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La Cañada — Number 31 Winter 2019

No. 31 Winter 2019ISSN 1027-2070

HNV-Link is a multi-actor projectand network of 13 partners and 10 HighNature Value (HNV) farming territories(`Learning Areas’) in Europe that imple-ment innovations and best practices tosupport HNV farmers. Here, we present HNV-Link activi-ties and share stories from severalLearning Areas as well as our main rec-ommendations. They have formulatedwith local actors sustainable develop-ment scenarios, and have identified thechallenges and barriers to those. Butmore importantly, they are exchangingand applying innovative solutions toachieve their goals, improving socialand institutional settings, policy andregulatory frameworks, farming tech-niques and management, as well as pro-duction and marketing. Sharing theseinnovations across diverse social, eco-logical and geographical contexts in-forms us how widely applicable theyare and how they can be best combined.

Bearing in mind the range of publicgoods and services supplied by HNVfarming (e.g. quality food, biodiversity,beautiful landscapes, etc.), policymakersmust realise that biodiversity conserva-tion objectives can’t be fulfilled withoutsupporting adequately HNV farmers.For this, EU countries should driveHNV-friendly adjustments in their agri-cultural and rural development policies,and governments should work closelywith all actors along the agriculturalvalue chain towards more sustainableagri-food systems for a prosperous andinclusive Europe. The project is holding its Final Con-ference on 31 January 2019 in Montpel-lier, France. Its activities and key recom-mendations will be discussed then.Please, get in touch if you have a say onthe issue! All other information is onour website!

Fabrice GouriveauHNV-Link Coordinator

[email protected]

Contents2 Cross-visits and innovation

brokering3 Developing an HNV-vision4 Spreading the word on HNV

farming6 Pastando Garganta (`Grazing

Garganta’): A local HNV initi-ative in Extremadura, Spain

8 Western Stara Planina, Bulgar-ia: Socio-economic conditions

10 HNV-Link in Romania: Alearning experience and storyto share

12 Land use plan: A tool for dia-logue in Sweden

14 The Dartmoor, UK: HNV farm-ing in the age of Brexit

16 The Montado case study: co-construction of locally led in-novative solutions

18 Dalmatian islands as HNVfarming landscapes

20 Future prospects for High Na-ture Value farming: lessonslearnt

HNV-Link: co-innovating for HighNature Value farming

Photos:HN

V-Link

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Cross-visits and innovation brokeringConnecting HNV farming territories to inspire innovation

Innovation in its various forms —social, technological, economic, polit-

ical, etc. — is needed at all levels, withinand outside farming systems and fromthe local to international scales, to suc-ceed in enhancing the viability ofHigh Nature Value (HNV) farming sys-tems in the long term. We know thatinnovation is driven by a mix of indi-vidual and collective creativity and in-telligence and that it emerges from in-teractions and collaborations betweenmultiple actors. HNV-Link project supported all to-gether 18 study trips or `cross-visits’ in2018 between its 10 Learning Areas(LA), thus encouraging the exchange ofpractical knowledge and best practices.The aim was to find solutions to themost urgent problems and to exploitopportunities that HNV farming has tooffer. During the cross-visits, actorsfrom the LA (e.g. farmers, practitioners,local authorities, researchers) learn fromhands-on experience in innovating toincrease the profitability of HNV farmswhile ensuring biodiversity conserva-tion. For example, stakeholders from Por-tugal, France, Romania and Swedenvisited the Burren in Ireland to benefitfrom the experiences of the Burren Pro-gramme in running locally-led projectsfunded by European Innovation part-nerships (EIP), and results-based agri-environment schemes for biodiversity.Likewise, a group of farmers and pro-ducers, researchers and local authoritiesfrom Western Stara Planina region inBulgaria visited Mouzaki region in

Greece to learn more about the TerraThessalia Territorial cluster, Participa-tory Guarantee System, and GPS-tracking for monitoring and certifica-tion of extensive livestock farming.These innovations create added valueand develop markets for HNV prod-ucts. Local authorities, non-governmentalorganisation (NGO) representatives andfarmers from La Vera of Spain andThessaly region in Greece visited theCausses et Cévennes UNESCO Site inFrance to learn more about collabora-tion to maintain semi-natural biodiver-sity-rich landscapes and reconcile farm-ing with nature protection. This in-cludes, for example, collective land useand infrastructures, using livestockgrazing to mitigate fire risk, valorisinglocal products through direct sale on-farm or in cooperative shops, and diver-

sifying through agro-tourism. Similarly,actors from Bulgaria and Croatia trav-elled to Romanian area of Tarnava Mareto discuss such innovations as a foodprocessing unit, green infrastructuresheepfold model, farmer associationand milk collection unit, farm and na-ture school, and SMS (text message)information system for farmers. All exchanges provided participantswith a better understanding of the fac-tors influencing HNV farming viability,the key innovation gaps and possiblesolutions. They provided insight intoexisting innovations and the role farm-ers together with agricultural supportservices and authorities, can play inimplementing and disseminating them.The visits were a source of inspirationand strengthened tires at professionaland personal levels. Back home, cross-visitors are acting as innovation catalys-ers in their own areas and networks. Despite their diversity, HNV farmingareas share common challenges andopportunities, and have a wealth ofsuccessful initiatives worth spreadingacross Europe. The national applicationof European policies and regulationsoften appears to be a bottleneck. Withfavourable policies and well-organisedstakeholder collaboration, HNV farmingsystems can thrive, and as such, societycan continue to enjoy the benefits theyprovide.

