and in many rural parts of Europe, they present the most striking visual element in the landscape or village. Yet while the isolated church tower may be the most picturesque, it is also a most vulnerable class of reli-gious heritage buildings. Urban sites lend themselves to regeneration, but rural heritage suffers from inaccessi-bility and depopulation.

This is why Future for Religious Her-itage devoted its 2014 international conference to the topic of “Sustaining Europe’s rural religious heritage”. FRH is the European network of organ-isations working to protect historic places of worship in Europe, a non-re-ligious, not-for-profit organisation open to all peoples and religions.

During conference last October, more than one hundred delegates

from over twenty different countries gathered in Halle (Germany) to lis-ten to keynotes by Christina GUTIER-REZ-CORTINES (former MEP with the People’s Party and former Minister of Culture of Murcia), Sir Stephen BUBB (secretary general of Euclid, the Eu-ropean Civil Society Movement, and

CEO at ACEVO) and Pier Luigi SACCO (Professor of Cultural Economics in Milan and director of the Fundraising School in Bologna). They concluded that religious heritage strengthens rural communities by providing the economic stimuli and local hubs vital to 21st century civil society.

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Olivier de Rohan-Chabot, president of FRH, opening the 2014 conference in the Moritzkirche, Halle (Saale)

Knowledge sharing: site-visit to an extended use project in Gothenburg cathedral, ALTERheritage project, June 2014.

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Public support for this conclusion was manifested in a European poll carried out by FRH in April 2014. The poll, con-ducted by SocioVision among 6000 Europeans in 8 countries, showed that 79% of Europeans believe that re-ligious heritage buildings play a cru-cial part in the future survival of their communities. Four out of five support action to save these buildings.

To make their voice heard and increase the visibility of FRH with the European institutions, FRH hosted an event in the European Parliament in April 2014 upon the invitation of MEP Peter VAN DALEN (European Conservatives and Reformists Group). We also continued the seminar series of the EU-funded ALTERheritage project, and attended or spoke at international conferences in Athens, Turin, Elche and Uppsala.

Concurrently, FRH launched the so-cial platform of religious heritage: Re-ligiana. This multilingual app provides a pan-European database of historic places of worship, together with basic information about their architectur-al value and contents; their opening times, and details of events. It facil-itates online donations, including fiscal benefits. It is a tool for commu-nity-building, designed to make this heritage more accessible.

The FRH is also expanding its reach using the more traditional channels. In 2014, we grew by 20% in News-

letter subscribers, 40% in Twitter fol-lowers, and 16% in membership, now covering 33 countries. FRH was also

featured in the International New York Times and the Wall Street Journal.

Finally, to focus our efforts on fundrais-ing, FRH has launched the Friends of FRH foundation, a dedicated group of donors. With this foundation in place to help support fundraising for our fu-ture projects, we can embark on 2015 with great energy and enthusiasm.

For more information, visit www.frh-eu-rope.org

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IZKK demonstrates innovative methods for stained glass conservation during the ALTERheritage project, Bronnbach, October 2014.

Religiana, the social platform for religious heritage. Developed by iBeaken for FRH.

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2014 saw the successful development and release of the RISE report on ‘The Sustainable Intensification of Europe-an Agriculture’.

To avoid the continuing unacceptable destruction of ecosystems, the next increment in output must predom-inantly come from existing agricul-tural land rather than bringing more land into agriculture. Hence the term sustainable intensification: we need to produce more output from the existing agricultural area through im-proved resource efficiency in a man-ner that support our ecosystems and is sustainable for the future.

Through this report (directed by Pro-fessor Allan Buckwell), RISE has devel-oped the first systematic look at what sustainable intensification means for European agriculture, and what is needed to move us onto a path of greater sustainable intensification.

The report makes clear that the next increase in global food output must come from continued intensification of existing agricultural land, and that this must be accompanied by a steep reduction in the negative environ-mental consequences of agriculture. It concluded that the agricultural input which needs to be intensified across all of Europe is knowledge per hectare. This means knowledge in managing delicate ecosystems, knowledge to ensure that pollinator populations thrive, knowledge to make water man-agement minimise flooding, as well as knowledge to achieve more food out-put per hectare.

