Biodiversity Archives - Page 3 of 8 - Agricultural and Rural Convention

Rural Europe Takes Action | The Sámi Environmental Programme

September 22, 2022 ARC

From the Sámi perspective, all matters are environmental matters. The Sámi Environmental Programme is a holistic framework with a long-term, decolonised perspective on sustainability and Indigenous culture. Josefina Skerk, former Vice President of the Sámi Parliament, shares powerful perspectives on life, land and climate justice in a conversation originally published in “Rural Europe Takes Action – No more business as usual”, the policy guide launched by ARC2020 and Forum Synergies in June 2022. […]

Nature Restoration Law: A Chance for the EU to Make Good on the Green Deal

June 22, 2022 ARC

The European Commission today made a tentative step towards addressing the biodiversity crises, with the announcement of a Nature Restoration Law – the first such move since 1992. Ashley Parsons reports. […]

France| Keeping The Wolf From The Door

April 29, 2022 Valérie Geslin

French farmers aren’t against wolves. Large predators have their role to play in the ecosystem. But with wolf poulations on the rise in many regions, livestock farmers are demanding more supports from the state to keep the wolf from the door. Valérie Geslin reports from Salon à la Ferme in the French Alps. […]

Romania | A modern dichotomy between biodiversity and farming

March 10, 2022 Paul White

How to make a modest profit in farming whilst maintaining rich biodiversity? When compared to the fast pace and production of modern agriculture, traditional transhumance is like slow cooking – and local knowledge, shepherds and livestock guardian dogs are all essential ingredients. Paul White makes the case for a middle ground. […]

COP26 | Gender Day – Othering The Soil, And Other Climate Blindspots

November 17, 2021 Ursula Billington

Integrating women’s rights into climate action, with food and farming at the centre, is vital if planetary health is to be successfully restored. This was the message from a Gender Day event at COP26 that underscored the links between climate change, equality and the role of women in agriculture. Ursula Billington reports. […]

Letter From The Farm | Winterage In The Burren

October 15, 2021 Shane Casey

We’re back on Shane Casey’s farm in the Burren, Ireland. It’s nearly time for the reverse transhumance drive – or ‘winterage’ as it’s known locally. Grazing over the winter allows the Burren’s unique mix of flora to thrive. It’s a quintessential example of farming for conservation, explains Shane. […]

Romania | Making Hay In Transylvania

October 8, 2021 Paul White

In Transylvania’s hay meadows people continue to farm in harmony with nature. Determined to capture the traditional skill of scything on camera, photographer Paul White found out he would have to get up very early in the morning. Here he documents the hard work involved in a traditional haymaking process that is clean, sustainable and yields enormous benefits for biodiversity. Photo essay by Paul White. […]

Slashing Space for Nature? Ireland Backsliding on CAP basics

October 5, 2021 Oliver Moore

Cutting space for nature on farms, from its own proposed level of 5% to just 4%, is the most brutal of adjustments mooted by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) in one of the final CAP consultations last Thursday. A list of five for the most part unambitious eco-schemes has also been announced, which will do little to move Irish agriculture towards a more environmentally sustainable place. […]

Rebugging the Planet – new book on where invertebrates fit in

September 29, 2021 Vicki Hird

A new book – Rebugging the Planet – has just come out. Its author Vicki Hird tells us all about insects and other invertebrates, their role, what ails them, and how looking after the small creatures means looking after ourselves too. […]

Save Bees and Farmers! – European Citizens’ Initiative Must Reach 1 Million Signatures by September 30th

September 7, 2021 ARC

The European Citizens’ Initiative ‘Save Bees and Farmers!’ alliance – a network of civil society organisations in agriculture, health and environmental protection – is calling on the European Commission to propose legislation to phase out synthetic pesticides by 2035, to restore biodiversity, and to support farmers in the transition. […]

UK | Pond Life Revives Hope for On-Farm Wildlife

May 27, 2021 Ursula Billington

Pond restoration yields dramatic results for nature. Seedbanks, dormant for 150 years, spring back to life; rare indigenous plants return within months. Invertebrate populations explode, significant for severely declining freshwater biodiversity. Insect chimneys attract huge numbers of birdlife and twice the species normally seen in the area. Ursula Billington reports on a farmer-inspired project to restore pondlife in Norfolk, UK. […]

The True Cost of Britain’s Addiction to Factory-Farmed Chicken

May 14, 2021 ARC

The intensive poultry industry in the UK has expanded in recent decades, becoming more akin to the USA’s mega farms. Investigating how intensive poultry units have multiplied across certain parts of the UK, Alison Caffyn discovered that the poultry industry has taken advantage of weak regulatory and planning regimes to scale up the lucrative business. […]

UK | How Nature Brought A Family Farm Back To Life

April 23, 2021 Ursula Billington

As the English countryside is gobbled up by monoculture, one family farm is making space for nature. Carymarsh nature reserve is a patchwork of habitats – wetlands, woodlands and feeding grounds for overwintering birds – where people are welcome too. Story by Ursula Billington. […]

Cut The Crap, Withdraw The CAP!

April 13, 2021 ARC

Climate striker Sommer Ackerman became active in protests for a better CAP in October 2020. She combines activism at EU level in the WithdrawTheCAP campaign with activism at national level to make agri-food policy change in Finland. […]

Ireland | Forty Shades Of Greenwashing? – Part 1

March 16, 2021 Alison Brogan

Ireland’s current agri-food strategy places environmental protection and economic competitiveness on an equal footing. But can ambitions for growth be squared with the state’s duty to protect the environment? In the first of a two-part series, Alison Brogan investigates the realities of sustainable growth on the Emerald Isle. […]