How to develop effective local agri-environmental measures: Introductory guidelines for rural development planners and administrators

Agri-Environmental Measures for Biodiversity Assessment and Conservation (AEMBAC) was a three-year EU 5th Framework project, co-financed by the Nando Peretti Foundation and coordinated by IUCN, that concluded in February 2004. A consortium of experts from seventeen institutions in seven Western and Central European countries formed a partnership with the core goal of developing a single methodology to aid the development of local agri-environmental measures (AEMs) that ensure the effective conservation of biodiversity and the environment by improving the sustainability of agricultural practices. In achieving this goal the project’s results are expected to bring benefits to the development of agri-environmental policy both at local and European levels.

This booklet introduces to rural development planners and local agricultural administrators throughout Pan-Europe a practical methodology on how to develop effective, scientifically and economically verifiable local Agri-Environmental Measures (AEMs). The methodology has been developed by the AEMBAC project of the EU 5th Framework Programme 1998-2002.

The guidelines presented here consist of nine practical steps that lead to the development and implementation of AEMs at the local level. Each step is illustrated with examples extracted from fifteen case studies carried out in seven Central and Western European countries.