The report also highlighted the EU’s needs to devise a measurement tool for environmental farming perfor-mance. It would be strongly pref-erable to build on an EU-wide set of indicators already developed, for example the Joint Research Centre’s IRENA indicators.

In addition to better enforcement of existing environmental regulations, and using policy measures under the CAP, changes in farming prac-tices must also come from farmers and private actors themselves. Many companies up- and downstream al-ready operate sustainability schemes, some of which are reviewed in the re-port. These should be strengthened and broadened, with more efforts to monitor and demonstrate their im-pact.

The report was released in June 2014 at the Centre for European Pol-icy Studies. It had a tremendous re-sponse across both the environmen-tal and agricultural sectors and has greatly strengthened RISE’s reputa-tion as a Brussels based organisation that can tackle complex multi-faceted issues that face the inter-connected worlds of safeguarding our European environment and striving for a more productive and sustainable agricul-

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tural sector. RISE will continue to highlight the recommendations of the report to key policy makers in the run up to the Multi-Financial Frame-work Mid-Term Review in 2016.

To download the report, visit www.risefoundation.eu

Nutrient Recovery and Recycling in Europe (NRR)

The section of the report on nutri-ent recycling highlighted to RISE the urgent need to look more closely at closing the nutrient loop in Europe, in particular as part of our drive for a more circular economy. With this in mind RISE worked with Professor Allan Buckwell to develop a new re-search project: ‘Nutrient Recovery and Recycling in European agricul-

ture – a review of issues, opportuni-ties, actions and policies.

In the same style as the report on Sustainable Intensification, this report will aim to pull together the informa-tion out there on NRR in relation to agriculture to create a more cohesive picture of where we are in Europe and how we can ensure a more sys-tematic uptake of NRR across Europe. The study will engage a multidiscipli-nary approach to bring together in a more integrated way knowledge and expertise which is found in the quite distinct worlds of agricultural science and farming, the food industry, wa-ter and sewage treatment industries, environmental and waste regulation and renewable energy. By confront-ing this set of interrelated issues we intend to make a contribution to the process of steering EU agriculture to a path of sustainable intensification as part of Europe’s contribution to glob-al food security.

The initial findings of the report will launched at a Conference organised on behalf of the European Commis-sion by the RISE Foundation in col-laboration with the ELO at the EXPO Milan 2015.

Water

RISE continued to follow the issue of water in agriculture through the organisation’s position on the Task Force of the European Innovation Partnership on Water where we con-tinue to advocate for greater atten-tion to be paid to agriculture.

www.risefoundation.eu

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ACTING IN THE PRESENT TO ENSURE A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

In synergy with the close networking structure of the European Landown-ers Organization (ELO), the Friends of the Countryside, a network of more than 650 landowners and land man-agers around Europe, is considered a major stakeholder at European level, introducing new opportunities and driving changes in Europe’s country-side.

This European network not only al-

lows private entrepreneurs to advo-cate for rural property rights and the important functions of land manage-ment, but also to establish a dialogue between decision makers, entre-preneurs and rural property owners aimed at improving economic, en-vironmental and social conditions of Europe’s countryside.

The basic principle is founded on the belief that property rights are the underlying driving force behind long term projects, especially for land managers and rural entrepreneurs who think and plan over generations.

Together with the ELO, the FCS makes the case for its members’ interest at European level in favor of a European countryside that is both prosperous and green.

Given the increasing efforts re-quired to promote private land-owners and management as well as family businesses in the context of today’s financial and political environment no doubt the sister organization of the ELO has a major role to play.

FCS IN UDINE

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GENERAL ASSEMBLY 2014

The annual FCS congress was or-ganized on 6thand 7th of June in Castello di Udine, Friuli, Italy. Over 250 Friends gathered together to discuss the ever changing world of Land Management and its ef-fects. They were welcomed by newly elected President, Michael PRINZ ZU SALM-SALM.

As always, the General Assembly was followed by a conference focusing on current issues of interest to land man-agers. In 2014, this event discussed opportunities for land managers in the context of the economic crisis, as well as maximizing innovative land based solutions for secure and long term financial and ecological stability.

