A new network for result based agri-environment payments

At the end of May 2020, the website of the Result Based Payments Network (RBPN) (www.rbpnetwork.eu) was launched. The network was established in September 2019. Its main goals are:

  • be a meeting point for sharing experiences on result based payments, their design, their pros and cons, their applicability for different agri-environmental problems etc.;
  • linking researchers, policy makers and farmers in the development of result based payments to vitalize both the academic work and the policy design;
  • promoting contacts and partnerships at local, national and European level;
  • promoting the implementation of results-based agri-environment payment schemes (RBPS) to public at large and among farmers;
  • increasing the ownership of farmers for biodiversity and climate measures.

STEP is the network coordinator for Bulgaria.

On the network website you can find examples of successfully implemented results-based agri-environment payment schemes, as well as guidelines of the European Commission and examples of indicators for the development of these schemes (https://www.rbpnetwork.eu/european-policy /).

Results-based agri-environment payment schemes are schemes where farmers and other land managers/owners receive payments for delivering a specific environmental result or outcome. Hence, they differ from the traditional payments that are management based, prescribing when or what the farmer has to do or must not do to get the payment. These results-based approaches offer farmers the flexibility to use their knowledge and experience to manage the land in a way that delivers the environmental outcome/result (e.g. biodiversity, carbon storage, water regulation) alongside with their agricultural activity. The farmer is in principle free to do what fits the site, the weather of the year, the farm and her or his own situation - it is only the environmental results that counts.

Results-based schemes can be funded in a variety of ways. Existing schemes are funded through public funding such as the EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), national or regional funds, as well as private initiatives and projects. They may be implemented through collective approaches, such as in the Netherlands, involve local or native communities, such as the Sami reindeer herders in Sweden, or via individual farmers and land managers. Central to all of these approaches is engaging the knowledge of farmers in managing their land in a way that helps to improve biodiversity delivery as well as other environmental outcomes on the ground alongside their other agricultural activities.

In general, result based agri-environment payments increase farmers' understanding and knowledge of biodiversity conservation. Farmers can assess to what extent they achieve the set goals and thus increase their desire for new knowledge and innovations related to nature and biodiversity conservation. RBPS encourage farmers to focus on the provision of ecosystem services and to seek the most appropriate way for them to conserve biodiversity, rather than complying with certain conditions without understanding what the expected result is.

The main advantages of the correctly formulated and applied results-based agri-environment payment schemes for biodiversity conservation in comparison with the schemes for encouragement of certain activities are:

A much clearer link between the payment and the biodiversity outcomes / effects;

  • Farmers contract set out the results needed and do not specify the activities farmers must or must not carry out;
  • Biodiversity conservation becomes an integral part of the agricultural system and agricultural activity, and does not become a rule imposed on the farmer;
  • Farmers are given the opportunity to use their knowledge and skills on their farm and are encouraged to achieve results from their actions, rather than to comply with requirements set by the Managing Authority;
  • Farmers are encouraged to the results achieved for biodiversity, and this leads to greater recognition of the role of farmers in achieving biodiversity conservation objectives;
  • Results-based agri-environment payment schemes meet the EU's higher requirements for verifying EU agri-environment payments;
  • RBPS are more targeted and their budgets are more justified because farmers can choose to apply them only to areas where they can achieve the desired results.

Promoting result-based payment schemes, specific reductions in the use of mineral fertilizers and pesticides, as well as a target for the increase in the land under organic management, are among the 2030 Commitments of the EU Biodiversity Strategy.