PR - THE DEVELOPMENT AND FUTURE OF LANDSCAPE-SCALE, COLLABORATIVE ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT IN ENGLAND

Abstract:
Modern agri-environment schemes (AES) have developed since their introduction in England in 1979 following criticism of their lack of effectiveness and poor value for money. Revisions to AES have been based on our increased knowledge of environmental production systems, and the relationship between the aims of AES and the motivations of farmers to participate in them. Recently a raft of studies has argued that environmental benefits can be increased if AES contracts switch from farm- and field- to landscape-scale agreements: finding which, in part, motivated the introduction of Mid Tier in Countryside Stewardship in 2016. This paper traces the development of the cross-farm boundary, landscape scale opportunities offered by AES in England. Future expansion of cross-farm collaborative AES and options are then discussed against the background of the UK’s decision to leave the European Union, its continuing membership of World Trade Organisation (WTO), and government support for Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES).
Keywords: agri-environment scheme, collaboration, landscape scale, ecological networks, farmers