Fabrice GouriveauHNV-Link Coordinator, CIHEAM-IAMM

[email protected] for peer-to-peer learning inspire innovation

Learning AreasPartners

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Developing an HNV VisionA strategic enterprise

Building a High Nature Value(HNV) vision has been a key ele-

ment in the processes that took place inthe HNV-Link Learning Areas. It waspart of the `framing phase’ of HNV-Link and designed to be a resource forHNV brokers. The reason such visions are so im-portant is found in the particular con-text of HNV conservation. Indeed, HNVareas, in their diversity, are frequentlyseen as remnants of the past, with the(frequently correct) image of elder farm-ers and marginal rural areas. Thus, thedisappearance of HNV landscapes —which is happening in most places —requires changes in the developmentpa erns, which is precisely what is ad-dressed in the HNV-Link actions plansdesigned in each Learning Area.The fundamental raison d’être for anHNV vision is to engage a set of actorstowards the shared goal of HNV conser-vation. The word `vision’ thus encom-passes two ideas: (a) it should be some-how visual and propose a completeimage of a future explicitly displayingHNV a ributes, and (b) it should beinspiring and give positive reasons forHNV conservation. The HNV visionmust encompass in some ways a de-scription of a desired HNV landscape ina given area, in a close or medium termfuture, in relationship with biodiversityconservation. The issue is not only todescribe a scenic landscape but to ex-plain how this landscape is linked withthe presence of rich habitats. Calling fora `mandatory’ display of landscape/biodiversity elements in the visionseems necessary in light of the results-based approach at the landscape levelwhich forms the basis of an HNV farm-ing project and distinguishes it fromother `natural resource management’ or`rural development’ projects (withoutdiscarding their value). In strategic terms — adopting thereading of an HNV farming project as astrategic intervention in a given socialconfiguration — the vision sets both theobjectives (where is it desirable to goto?) and some means (under which con-ditions? with which innovations?).

In terms of content, the HNV visionshould:1. Show that another future for HNV

areas is possible and desirable, ascompared with the business as usu-al scenario, consisting in a combina-tion of land abandonment and in-tensification;

2. Explore how the conservation ofnatural a ributes — those formingthe essence of HNV areas — arelinked to the sound development offarming systems meeting the socialdemands of new and young farm-ers;

3. Identify the conditions for such analternative development for farm-ing systems in: techniques, mar-kets, policies and wider rural devel-opment domains. This is the fieldof play for relevant innovations.

Although clear enough in principle,the building of the vision is a demand-ing exercise: it should combine rigorand expertise, mobilizing multidiscipli-nary approaches dealing with ecology,farm and rural economy, sociology… allthat in a future-oriented perspective!Yes, it should not be an academic andtechnocratic exercise but, rather, inspir-ing and understandable for a variety oflocal and regional actors. It has to dis-play a sensible dimension for the en-gagement.

Thus, there is no `one size fits all’;building a vision requires an individualapproach. The experience from HNV-Link suggests that the HNV vision pro-cess is not a ma er of undertaking afixed methodology that would dictatethe outputs and the project. If somemethodological landmarks have provenuniversally useful for HNV brokers, it isthat the HNV process mobilises anadaptive approach that utilizes localresources — research institutes, localexperts (including farmers), and localgroups. Beyond the explicit landscape dis-play described above, the extent towhich the vision should aim and thedegree of precision are open and subjectto ongoing changes. Deducing from thedesired HNV landscapes what shouldbe the desired HNV farming systems isnot an easy task and, in any case, shouldbe undertaken with the involvement ofa wide range of farmers. Even if the aimis less ambitious than a full picture atthe first instance, the effort of formalisa-tion can still address some key featuresfor the farming systems and beyond forthe wider development context of thosefarming systems. Exchange of ideas iskey: if we approach grassroots socialprocesses with ready-made, detailedvisions without understanding farmingsystems, it is questionable whether localactors would embrace our vision. Argu-ably, it is important to bring some ele-ments for a local debate, while keepingflexibility and rigor in their arrange-ment.

Xavier PouxApplications des Sciences de l’Action AScA

[email protected]

An HNV vision sets both the objectives and some means to achieve the objectives

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Spreading the word on HNV farming

How to reach various stakeholdersabout the meaning, values and

potential of High Nature Value (HNV)farmland and farming? At best, mostpeople in Europe on hearing of naturevalues, immediately think of forests as aplace of nature. At worst, they wouldask you ̀ HNV? What kind of disease isthat?’ As a networking project with a wideoutreach ambition, HNV-Link thusfaced a challenge of communicating notonly to a classical trio of farmers, advi-sor, and local authorities, but to peoplemost relevant to such farming. After all,any lay person is a potential consumer,and any agricultural student is a futuredecision-maker or advisor.`…how we communicate this messageto a range of audiences and how weensure that that message is spread notjust within our own country but acrossEurope’ [Alison Kohler, Dartmoor Na-tional Park]

Using social media The project team ran three thematiccampaigns on Facebook and Twi erwith the hashtags: #HNVresearch,#HNVma ers, and #HNVinnovation.Each campaign involved regular pos-ting of visually a ractive posts withsimple messages. To make them live onafter the newsfeed changes, we assem-bled the posts into two online slide-shows: one illustrates the diversity ofHNV farming practices, their ecologicaland other values, and the other show-cases innovative solutions for HNVfarming continuity.

