On January 17th, the Walloon Government announced an agreement on the strategic plan for the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) 2023-2027. This instrument, which is intended in particular to ensure our food security, is nevertheless considered insufficient in some respects. We must underline the need to commit to sustainable agricultural practices that are virtuous for biodiversity.
Agricultural Practices: Extensive Agriculture and Intensive Systems
Agriculture emerged over ten thousand years ago with the intentional planting of the first seeds and the domestication of animals by humans. This new lifestyle facilitated the shift from a nomadic to a sedentary life. Over time, subsistence farming gradually evolved into a production-oriented system.
The Model of Extensive Agriculture
Traditional agriculture, known as extensive farming in contrast to the intensification of modern practices, has nourished the population while shaping our natural landscapes and maintaining a diversity of semi-natural environments for many centuries. This agricultural model places less pressure on animal and plant species and takes the environment into account by limiting mechanization and reducing input usage.
Unfortunately, it also has its drawbacks. Besides lower production, it requires larger land areas.
Intensive Agriculture in the Second Half of the 20th Century
To increase agricultural productivity and meet the growing demand for food due to population growth, ecosystems were heavily modified over the last 50 years. The contribution of technological progress, the decline of small farms in favor of larger operations, and the use of chemical inputs (fertilizers, phytosanitary products like fungicides, herbicides, and insecticides) have met this growing demand, while multiplying the pressures on the environment, the direct impacts on biodiversity and potentially on our health.
The Impact of Agriculture on Biodiversity
In 2020, Wallonia was made up of 52% agricultural land and 29% wooded areas. Between 1985 and 2020, artificial land (land that has been altered from its natural state to meet human needs, such as wetlands, natural grasslands…) increased by 44%, to the detriment of agricultural land, which underwent significant fragmentation…
Despite this, agricultural land, essential for humans, continued to expand. This expansion led to a homogenization of the landscape through parcel grouping (or land consolidation), which resulted in the destruction of habitats for many animal species (trees, hedges, hay grasslands, ponds, orchards, etc.).
The Example of Birds
For example, 81 species of birds in Wallonia have lost nearly 40% of their population over the last 30 years. The species associated with agricultural environments are the most affected, with a loss of nearly half of their population.
Ground-nesting species, such as the Common Quail (Coturnix coturnix) and the Grey Partridge (Perdix perdix), are more vulnerable to farming activities and predation. The Grey Partridge population has been steadily declining as a result of the deterioration in habitat quality, reduced food resources throughout the year, and the increasing size of fields limiting refuges and shelters.
The Corn Bunting (Emberiza calandra) is probably the species experiencing the most significant decline in our countryside, mainly due to the intensification of agricultural practices. This species, among many others, is affected by the widespread use of monocultures, the removal of elements contributing to ecological networks, reduced food resources, and excessive use of pesticides.
The impact on soils and their diversity of living organisms
The impact of intensive agriculture is not limited to birds. Soils, which host considerable biodiversity and provide important ecosystem services, are also subject to severe degradation. For instance, mesic flowers, which are important for pollinators like wild bees, are disappearing from our fields and landscapes. To reverse this, we must promote sustainable agricultural practices that maintain a wide variety of natural habitats and are beneficial for biodiversity.
The Effects of Biodiversity Loss on Our Food Security
The degradation of ecosystem services will have a significant impact on future generations. We depend on these services for our food and water supply, to regulate natural cycles (climate, air quality, etc.), as well as for our well-being.
Wildlife: Support for Our Crops
At the agricultural level, maintaining areas that support biodiversity helps protect numerous pollinators (bees, butterflies) and auxiliary species (birds, bats, amphibians, and many insects like ladybugs and hoverflies), that provide important services to farmers (pest predation, soil fertility) and ensure agricultural productivity.
Genetic Diversity: Essential for Biodiversity
However, production is no longer the sole goal of agriculture, which must also play a role in maintaining ecosystems and contributing to human health. The variety and conservation of biodiversity rely on fragile interactions between different species. If one species disappears from the exchange network, a valuable genetic resource and potential diversity are lost forever.
Good Governance for Better Management of Natural Resources
Fortunately, environmentally friendly agricultural practices such as a return to extensive farming or agroecology are becoming increasingly common. However, these must be accompanied by good governance to encourage proper management of natural resources to preserve biodiversity. Let’s look at two initiatives in this direction.
MAEC standards and the Preservation of Natural Environments
Agri-Environmental and Climate Methodes (AECM) include a set of nature-friendly practices that farmers are encouraged to voluntarily adopt for five years. In return, they receive financial support. By implementing these practices and diversifying landscapes, creating flower strips and hedges, and establishing new wetlands, the capacity of agricultural land to support biodiversity is increased.
Essentially, the goal is to adapt to climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It’s worth noting that in Wallonia, agriculture alone is responsible for about 13% of these emissions.
AECMs are part of the regional implementation of the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
The Common Agricultural Policy and Biodiversity Concerns
Launched in 1962, the CAP is a partnership between Europe and the agricultural sector to support farmers. Originally focused on maximizing production, the CAP increasingly takes into account environmental protection and biodiversity conservation.
At the Walloon level, the government recently announced an agreement on its strategic plan as part of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) 2023-2027. The plan aims for a more ecological, family-oriented, and youth-driven agriculture.
To this end, the Region plans to provide financial assistance to farmers in the form of annual payments called “eco-schemes.” This financial support aims to promote permanent grasslands, soil cover, ecological networks, environmentally friendly crops, and reduced input usage. While positive on paper, it raises concerns.
Conclusion
It will not be easy to support the agricultural sector in feeding an ever-growing population faced with numerous uncertainties (global warming, lack of financial resources, etc.) while preserving the environment and regenerating biodiversity. It is necessary to support profound changes through political will, coherent measures, and the mobilization of both consumers and farmers toward more environmentally friendly agriculture.
E-BIOM supports this ecological transition in agriculture. Whether you are a business owner, employee, mayor, public official, passionate scientist, or citizen, contact us for any biodiversity advice and feel free to visit our website to discover the full extent of our services.
Let’s act together, now.
