Biodiversity-friendly farming practices can help build sustainable, resilient agriculture – European Environment Agency

Solutions for Restoring Europe’s Agricultural Ecosystems

The new EEA briefing ‘Solutions for restoring Europe’s agricultural ecosystems’ presents evidence-based examples of key options available to farmers to help restore Europe’s ecosystems and enhance the ability of the agricultural sector to cope with increasing climate change impacts like droughts and floods as well as boosting productivity.

The study says introducing some key agricultural practices can prove to be a win-win for both farmers and local nature, delivering better resilience and restoring local ecosystems like grasslands, hedgerows or creeks.

These practices can improve the condition of semi-natural habitats, put back in place multifunctional and biodiverse farming landscapes and reduce pressures on biodiversity while managing soil and water sustainably. All these actions can be beneficial for pollinators, species and their habitats as well as helping to strengthen local resilience against climate change impacts.

While EU Member States’ strategic plans under the Common Agricultural Policy include supporting measures to biodiversity-friendly practices, enhanced and coherent policy incentives combined with adequate financing are needed to efficiently restore ecosystems that support food production and strong rural communities, the EEA briefing says.

Importance of biodiversity for agriculture

Food production is one of the vital human activities most directly interacting with and affecting nature. Agriculture relies on essential natural processes such as pollination and soil formation. Biodiversity supports the resilience of agriculture and food security. Functioning, healthy ecosystems are also important contributors to climate change mitigation and adaptation.

SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

• SDG 2: Zero Hunger
• SDG 13: Climate Action
• SDG 15: Life on Land

The article discusses the importance of biodiversity-friendly farming practices in enhancing the resilience of the agricultural sector and addressing climate change impacts. These issues are directly connected to SDG 2, which aims to end hunger, achieve food security, improve nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture. Additionally, the article highlights the role of these practices in restoring ecosystems and reducing pressures on biodiversity, aligning with SDG 15, which focuses on protecting, restoring, and promoting sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems. Finally, the article mentions the need to cope with climate change impacts, linking it to SDG 13, which aims to take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

• SDG 2.4: By 2030, ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and production, that help maintain ecosystems, that strengthen capacity for adaptation to climate change, extreme weather, drought, flooding, and other disasters, and that progressively improve land and soil quality.
• SDG 15.1: By 2020, ensure the conservation, restoration, and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems and their services, in particular forests, wetlands, mountains, and drylands, in line with obligations under international agreements.
• SDG 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries.

Based on the article’s content, the specific targets that can be identified are SDG 2.4, which focuses on implementing resilient agricultural practices that maintain ecosystems and strengthen capacity for adaptation to climate change, and SDG 15.1, which aims to ensure the conservation, restoration, and sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems. Additionally, the article mentions the need to strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards, aligning with SDG 13.1.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

• Indicator 2.4.1: Proportion of agricultural area under productive and sustainable agriculture
• Indicator 15.1.1: Forest area as a proportion of total land area
• Indicator 13.1.1: Number of deaths, missing persons, and directly affected persons attributed to disasters per 100,000 population

The article does not explicitly mention indicators, but based on the identified targets, the following indicators can be used to measure progress:
– Indicator 2.4.1, which measures the proportion of agricultural area under productive and sustainable agriculture, can be used to assess the implementation of resilient agricultural practices.
– Indicator 15.1.1, which measures the forest area as a proportion of total land area, can be used to monitor the conservation and restoration of terrestrial ecosystems.
– Indicator 13.1.1, which measures the number of deaths, missing persons, and directly affected persons attributed to disasters per 100,000 population, can be used to evaluate the resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards.

4. Table: SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: eea.europa.eu