Make people say it! Bringing the message out in a simpleand spontaneous way is important inreaching out to new audiences. Weasked the key players of the project toexplain their work rational and aims.Instead of having a professional gloss,the messages had to be, above all, ap-proachable, embedded into the verycontext of an activity. And so several

presentations were born with a li lenudging and support among the projectteam. The most important is looking foran opportune moment to make thespeakers, who has never done this be-fore, to perform. As a networking project with astrong multi-actor mandate, HNV-Linkhad to mobilise collaborative groups onthe ground, in each of its ten LearningAreas (LAs). In communication, we hadto prove that every project output hasbeen a fruit of such collaborative work.We created extensive accounts on theparticipatory process in each LearningArea (see the website under LAs andthe YouTube playlist).

Support educators From early planning of the applica-tion, the team recognised that educatorsare critically important for building upawareness about and knowledge of theHNV farming for coming professionalsin agriculture and rural development.The application evaluators especiallypraised the team’s ambition for produc-ing outputs designed for use of educa-tors in vocational and higher education.

Screenshot of a YouTube presentation

The High Nature Value farmingchannel has a broad selection of videos:

· The concept of High Nature Valuefarming explained (3:38 min).

· Innovations for High Nature ValueFarming (5 min).

· High Nature Value farmland in TheBurren of Ireland (8:38 min).

· Examples of the project innovationsfor Bulgarian users (10 slide shows).

· And 30 more short videos of testi-monies and reflections.

Screenshot of a Facebook post

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`Education is the most powerful weap-on which you can use to change theworld’ [ Nelson Mandela]

This would allow us encouraging edu-cators with only li le and no knowledgeof the topic to work with it from variousperspectives. To make the future materials usefulacross Europe and relevant to manydisciplines, the team conducted a sur-vey to over 300 addresses across theEuropean Union. We located some ex-isting resources and people who werewilling to share their materials, gainedcollaborators outside of the project andbe er understood the needs of the po-tential users. It took a year of dedicated work toproduce the HNV-Link EducationalPackage including:

Three sets of presentation slides· General Overview of HNV farmland· HNV farmland across Europe· Role for Innovations in HNV farm-

landFour sets of presentation slides on cas-es of HNV farming systems· The dehesa agroforestry system (J.

Santos & R. Alejano)· Impact of abandonment on HNV

pastures of Sardinia (E. Farris)· Flood meadows of Angers, France (J.

Pithon-Rivallain)· Training for farmers about semi-

natural grasslands in Latvia (So-Rūsiņa)

Ten assignments for class, field andfarmDatabase of resources on HNV farm-ing theme.

All of the materials are in a ready-to-use format and are Open Source (underCC BY-NC-SA). Anyone may freely use

them as they are or modify as necessaryfor non-commercial purposes. The materials should be suitable foruse in agricultural or rural studies, sus-tainable development, agroecology, andconservation biology. Some are moretheoretical and some practical, more fitfor use in vocational training. Advisorsmay also find ideas in the package.

Welcome to the treat!

`This is a brilliant initiative ``Really impressive!! ``Thanks for these great outputs! Thesewill be very helpful in my yearly mastercourse on European Landscapes…’

- First feedback from educatorsoutside of the project team

Engage online The main outputs of HNV-Link —Baseline Assessment and InnovationCompendium — are fairly large PDFfiles with a wealth of technical infor-mation. However, the project ambitionwas also to reach to a large and diverseaudience by a user-friendly tool availa-ble after the project. The team integrat-ed the information from all LAs andtheir 52 innovations into an InteractiveInnovations Map.

The Map presents each LearningArea through three layers: Farmingand Nature, Challenges, and Innova-tions. Pop-out windows under the keyissues of each visual layer allows ex-ploring the Area in-depth and lookingfor solutions within a specific context. It is completed with a search enginewith several filters such as innovationtype, challenges addressed, scale ofoperation (e.g. cluster of farms). It isworth exploring!

English is not enough Finally, in full awareness thatchange happens on local and regionallevels, the project partners made majorcommunication and disseminationefforts within and outside their net-works, producing for example innova-tion leaflets in their national languages.These will be added to the website.

Irina HerzonUniversity of Helsinki, Finland

Communication & Dissemination [email protected]

Of the respondents, 30 (40%) stated that they did not usethe concept of HNV farmland in their teaching.The reasons for it are on the chart. It is mostly just not knownor not seen as complementary or supporting the ones in usealready. Lack of materials may also hinder the use. Othersincluding lack of suitable studies in the respondent’s depart-ment, or unrelated field. Think of how many students couldgain some insight into HNV farmland and farming if all 30educators would integrate the concept into their teaching, yearafter year!

If you do NOT use the HNV farming concept in teaching what are the main reasons?

Screenshot of the online interactive map

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Pastando Garganta (`Grazing Garganta’)A local HNV-Link initiative in Extremadura (Spain)

The Spanish High Nature Value(HNV) Learning Area of HNV-

Link project is the district of La Vera, onthe southern slopes of the Gredosmountains in the northeast of Extrema-dura. The uplands are a mosaic of grass-land, scrub and forest. The landscapestructure is the result of extensive graz-ing by goats, sheep and suckler ca le,and terracing for olives, cherries, chest-nuts, figs and other permanent crops.Most of the uplands of La Vera are des-ignated under Natura 2000 as a SpecialArea of Conservation (SAC). The team (European Forum on Na-ture Conservation and Pastoralism EF-NCP and Entretantos) faced a majorchallenge in assessing the baseline situa-tion for the district as a whole. In partic-ular, it was impossible to establish aclear evidence-based picture of the stateof Natura 2000 habitats and species be-cause there is no official monitoring orother data to draw on and because ofthe scale and diversity of habitats in thedistrict. We decided to zoom-in on one mu-nicipality – Garganta la Olla – to analysein detail the current situation of pasto-ralism and of the Natura 2000 habitatscreated and maintained by pastoralism.EFNCP employed a project officer toengage with all the local pastoralists, aswell as with hunters, foresters, and localand regional authorities to develop a setof recommendations, and Universidad

Politécnica de Madrid provided special-ist input for in-field habitat assessment.

