Description of broad High Nature Value farming types or systems
Some Member States are struggling with the idea of identifying HNV farming. This is partly because to-date the concept has not been explained and promoted sufficiently by the European Commission. In many countries there has not been a sufficiently open and transparent debate on how to interpret and implement the HNV farming concept. In most countries, currently available data do not allow a very detailed identification of HNV farming systems. Their location and extent can only be estimated at present.
However, the Forum believes that it is perfectly possible in all countries to identify HNV farming systems at a level sufficient to enable the design and implementation of economic support measures for these systems.
Before undertaking statistical or GIS analyses, the essential first step is to produce a description of the broad types of HNV farming in the country, on the basis of existing literature sources and expert knowledge. The aim of this work is to identify the key criteria to be used in the identification process and thus to ensure that the estimate of the area under HNV farming systems is as meaningful as possible. An exhaustive study is not necessary – the level of detail need only be sufficient to enable the Member State to embark on the next step with confidence. This is the “characterising and identifying” process described in the draft Guidance Document (IEEP and Beaufoy, 2007). This task is best undertaken under the guidance of a small national working group including experts with a broad knowledge of farming systems and associated biodiversity.
In this first step, the broad types of farming should be described and their agronomic characteristics identified, at an appropriate geographical level. The nature value (habitats, species, nature-conservation functions) of each HNV farming type should be identified as far as available data and knowledge allow, including the relationships between particular farm practices and nature conservation, where known. Examples are shown in the Forum’s HNV Show Case
The descriptions of HNV farming types should identify in each case the basic components that make up an HNV farming system:
- The predominant land cover that characterises each category of HNV farmland, especially the types of semi-natural vegetation, types of cropped land, and their typical spatial coverage and distribution at the farm level (e.g. proportion of farmed area under each, mosaic patterns).
- The way in which this land cover is managed by the predominant farming system and practices, such as grazing regimes, cropping patterns and intensity of use (e.g. livestock densities per hectare of forage, nitrogen inputs).
This information is crucial to the next step, which is to design indicators for distinguishing HNV farmland from non-HNV farmland.