Lorenzo BINI SMAGHI, SNAM President and former member of the European Central Bank, delivered the opening speech. This was followed by strong discussions and explanations on the future of land and its issues today. Pia BUCELLA, Director for Natural Capital,

DG ENVIRONMENT, concluded the conference with the following words: “it is all about working together and not against one another.” Whether per-taining to the future of Europe, or the energy and climate change paradox, ensuring that unity emerges from cri-sis was certainly the order of the day at the FCS General Assembly in Udine. In the afternoon, Corrado and Cecile PIRZIO-BIROLI invited the FCS to dis-cover Castello di Brazza.

The Saturday was dedicated to vis-its offering a unique opportunity for learning more about the beauty of this region and how to create value. Five different areas were highlighted: Cividale region; Gorizia province; Cor-dovado and Rocca Bernarda area and the laguna with the visits of Aquilea and Grado.

What’s next for 2015

The 2015 FCS General assembly will take place from the 21st to the 24th of May 2015 in Newmarket where the Friends of the Countryside will be in-vited to discover the beautiful region of Suffolk in the UK.

THE WELCOMING ESTATES WEBSITE

The Friends of the Countryside launched a new initiative called Welcoming Estates Website which provides a platform for the FCS to share information to other Friends or the general pub-lic. This new tool aims to attract more tourists to the dedicated estates.

More info on www.welcomingestateswebsite.com

www.friendsofthecountryside.org/FCS Coordination : Jehanne de Dorlodot Verhaegen coor-dination@elo.org

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The Young Friends of the Country-side, also known by its acronym YFCS, is a European non-profit association which creates a network for future land managers between the age of 20 and 35 years in order to educate, promote entrepreneurship and share best practices amongst its members. Founded in 2006, today the organisa-tion counts over 220 members, repre-senting 16 European countries.

The YFCS is a membership organisa-tion officially recognized by the Eu-ropean Institutions. The organization serves as a network for young rural entrepreneurs who plan to be the landowners and managers of tomor-row. The added value they receive from the YFCS includes updated in-formation about relevant topics such as: the CAP as well as education and funding opportunities for young rural entrepreneurs at EU level.

Furthermore, members benefit from actively participating to a network and platform were they can share ex-periences, learn about different land management practices across the EU

and about innovative business mod-els related to the countryside. What the members of this network share in common is a passion for topics re-lated to landownership, the European countryside, land management and rural entrepreneurship.

The aims of the YFCS are:

• To raise awareness amongst its members about European envi-ronmental policies, European rural business opportunities, and es-tates & historic houses inheritance and management processes;

• To promote educational philan-thropy in the countryside;

• To leverage our members’ inno-vative countryside management related experiences;

• To represent and channel the YFCS voice at the EU level through the European Landowners Organiza-tion;

• To provide information and assis-tance to its members regarding management and legal issues con-cerning the countryside and rural businesses.

2014 has seen great focus been placed on the organization of the second edition of the Forum for Countryside Entrepreneurship (FCE), which was again held in Belgium and brought together 50 of our members to the beautiful estate of Chateau de Duras. The conference managed to bring to-gether expert speakers from the Ed-mond de Rothschild group, Agriland, DG Research & Innovation and MyMi-croInvest. During this edition of the FCE, the conference focused on top-ics such as succession and financing, the challenges posed by day-to-day administration of an estate, as well as how to successfully plan, finance and run a start-up. During the FCE, the organizers also informed our mem-bers about the launch of the newly created FAMIGRO Award, which was made possible thanks to the foresight and generosity of Mr Karl GROTEN-FELT. The winner was announced at the YFCS General Assembly which was held in Lisbon in September. The winning project for 2014 was that of Christoph STOLBERG, with his project to promote tourism and the selling of locally produced products in the

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German town were his family has its roots.