Pastoral habitats in decline Garganta la Olla Municipality covers4,700 ha and is dominated by two largeareas of common grazing, one publicand one private, covering a total of ap-proximately 3,700 ha. The vast majorityof the common grazing land is withinNatura 2000, and the habitats presenton a significant scale are all associatedwith past or present pastoral use. Theseinclude Galicio-Portuguese oak woodswith Quercus robur and Quercus pyre-naica (9230), Species-rich Nardus grass-lands (6230*), Pseudo-steppe withgrasses and annuals of the Thero-Brachypodietea (6220*), Mountain Cytisuspurgans formations (5120), European dryheaths (4030) and Endemic oro-Mediterranean heaths with gorse (4090).

Official maps miss true story The reality on the ground is that thesehabitats mostly exist in a complex mo-saic. EFNCP bu erfly monitoring hasfound this habitat mosaic to be extreme-ly species-rich with approximately 60bu erfly species along a 500 m transect. The official habitat maps divide theSAC into large areas according to thedominant habitat type and so are notable to reflect the reality of the fine-grained mosaic. Thus, these maps arenot a sound foundation for determiningor monitoring conservation status, norfor developing objectives and manage-

ment measures. The great diversity ofthe habitat mosaic could be lost entirelywithout any significant change appear-ing on the official habitat maps. Reveal-ing and documenting this reality is initself an important innovation of theHNV-Link project. We found that certain habitats are inclear regression, notably the two priori-ty grassland habitats (6220* and 6230*).Concurrently, scrub and woodland hab-itats (5120 and 9230) are expanding tocreate dense, impenetrable areas of lowbiodiversity and high fire risk that areunsuitable for grazing. Overall, there is a decline in habitatdiversity, as scrub and dense woodlandgradually eliminate smaller grasslandpatches (6220*) while the larger area ofspecies-rich Nardus habitat (6230*) isclearly under-grazed and declining inquality. These tendencies reflect theconsiderable decline in grazing pressurein recent decades, especially by transhu-mant flocks in the summer. The recentconversion to chestnut production of aparcel of habitat 6220*, which forms thecore of the EFNCP bu erfly transect,reflects the same economic low-viabilityof grazing that drives abandonment. Regional authorities have not takenmeasures to address pasture abandon-ment, or even to assess in the field theconservation status of the pastoral habi-tats. Two Natura 2000 planning docu-ments, a regional plan and a SAC man-agement plan, put strong emphasis onthe need to maintain traditional pastoral

Official maps fail to capture La Vera’s great habitat diversity Dense broom is a fire risk and builds up when grazing ends

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activity, but these form li le more thana wish-list from conservation authoritieswho have neither the resources nor thecompetence to implement suchmeasures. Implementing the wish-list as practi-cal funded measures would requireaction from the agricultural, rural devel-opment and forest authorities and useby them of rural development pro-gramme options of agri-climate-environment schemes (AES), Natura2000 payments, and investment aids.The European Commission guidelinesfor habitat management from 2008make clear that habitats such as 6220*need measures to incentivise the pasto-ral management that created and stillmaintains these last areas. Rather than providing incentives forpastoral activity, the current approachof the regional authorities is to `protect’habitats through legislative restrictionson activities seen as ìmpacting’, such aschange of land use or removal of scrubor trees. Inevitably, this approach leadsto abandonment and a empts to bendthe rules to convert semi-natural land tofruit plantations.

A system close to disappearing The small remaining community ofpastoralists and their livestock, couldstill be enough to prevent the total lossof Natura 2000 pastoral habitats in themunicipality. Currently there are 4 full-time goat farmers in the winter months,with a total of 700 goats, 3 seasonal gra-ziers with a further 900 goats, and onefarmer with suckler cows (80). The pastoralists, and everyone elseconsulted, see a bleak future for theirprofession. Decline in the number ofpastoralists and animals has accelerated,and the majority of pastoralists willreach retirement age in a few years. The decline is unsurprising. In addi-tion to the hard work and poor condi-tion of the pastures due to scrub en-croachment, the pastoralists face anunfair situation. Much of their land isexcluded from the European Union’sCommon Agriculture Policy (CAP) pay-ments by the rules on eligibility of pas-tures with scrub and/or trees, which inSpain applies to Pillar I, AES, and LeastFavoured Area schemes. That irrigatedarable land in the neighbouring munici-pality is eligible for Pillar 1 direct pay-ments of 1,430 euros/ha plus an AES forintegrated tobacco cropping of 600 e/ha

just adds insult to injury. Further, traditional pastoralist prac-tices that were central to the grazingsystem, such as regular thinning of thetree cover and clearing scrub by hand orusing fire, have been banned forènvironmental’ reasons. On-farmcheese-making, which was key to theeconomy of goat farming, was effective-ly stopped in the 1990s by inflexibleimplementation of EU food hygienerules. Now, new dairies - howeversmall - are blocked by environmentalplanning (cheese-making is treated asan ìndustrial’ activity unsuitable for aNatura 2000 site). Seasonal movementsof animals and, indeed the very use ofcommon pastures is threatened by re-strictive bovine tuberculosis contain-ment measures that are not adapted topastoral realities.

