PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
Agriculture can contribute to the maintenance of species diversity and genetic diversity. In such cases, halting biodiversity loss cannot be done without the active participation of farmers. Italy is the EU country with the highest percentage of cultivated land, and approximately 30% of the country’s total Natura 2000 network is farmland. Therefore, the network offers a unique opportunity to manage and monitor biodiversity conservation within farming areas. According to the Italian institute of agrarian economy, INEA (Istituto Nazionale Economia Agraria), approximately 218 000 agricultural firms are located within the Natura 2000 network in Italy. Despite this, Natura 2000 is still scarcely known by farmers or public administrators in agricultural/rural areas. This threatens the future development of Natura 2000, whose benefits in terms of service to society, as a source of employment and income, are not fully appreciated. The main reasons for this include limited communication between public administrators and stakeholders; insufficient co-ordination between public administrations responsible for the network and those in charge of agriculture; and inadequate funding for sustainable farming and difficulty in accessing funds. funding towards sustainable forms of farming and difficulty in accessing the funds.
OBJECTIVES
The overall objective of the FA.RE.NA.IT project was to support the implementation of the EU 2020 Biodiversity Strategy, by increasing awareness, understanding and support for the Natura 2000 network among people living and/or working in agricultural/rural areas. All Italian regions were involved in the project. In particular, the project aimed to raise awareness of the benefits of the Natura 2000 network among public administrators, farmers and cattle raisers in Italian rural areas, and to develop new synergies with the Italian National Rural Network (RRN). The project sought to create opportunities for collaboration and harmonisation at national and regional levels for environmental, agricultural and other departments (e.g. energy, infrastructure, transport), so as to promote policy integration for the development of the Natura 2000 network. It also aimed to facilitate access to regional, national and EU funds aimed at sustainable development in Natura 2000 network sites in agricultural and rural areas.
RESULTS
The FA.RE.NA.IT project increased awareness and the available information on the opportunities for agriculture in Natura 2000 network sites in Italy. The project effectively reached a wide range of stakeholders within three target categories: farmers, public administrators, and school teacher and students.
Project actions involved almost 700 000 people, including around 1 000 farmers, 1 000 public administrators, and 1 000 teachers and 10 000 students. Its extensive communication campaign, using the slogan “My land has got value”, involved 222 TV/radio items and numerous press articles presenting project objectives and results. As a result of the project’s campaigning, the number of farmers aware of the Nature 2000 network and the advantages of carrying out sustainable agricultural practices increased by 4%. In addition, there was a doubling in the number of farming enterprises reporting to have accessed ad-hoc funding instruments (including via Rural Development Plans). The number of Italian regions (14 out of 22) to include Natura 2000 measures within their Rural Development Plans (2014-2020) doubled (from 7 previously). This was a crucial policy change achieved by the project. More than 50% of public administration contacts reported that they had streamlined bureaucratic procedures necessary to access funding related to such measures, and about 30% of regional officers declared that their administrations had started implementing Natura 2000 network strategies to improve the sustainable use of agricultural land.
Environmental benefits are derived from the better knowledge, most of all by farmers, of the agricultural practices that can be applied in Natura 2000 network sites. Project staff, through information points and the website, were contacted by many interested people who did not know about the possibilities offered by agriculture in Natura 2000 sites. In this way, sustainable practices can be expanded to the advantage of protected sites of Community importance.
The project engaged with the Italian Ministries of Agriculture and Environment in discussions over the issues relating to both farming practices and biodiversity conservation measures. As this was a policy-oriented information project, both Ministries took part in the first meetings during the project start-up phase. As a result, the project tackles not only the Birds Directive (2009/147/EC) and Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), but also a range of other interconnected policy sectors. The project helps implement policies directly related to agriculture, including the EU Common Agriculture Policy, national guidelines for the conservation of agricultural biodiversity, and regional Rural Development Plans. Other policies connected with agriculture and farming of relevance include the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/CE), the Nitrate Directive (676/1991), the European Pesticide Regulation (1107/2009) and Italy’s National Action Plan for the Sustainable Use of Plant Protection Products.
The project gives rise to several positive socio-economic effects. The introduction of Natura 2000 indemnity measures, in the rural development plans of 14 region, gives farmers access to previously unavailable funds, to improve ecosystem services through sustainable practices (e.g. extensive pasture, ecological corridors, preservation of humid zones). The doubling in the number of farmers in the Natura 2000 network receiving such funds should allow them to integrate these activities with educational and tourist-oriented services and to better promote their environment-friendly products in the market. Moreover, the involvement of large numbers of teachers and student in the information campaign should guarantee that knowledge about the Natura 2000 network is passed to future generations.
Further information on the project can be found in the project's layman report and After-LIFE Communication Plan (see "Read more" section).