The last YFCS general assembly saw the participation of over 30 mem-bers and about 50 members of the Portuguese Young Landowners As-sociation. The event was organized in cooperation with the Portuguese Landowners Association (ANPC) and proved to be an excellent opportuni-ty to promote the YFCS in Portugal. The past year saw again a series of successful events organized or at-tended by the YFCS: these included the FFA in Brussels, the Czech local event in July, the participation to the CLA Game Fair and the FCS General Assembly in Udine. While 2014 has seen a modest in-crease in membership, the YFCS Board counts on the successful or-ganization of key events in 2015 to further promote the organization. For the year ahead of us we are plan-ning to host once again the Forum For Countryside Entrepreneurship in Belgium (20th -22nd March 2015), we

will participate to the next FFA (31st of March 2015) as well as the CLA Game Fair (31st July – 2nd August) and will most probably bring the next YFCS General Assembly back to a Scandina-vian country. The opening for applica-tions of the 2015 edition of the FAMI-GRO Award will be announced during the upcoming FCE in March, and we

expect to announce the winner at the 2015 General Assembly.

For more information about the Young Friends of the Countryside visit our website www.yfcs.eu or contact the Secretary General: Francesco Kinsky dal Borgo at sg@yfcs.eu

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2014 was a memorable and decisive year for the leading European heritage organisation. Europa Nostra was reappointed by the European Commission as the organ-ising partner of the annual European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage for a new period of four years. “Thanks to Eu-ropa Nostra, the Prize has become a real-ly solid example of European added val-ue and a symbol of the dedication of the EU to its cultural heritage,” stated Karel BARTAK, Head of Unit Creative Europe programme - Culture of the EC, on the occasion of the public announce-ment. Nearly 400 remarkable heritage achievements have been recognised in the past 12 years. Europa Nostra also obtained a sub-stantial three-year EU grant from the

Creative Europe programme to sup-port its network project Mainstream-ing Heritage. This ambitious project will strengthen and expand the wide-range of Europa Nostra’s networking activities. The first ‘Capacity-Building Days’ will be held in Brussels on 15-17 April 2015. The organisation gave a new impetus to its actions by developing initiatives and holding events across Europe. The two highlights were the European Her-itage Congress in Vienna (2-6 May) and the panel discussion ‘Cultural heritage as a strategic resource for a sustainable Europe’ in Rome (23 October). The European Heritage Awards Cere-mony took place at the Burgtheater in Vienna on 5 May. Around 1.200 people, including many dignitaries from the

worlds of culture, politics and business, assembled to pay tribute to this year’s highest achievements in the heritage field. Androulla VASSILIOU, European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth, and Pláci-do DOMINGO, the renowned opera singer and President of Europa Nostra, hosted the event. The second list of 7 Most Endangered, which features monuments and herit-ages sites from Belgium, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Romania, Russia and Serbia, was announced by Europa Nostra and the European Investment Bank Institute at a public event at the Dor-otheum in Vienna on 4 May. From September to December, heritage and financial experts went on mission to the selected sites and met with local and national stakeholders with the

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aim contributing to the development of sustainable action plans. The results of the rescue missions were presented in Brussels on 20 February 2015. In cooperation with the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Cultural Activities and Tourism, Europa Nostra organised a panel discussion on cultural heritage and its strategic role in a sustainable Europe at the Palazzo Poli in Rome on 23 October. The debate compared the experiences of public officials and pri-vate Italian and European stakeholders on the ways in which entrepreneurs and the private finance sector could be engaged, in line with the Conclu-sions adopted by the EU Council in May and the Communication adopted by the European Commission in July.

The European cooperation project Cultural Heritage Counts for Europe, which is led by Europa Nostra, showed some concrete findings, particularly in the area of cultural tourism. The final report will be presented on 12 June 2015 in Oslo during the European Her-itage Congress.

The organisation contributed to the New Narrative for Europe initiative, having participated in major gath-erings hosted by the then European Commission’s President José Manuel BARROSO in Berlin (1 March) and Brus-sels (28 October). Europa Nostra also held a panel discussion to promote the role of culture and heritage within the New Narrative for Europe and the wider process of European integration

at the Dorotheum in Vienna on 4 May. The conference about Europa Nostra’s new programme ENtopia: Our Places in Europe (Chios, 28-30 March); the meet-ing of the members of the European Heritage Alliance 3.3 (Brussels, 20 May); the Best in Heritage event (Dubrovnik, 25-27 September); and the ceremony of the Helena Vaz da Silva European Award for Raising Public Awareness on Cultural Heritage, which was pre-sented to the renowned Turkish writer Orhan PAMUK (Lisbon, 3 October) are among the many events and initiatives promoted by Europa Nostra.