Innovation or back to basics? The original and innovative idea ofthe HNV farming concept was that na-ture conservation in Europe cannot beachieved merely by `protecting’ habitatsand species through designations suchas Natura 2000. It is essential also toensure the economic viability of thefarming systems that contribute most tonature conservation at a landscapescale, particularly extensive grazingsystems on semi-natural pastures. Thisrequires an integrated approach to poli-cy design and implementation, as wellas combining targeted economic incen-tives and investment aid to promoteviability of the HNV farming system. This joined up approach to supportHNV farming is precisely what is NOThappening in La Vera. Nature conserva-tion here focuses on restrictions ratherthan incentives, CAP and Rural Devel-

opment Programme do not supportHNV grazing systems and, crucially,there is practically no integration ofpolicy design and implementation, ora empts to adapt policy to the condi-tions of HNV farming.

Making change happen HNV-Link reveals for the first timewith facts and figures the crisis facingextensive pastoralism and Natura 2000habitats in this municipality. It has giv-en pastoralists the opportunity to maketheir own proposals for change, includ-ing practical measures for their liveli-hoods and living environments. Wehave transmi ed the critical situationand proposed solutions to the local andregional authorities who have the com-petence to implement them. The project is coming to an end and,even though the different authoritiesshowed willingness to listen and engagein dialogue, nothing has changed yet inpolicy terms, and the pastoralists haveno more support than before. It is clear that what is needed is alonger-term innovation `process’ togradually build a consensus and politi-cal commitment around the need tosustain the extensive grazing systems inthe uplands of Extremadura, and thento get the different authorities to startmaking the concrete changes that areneeded. Such a process needs to be driv-en from the local level. We found thatauthorities were especially interested tohear about the realities and practicalproposals from Garganta la Olla, andpotentially the work started by HNV-Link could be continued as a long-termpilot project.

Guy BeaufoyEuropean Forum on Nature Conservation

and [email protected]

Interviewing one of the last goatfarmers in La Vera at his home.

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Western Stara Planina, BulgariaSocio-economic conditions

Western Stara Planina is an exception-al region from many perspectives. It is aHigh Nature Value (HNV) farming andforestry area with biodiversity richnessof national, European and global im-portance. It is a mountainous area thathosts one of the first spa resorts in thecountry from early 20th century, as wellas the famous Chiprovski carpets madefrom sheep wool and natural plant col-ours. Geographically, the region neigh-bours Sofia – the capital of Bulgaria. Yet,it is also part of the poorest NUTS IIregion in the EU, and depopulation issignificant. Thus, there exists an over-whelming dichotomy of exceptionalnature value and deteriorating socio-economic status. At the same time, some of the mostinnovative HNV farming initiatives inBulgaria have developed here, mainlydue to the conservation importance ofthe region that a racted the focusedefforts of multiple non-governmentalnature conservation organisations1.Their approach is on promoting sustain-able economic development that wouldkeep farmers farming and, thus, main-taining the high nature values. This ap-proach was welcomed by several localfarmers who se led in the region afterworking abroad. These newcomers haveacted as agents of change with`traditional’ local farmers. Now, theterritory has a particular social dynamicthat nourishes various innovative ideasfor development. This dynamic is ofinterest to the HNV-Link project.

Socio-economic challenges Population decline, which beganin the region in the 1960s, continues. In2016, there were slightly more than35,000 people, with 68% located in thefour towns in the Learning Area (LA).The other 69 villages are small (between101-500 people) and very small (lessthan 100 people). The average popula-tion density is 21.5 people/km2 com-pared to 31.5 for all rural areas and 65.5for the country as a whole. The negative impacts of depopulationare many and feed into each other: a

shrinking pool of people available forjobs, loss of job opportunities, worsen-ing social coherence, further promotionof out-migration, loss of motivation andforward-thinkingness in many localpeople, deterioration of social and tech-nical infrastructure, etc. The percentage of unemployed isamong the highest in the country - be-tween 15% and 35% in the differentmunicipalities. One of its side effects isthat people lose their working habitsand come to rely on social payments. Atthe same time, the public sector jobs(administration, education, social andhealth services) represent 35% of alljobs. Thus, the state has become themost important actor in the region bothfrom economic and social perspectives.

Role of farming and farmers Farming served, and still serves, as asafety net for many local people whoproduced for subsistence or semi-subsistence purposes during the 1990sand early 2000s. They were able to carefor only a small share of all agriculturalland, mostly around the villages, whichcreated the mosaic landscapes of patch-es of small cropping, orchards andgrasslands. Unfortunately, the farm-lands further away from the villages,mostly pastures, were abandoned formore than a decade, thus decreasingtheir nature values. Nowadays, only 5% of the local pop-ulation are officially registered as em-ployed in agriculture. They consider thepotential for future developmentthrough European Union’s (EU) Com-mon Agriculture Policy (CAP) support

and opportunities arising for other, in-novative forms of development. Cur-rently, subsistence farming and profes-sional farming co-exist in the area.

CAP support for HNV farming Both `traditional’ and `innovative’local livestock farmers2 state that CAPsupport is important for keeping themin business but also add that, `it wouldbe much be er if there were no CAPsupport at all because most of the pay-ments go to large scale arable farmers,and we are in dis-advantaged position’.This la er statement is rather emotionaland not justified by evidence from expe-riences. Before joining the EU in 2007,Bulgaria offered no payments to itsfarmers, and the LA still suffers fromthe resulting land abandonment. How-ever, the current system of CAP supportneeds to be adjusted to the needs ofHNV livestock farmers. There are multiple CAP schemes ofhigh importance for HNV livestockfarmers. Bulgaria introduced coupled-support scheme for livestock farmers inmountainous regions only in the lastcouple of years, and its support is high-ly appreciated. The other CAP measurethat fits well with HNV farmers inWestern Stara Planina is the compensa-tory payment for agricultural land inNatura 2000 zones (Measure 12 in theRural Development Programme). Western Stara Planina’s HNV live-stock farmers are not eligible for thededicated agri-climate-environmentscheme (AES) for HNV grasslands. Theimplementation rules of the two ruraldevelopment measures state that farm-ers from areas designated as Natura2000 zones can only apply under Meas-ure 12. This is a rather disputable imple-mentation because Natura 2000 pay-ment is a compensation for manage-ment restrictions, while AES is for ac-tions above the baseline requirements. The most controversial scheme is thesingle area-based payment (SAPS) dueto the 100-tree requirement for eligibil-ity of agricultural land. Clearly, the pas-tures in the area are abundant in treesand scrub and, thus, only 60% of thegrassland physical blocks in the LandParcel Identification System (LPIS) areeligible for support. Furthermore, not allgrasslands are included in the LPIS dueto their long-term abandonment.

