Nature Indicators for Effects of Farming Methods (2001-2003)

• Institute for Landscape Ecology and Nature Conservation (ILN), Singen
• Institute for Ecology and Nature Conservation e.V.(IfÖN), Eberswalde

BMVEL (German Federal Ministry of Consumer Protection, Food and Agriculture), Bonn

03 / 2001 until 12 / 2003

• Dorothee Braband
• Thomas van Elsen
• Jürgen Heß

The evaluation of environmental services provided by agriculture is gaining in importance both nationally and internationally. In addition to ensuring the protection of abiotic resources, this also involves the preservation of biological diversity and the evaluation of the efficiency of public funds used for this purpose. For a success control it is necessary to develop indicators, which allow an assessment of the biotic and landscape cultural achievements of agriculture. The aim of the research project is to develop indicators and an accounting approach to provide instruments for the recording and integration of these services in agricultural practice. Several target levels will be taken into account: the individual farm level (for farm management and individual farm consultancy), the level of agricultural and environmental policy (criteria, reference and target systems for rewarding environmental measures and services in agriculture) and the level of environmental reporting for national and international comparisons (cf. OECD requirements). In the project, the basics and a scientific validation are developed. The practicability of the approach will be tested on 40 farms of different structure and management systems distributed nationwide together with the farmers. In this way, the introduction of the approach in practice will be prepared and the farmers' willingness and ability to record their own environmental performance and to monitor their own success will be tested.