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The Environmental Partnership Asso-ciation (EPA) is one of the largest Euro-pean networks specialized in the field of sustainable development.

The consortium of six foundations from Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hun-gary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia boasts 23 years of experience, and supports community based projects whose goal is to protect the environ-ment and support local communities and society. Over 20 years of its exist-ence, the EPA has made contributions

of in total more than 10 million Euros.The EPA celebrated its Annual Meet-ing in the region of Maramures in Ro-mania at the beginning of October. Members of the six foundations gath-ered together hosted by the Romani-an Environmental Partnership (Funda-tia Pentru Partenariat). They discussed the key themes of the action plan for 2015-20: green entrepreneurship (in-cluding ecotourism, support of local economies based on local products, etc.), great urban public space devel-opment and sustainable mobility and

climate issues related to water chal-lenges and energy supply challenges.

The Tree of the Year contest, which has been running since 2001, provides an easy way for people to get involved in protecting their local natural heritage. Last year, hundreds of thousands of people participated in the election of the European Tree of the Year 2014, a thousands-year old elm from Bulgar-ia, and 300 hundred people took part at the Award Ceremony in Brussels, including policy makers, NGOs and several stakeholders.

In 2014, EPA increased its capacity in Brussels. That allowed the representa-tion of the association in several Euro-pean meetings and workshops, such as the Interreg workshop organized by the Permanent Representation of Saxony-Anhalt to the EU or the “EU External Aid Programmes and Instru-ments” workshop organized by the Czech Liaison Office for Research, De-velopment and Innovation (CZELO), which took place during the month of November.Interreg workshop a the Saxony-An-halt representation in Brussels

In 2014, we have also published a new brochure showcasing success stories in Mobility Management from Cen-tral and Eastern Europe: “Ready to go green”. The purpose of this booklet is to highlight mobility management as successful tool addressing the chal-lenges of congestion, pollution and general safety, and supporting sus-tainable urban mobility.

To read the brochure online, please visit: http://www.environmentalpart-nership.org/News/News-Brand-new-EPA-mobility-brochure-released.aspxIn 2014, the Future Team travelled to Germany and France. The future team is a group of young and dynamic staff from EPA member associations,

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OUR VISION

* We provide sustainable development of urban areas by promoting a low carbon footprint and climate resilience solutions in urban planning

* We strive to substantially increase people’s awareness, support the creation of local communities of active citizens driving change at the grassroots level and encourage people to act responsibly in their daily choices

* We actively urge the state and local authorities as well as large corpora-tion to reflect on the environmental impact of their management plans and strategies, by helping practically to introduce an enabling environ-ment that allows citizens to reduce their carbon footprint

Group picture of EPA members in Maramures County

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whose aim is to find common points and assess new areas of cooperation among EPA members. Visits included the Climate Alliance in Germany and Agence Ecomobilité in France.

The EPA is a member of the Europe-

an Cyclists’ Federation and European Greenways Association and coordi-nates the European cycle route net-work EuroVelo on the national level in Central European countries. In 2014, Daniel Mourek, Central and East Eu-ropean Greenways coordinator at

the Czech Environmental Partner-ship foundation has been appoint-ed board member of the European Cyclists’ Federation. EPA also certifies facilities and services for cyclists with certification Cyclists welcome (Czech, Slovak).

To learn more about EPA, please visit: www.environmentalpartnership.org/ or contact ana.canomanuel@nap.cz

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Though many European countries have not yet begun the process of adapting to the changes of the new CAP, we can already see trouble ahead for the implementation of the new regulations, which are now more varied than ever before. On the one hand, we agree that a degree of vari-ation in regulation will allow the very different circumstances of European farming to better flourish, but we also worry about the degree of adminis-trative burden that this will mean at the national and European levels. In this context, the new Commission’s CAP simplification effort is most wel-come, and we look forward to work-ing on this issue together.