Pavlin at Linbul farm describes hisgrassland management practices.

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Role of innovations for HNVfarming CAP helps ensure survival of farmersin Western Stara Planina, but any fur-ther development and growth is linkedto the conditions for doing business.The most critical challenge is the lack offarm workers. Depopulation has re-duced the work force pool. The highshare of unemployed people is not anoption for the farms due to the lack ofinterest and/or motivation to work inlivestock farms. As a result, most farm-ers maintain or reduce the farm busi-ness to a scale they can manage relyingonly on family members and one or twofarm workers. Social, marketing, and technical inno-vations help support farmers in theirinitiatives to reduce labour load or toadd value to their products. For exam-ple, Linbul farm introduced controlledparcel grazing of the Angus herd, whichensures regular fresh grass for the ani-mals and opportunities for species re-growth. The farmer uses electric fencesand vitamin supplements to move theanimals from one parcel to the other byhimself. At the same time, he started ablog to share his farming experiencewith other farmers and with clients ofthe farm products. Nine farmers and businesses fromWestern Stara Planina have formed acooperative, representing several HNVfarming specialisations, to pool theirmarketing efforts. They promote theregion as an area of alternative tourismoffering clean food, traditional productsand crafts, food and wine tasting, andguided tours. A unifying factor is theirwillingness to preserve natural re-sources on which their businesses de-pend. The current joint activities receive

no support, which makes it challenging,but the association members are hope-ful and actively searching for fundingopportunities for the marketing andpromotion activities of the association .

Role of HNV-Link project HNV-Link project made it possiblefor individuals working and interestedin HNV farming in Western Stara Plani-na to meet (some of them for the firsttime) and enlarge their local network oflike-minded people. The local networkwas further strengthened during thecross-visits to Greece and Romania, aswell as during the hosting of the Roma-nian group in the Western Stara PlaninaLA. The innovations in HNV farmingsystems visited were motivational fromseveral perspectives:`We see that HNV farming faces chal-lenges in every country and region, andwe are not that far be-hind.’ [representative of local agricul-ture office]

`Even small steps can make a bigchange as long as they continue overtime and follow the same objec-tive.’ [farmer]

`EU policies can have different imple-mentation in the different member-states, so we have to keep demanding anational implementation favourable toHNV farming. At the same time, somerules have change at EU level (eg. pas-ture eligibility).’ [farmer]

`We want to come with you to othercross-visits that you organize in thefuture. We have never seen so manyuseful and interesting examples in sofew days before.’ [farm advisor]

`You have to promote and distribute

widely the innovation examples forHNV farming collected in the project.People from other regions in Bulgariahave to see them too!’ [participants inthe LA regional meeting] At the regional meeting, STEP’s mul-tiple roles as project coordinator, butalso local facilitator, network communi-cator, HNV farming and policy topicleader, event organiser etc., were recog-nized and highly valued by people asessential for the smooth running of theactivities in Western Stara Planina. Lo-cal partners said that the collaborationwith STEP and HNV-Link project wasimportant to them because it gave themwider perspective to their daily prob-lems, as well as motivation to continueworking and problem solving theirfarming. People — the farmers, subsistenceproducers or small-scale nature-basedbusiness developers, as well as localagriculture officers and advisors — areat the heart of HNV farming. Losingthem will significantly reduce the highnature values in the area.

Yanka Kazakova & Vyara StefanovaSociety for Territorial and Environmental

Prosperity (STEP)h p://www.step-bg.bg/en

1Bulgarian Society for the Protection ofBirds (BSPB), European Forum for Na-ture Conservation and Pastoralism(EFNCP), Regional Environmental Cen-ter (REC), Society for Territorial andEnvironmental Prosperity (STEP) andWWF Danube-Carpathian Programme.

Making hay by machine in Western Stara PlaninaMaking hay by hand in Western Stara Planina

Allphotos:Yanka

Kazakova

10


HNV-Link in Romaniaa learning experience and story to share

Interest in finding ways to sustainHigh Nature Value (HNV) farming

in Romania has been remarkable in re-cent years, with one of the main impactscoming from the HNV-Link project. Ateam of researchers from Romania(Department of Economic Sciences, Uni-versity of Agricultural Sciences andVeterinary Medicine, Cluj-Napoca) wasengaged in the network built within theproject and worked with the aim offinding sustainable ways to preserveHNV farmland at a local level. Although Romania is ranked 5th inEurope for the amount of HNV landarea and is especially well-known for itsrich biodiversity kept over the years bythe traditional low-intensity agriculturalpractices, it nowadays faces the samethreats as other EU countries: the aban-donment phenomena and the intensifi-cation of farming. In this context ofsearching and learning new ways toa enuate these destructive trends, arepresentative Learning Area was cho-sen in Romania – Dealurile Clujului Est.Located in the northwest region of Ro-mania in the proximity of one of thelargest cities, it covers a surface of19.622,88 ha on eight communes. Thereis a Natura 2000 site in the middle of theLearning Area with the same name.

