Last night in Brussels the European Landowners' Organisation and Birdlife International (of which the RSPB is the UK partner) had a very successful launch of an agreed document on reform of the Common Agricultural Policy.
It's worth listening to the piece on yesterday's Today programme and I was really pleased that the things that were said by the Country Land and Business Organisation could have been said by the RSPB and vice versa.
The main elements of the agreed position should not be too controversial - I paraphrase them here:
1. Appropriate land management is crucial for food production and the environment.
2. Sustainable land management needs farmers and landowners.
3. Livestock are an important part of delivering food and in land management terms.
4. Europe plays an important part in global food security.
5. European policies and budgets are justified as they will help landowners rise to the challenges of producing food and a a good environment.
6. Future CAP reform should therefore seek to deliver food and a good environment.
7. This will need measures and mechanisms rather like the current rural development and agri-environment measures rather than thefarm support measures.
The BBC seem surprised that land managers and conservationists agree. Not at all - it happens much more than people realise - and it's good when it does.
PS In my youth the ELO were something very different
Well Mark your Chagos revisited brought interesting comment and often surprised when you publish even if it seems against the original blog,really commendable as other blogs often censor innocuous comments,surely they can't expect yours are the greatest blog comments all the time.Had to smile while reading comment from Island Bob as even though it was very serious you had stirred up a wasps nest and my guess is you would enjoy his comment.
Hi Mark what a great document and agreement if only it works.At last it seems to me the bird life people are understanding that conservation has to come with high production of food which surely with large proportion of world starving we have a responsibility to produce at a high level.We must be able to cut emissions with all vehicles and aircraft rather than farming but of course that would be unpopular.In my experience high food production has to come with reasonable carbon emissions and forget about organic unless you will accept 50% of current production.One thing that needs to happen is that firm guidelines put down what these bodies would like farmers to do and make the payments worthwhile with less controls and paperwork and general public but more importantly bodies like RSPB have to stop farmer bashing like the spokesman I go on about he put out a very silly statement particularly now this agreement come up.
Conservation has to be paid for as farming being a business each farmer has a responsibility to his family first to make more or less maximum profit after all RSPB and others have lots of membership contributions,wills etc.Feel sure farmers will do what is asked of them if payments are reasonable for what is asked and the benefits for wildlife could be enormous considering the amount of land they are in charge of.Thankfully Mark you seem to see the farmers side.When people go on about how many hedges farmers have pulled out wonder how many miles have gone from gardens or removed for new house build,strangely never heard a word about it.Of course the problem with this document is that UK will try and comply and Europe will take the money and not comply surely first they have to stop slaughter of birds.
Another thing that has to happen which nobody dare enforce especially RSPB is that all dogs in countryside
MUST BE KEPT ON LEAD as these dogs running around must disturb birds terribly,what happens is lots of people use RSPB reserves for walking dogs and as soon as out of sight let them off of lead.
Mark. I saw the publicity and was waiting for your entry on this. Excellent news and hopefully goes a longway towards putting an end to the myth that the RSPB and landowners won't or can't work together. We need policies that provide for both agricultural and the environment. I am pleased that this is being presented at a European level rather than UK only. There are certainly EU countries where that inter-relationship is not as apparent as perhaps it should be.