Further changes in the CAP will most-ly revolve around the new Greening

Measures, which will be part of the midterm review in 2017. To ensure that the results of the Greening are as visible and successful as possible, we urge both our members and the Commission to work on solutions that are practical, compatible with differ-ent forms of agricultural practice, and demonstrably effective. The drive to-wards more sustainable agriculture must continue, and the Greening tools have the potential to contribute substantially if we can make them work.

Such a combination of ecology and economy will of course partially de-pend on Europe’s innovation frame-work; even though great efforts have already been made, and the new European Innovation Partnership for

Agriculture and Rural Development holds great promise, we urge Europe to do more. This means not only help-ing farmers share best practice and improving national advisory services, but also increasing the access our land managers have to innovative products and technologies.

One element that we expected to kick off a new round of innova-tion and thinking about agriculture was the Circular Economy Package, which would have paved the way for a much-needed reduction in food waste, as well as an increased empha-sis on recycling. With food waste still such an appalling problem in Europe, the ELO had high hopes for this pack-age. We therefore look forward to new proposal from the Commission,

Perspectives for 2015

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now that it has unwisely been taken off the table, particularly in the 2015 UN Year of Soils.

At the Climate Summit in Paris in 2015, our hopes must be even higher; cli-mate change represents a fundamen-tal threat to our businesses and way of life. With 21% of global Co2 emis-sions coming from agriculture, there is no doubt that land managers will have to play their part, but the frame-work must come from our global leadership. While the shadow of the

Copenhagen failure still looms large, we urge all EU leaders to be ambitious and hold strong to their beliefs during the negotiations.

Other negotiations, such as those surrounding the TTIP, will take greater shape this year as the substantial talks will take place. The agricultural top-ics, with hormones, GM technology, and Protected Origin products will be among the more difficult and we look forward to the results of these talks.

All these issues and more will, of

course, be topics of debate at our 8th Forum for the Future of Agricul-ture, which will be held on the 31st of March at the Square. I invite all our members, partners, and readers of this activity report to come and make their contributions to premier agricul-ture and environment event on the Brussels’ calendar.

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3E : Economy, Ecology, EducationCAP : Common Agricultural PolicyCOO : Chief Operating OfficerCOP : Convention of PartiesDG : Directorate General EC : European CommissionEFB : European Family BusinessEHHA : European Historic Houses AssociationEED : Energy Efficiency Directive EIP : European Innovation PartnershipEP : European ParliamentEPA : Environmental Partnership AssociationELO : European Landowners’ OrganizationETS : Emissions Trading SystemETY : European Tree of the YearEU : European UnionEUFS : European Union Forestry StrategyEUTR : European Timber RegulationFCS : Friends of the CountrySideFFA : Forum for the Future of AgricultureFP7 : Seventh Framework ProgramFRH : Future of Religious HeritageGA : General AssemblyGI : Green InfrastructureGMO : Genetically Modified OrganismGPS : Global Positioning Satellite (system)IAS : Invasive Alien SpeciesICT : Information and Communication TechnologyLULUCF : Land Use, Land Use Change, and ForestryMAES : Mapping and Assessing Ecosystems and their ServicesMEP : Member of the European ParliamentMFF : Multi-annual Financial FrameworkMFLR : MultiFunctional Landscapes RoadshowMS : Member StatesNIM : Non-Intervention ManagementNGO : Non-Governmental OrganisationTotY : Tree of the YearTTIP : Transatlantic Trade and Investment PartnershipPNi : Pollinator Network initiativeRDP : Rural Development PolicyRISE : Rural Investment Support for EuropeSFM : Sustainable Forest ManagementUN : United NationsUNFCCC : United Nations Framework Convention on Climate ChangeWE : Wildlife Estates (Label)YFCS : Young Friends of the CountrySide

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ELO AsblRue de Trèves 67 • 1040 Bruxelles

Belgique

Tel : +32 (0)2 234 30 00 • Fax : +32 (0)2 234 30 09Email : elo@elo.org

www.elo.org

EUlandowners Europeanlandowners

“No part of this activity report may be reproduced in any form whether by print, photo print, microfilm, photocopy or any other means without the prior written permission of the association. All personal data contained in this publication is for the exclusive and

internal use of the association. Any other use is forbidden.”