High species richness The Natura 2000 site is famous forthe presence of Maculinea species ofbu erflies, mesophilic meadows withhigh plant diversity, and a unique cul-tural landscape (Management Plan,2016). The presence of all four species ofthe so-called blue bu erflies (Maculineanausithous, M. teleius, M. arion, M. alcon),which are highly endangered at theEuropean level (Rákosy and Voda,2008), makes it unique. It also holds theglobal plant species richness records atthe 0.1 m2 and 10 m2 scales (Wilson etal., 2012).

Baseline assessment The Baseline Assessment, conductedas an initial step of the project, used aparticipatory approach based on meet-ings with all key stakeholders from the

studied area. Participants included themayors from the eight communes; thefarmers’ associations Someș Arieș andSomeșeana; the Local Action GroupLAG Someș Transilvan; AgroTransilva-nia Cluster; and the Romanian Lepi-deptorological Association, which isinvolved in the management of theNatura 2000 site (Jitea et al., 2017). Weconducted a field study between Janu-ary and May 2017 to be er understandthe level of knowledge and perceptionof HNV farming on 132 respondents(local actors such as farmers, represent-atives from administrative structuressuch as City Hall, and the LAG). Over-all, 75.8 % have knowledge about HNVfarming. However, awareness is lowerin the remote communes that have themost important land shares in the Natu-ra 2000 site. The HNV farming system inDealurile Clujului Est is mosaic of lowintensity agriculture and natural andstructural elements. It is the result oftraditional low-intensive agriculturaltechniques for grazing and mowingcarried out by households. In recentyears, alteration of traditional agricul-tural practices and, particularly, theintensification of land use caused by theincrease of sheep livestock, have unfa-vourably impacted the HNV farmland.Nowadays, manual mowing is an ex-

ception due to its inefficiency and la-bour intensity. Regarding good govern-ance, there are inconsistences both inadministrative organization, as well asin the implementation of agriculturalpolicies and, in particular, for the agri-environment measures. In the former,communes belong to different adminis-trative associative structures, whichhave their own specific objectives andinstruments. In the la er, not all com-munes are eligible for agri-environmentmeasures even though they include orare encompassed by the Natura 2000site. The value chain of the HNV prod-ucts is currently based on low-value-added products. On-farm processing ofcheese and meat and direct sales areunable to develop due to rigid rules andbureaucracy. Basic rural infrastructureis also poor especially in the remoteHNV areas (Beaufoy et al., 2017).

Cross-visits and informationexchange for innovation Learning and understanding themain challenges of HNV farming inDealurile Clujului Est Natura 2000 wasa crucial step in the process of identify-ing innovations applied in other regionsfrom Romania and in the partner coun-tries, which are considered examples ofgood practices that could be applied in

A typical landscape of Dealurile Clujui Est

11


the studied area. Diverse stakeholdersfrom the region – including farmers,producers, advisors, LAG representa-tives, and researchers – visited otherHNV areas in Romania (Saschiz andViscri – Tarnava Mare), Bulgaria(Western Stara Planina) and Ireland(The Burren) through the HNV-Linkcross-visits for local stakeholders andlearned about many innovations of rele-vance to the Dealurile Clujului EstNatura 2000 area, including: communityfood processing unit, tourist infor-mation centre, green infrastructuresheepfold model, milk collecting point,local farmer association, free infor-mation services for farmers via text mes-sages, farm management techniques forHNV grasslands, on-line marketing andsale of meat, and local dairy processingunit. The inspiring HNV innovationsshared by the host groups of farmers,LAG members, NGOs, veterinary andadvisory experts gave stakeholders theopportunity to acquire experience anddevelop new ideas to face the main chal-lenges of the HNV system in DealurileClujului Est.

Key lessons Florin Burzo (farmer) was impressedby the community processing unit inSaschiz (Tarnava Mare, Romania):

`Such a model of organization wouldsolve many of the problems of capital-izing on the products in the rural area.It is possible to have such an author-ized processing point in every communein our country, certainly taking intoaccount the specificity of the area andthe products obtained locally. In myopinion, it would be a successful modelto help the development of small farm-ers, as they would be able to add valueto the products they obtain on their

farms or even to those collected fromthe spontaneous flora.’

Life-long learning was also on dis-play, with farmer Tibor Kiss comment-ing after visiting the Linbul Farm inWestern Stara Planina Region, Bulgaria:

`First of all I liked the farmer as a per-son and what he is doing on the farm. Iwas impressed by the management ofthe farm, the cows and the way thefarmer is managing them. I discussedwith him the possibility in the future tocome to the farm for a few weeks andlearn how to manage it.’

During the cross-visit in the Burren inIreland, Irina Muresan, manager of theLocal Action Group Somes Transilvanin Cluj County, shared that::

`It was an excellent opportunity to par-ticipate to this event to see examples ofgood practice in sustainable agricultureand rural development. We will com-municate to the local actors and farm-ers that their actions have a great im-pact on biodiversity and the environ-ment. Moreover, we will also communi-cate the importance of cooperation be-tween all stakeholders in the area.’

A natural question is what the futureholds for HNV farming in DealurileClujului Est Natura 2000. It is probablytoo early to provide a firm answer, butwe can assure that HNV-Link awak-ened the a ention of stakeholders in thearea, including farmers, local authoritiesand even consumers. Now is the mo-ment to acknowledge that farmers needto be encouraged to use HNV innova-tions as a premise for the sustainabilityof their farming systems. This is theonly way to overcome the mistake Ro-mania is currently making of support-

ing intensive farming to the detrimentof HNV farming systems. Unfortunate-ly, this mistake was done by EuropeanUnion founding members 30—40 yearsago and, until recently, no lessons werelearned to avoid its amplification. The local research team intends tocontinue the collaboration with thestakeholders to provide consultancyand help develop sustainable and feasi-ble local strategies for HNV farmers.

Diana Dumitras & Mugurel JiteaDepartment of Economic Sciences - Univer-sity of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary

Medicine [email protected], h p://

www.hnvlink.eu/

References:Beaufoy, G. (ed), HNV-Link Partners. (2017).THE HNV-LINK COMPENDIUM. Compara-tive collection of High Nature Value innova-tions, experiences, needs and lessons, from 10European `Learning Areas’. Cuacos (Spain) :EFNCP & Montpellier (France) : CIHEAM-IAMM, (HNV-Link H2020 Project). HNV-Link WP2, deliverable 2.6.1 h p://www.hnvlink.eu/download/D2.6_HNVLinkCOMPENDIUM.pdf

Jitea, I.M., Dumitras, D.E., Mihai, V. (2017).Agricultura cu Înaltă Valoare Naturală subpresiunea pieței comune în DealurileClujului Est. Viitorul său încotro? h p://www.hnvlink.eu/download/InnovationSeminar_Report_Romania.pdf

Management Plan Natura 2000 ROSCI0295Dealurile Clujului Est (June 2016)

Rákosy, L., Voda, R. (2008). Distribution ofMaculinea genus în Romania. EntomologicaRomanica. 13: 9-17.

Wilson, J.B., Peet, R.K., Dengler, J., Pärtel, M.(2012). Plant species richness: the world rec-ords. Journal of Vegetation Science 23: 796–802.

Photo:Am

andaPa

on

Cross-visit in Burren, IrelandVisiting the community processing unit

on a cross-visit to Saschiz, Romaniacross-visit

Cross-visit in Western Stara Planinaregion, Bulgaria

12


Land use plana tool for dialogue in Sweden

The amount of High Nature Value(HNV) farmland ín the Learning Area(LA) of Dalsland has, for a long time,been declining. What used to be spe-cies-rich grasslands has, to a large ex-tent, become overgrown or plantedwith forest. (Figure 1).

A collective HNV-vision for Dalslandwas produced during the HNV-Linkproject with the aim of stopping thisnegative trend and creating a more di-verse and species-rich future forDalsland.

There is a large gap between the vi-sion and the current trend in land use.Some tools are needed to bridge thisgap. Here, we describe one of the inno-vations from Dalsland which we findhandy to use when a land owner isfaced with decision-making on landmanagement:

`How do I want to use my land in theshort and long term perspectives?Which angles of approach are interest-ing for me when I make my decisions?Do I need partners to achieve mygoals?´ These are complex questions

but a good procedure exists to under-take finding solutions for them. In thisarticle we would like to share what webelieve has been a key to success in re-introducing and restoring HNV pas-tures in Dalsland, Sweden.

One of the primary ambitions in theprojects already prior to HNV-Link inour Learning Area was to test new waysof collaborating for increasing the HNVfarmland grazed in Dalsland. The ap-proach was to achieve this through fa-cilitation of practical, action-focusedcooperation between for example: land-owners, farmers, and authorities.

Land management involvesseveral stakeholders In many cases, landowners want todiscuss all the land – arable, pasturesand forest – on the farm with an advi-sor. Such conversations would oftenlead to an invitation for other stake-holders’ participation in order to in-crease the possibilities of finding inter-esting solutions to land management.Examples of invited stakeholders vari-ously include: an advisor from the for-estry side, a neighbouring landowner orfarmer, or perhaps someone engaged in

a conservation association. In our pro-jects, we call every such gathering ofpeople connected to a place a group. Inour projects, each place-focused grouphas had a unique constellation. Somegroups have consisted of only a handfulof people, of which at least one is alandowner. Most groups consisted ofaround ten people, but some have hadup to fifty participants. In each group,one person has had the authority fromthe other participants to act as a leaderof dialogue. This person has had theresponsibility of structuring and catalys-ing the process. We have called this rolethe asset-person.

Finding the right scale Common for all the groups has beento try and find the right scale suitable tosolve their particular challenges. If thetask is, for example, to explore whetherit is feasible to reintroduce grazingaround a lake, then it is natural for allthe landowners around the lake who areinterested to partake in the group. Thenext step would be for the group to in-vite more people concerned by thediscussion or with competence to con-tribute to the solutions. Common forall groups is also that they try to dis-cuss all types of perspectives with re-gards to land management – economic

Figure 1. Change in land managementover approximately 250 years.

Land use change in Dalsland, Sweden

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as well as social and environmental per-spectives.Visual results The collaboration in the groups hasled to a number of substantial results.One of the more visual ones is that 500hectares of natural pastures have beenrestored and grazed. Another result isthat several farmers have either startedor expanded their ca le businesses. Athird result, which the participants oftenhighlight, is that unity and collaborationhas increased during the work in thegroups.

Four steps After some time, we who worked asasset-persons in several groups noticed

that conversation in the groups coulddiffer a lot in terms of character be-tween groups but, concurrently, therewere always some similarities. Tostreamline the dialogue and avoid mis-understandings, we identified four con-cepts that we sensed to be crucial to thework of all groups. We also tried to finda sequence which would be useful fordiscussing the different concepts. Weused a clock as a model (Figure 1) forthe groups to visualize their processmoving forward. We reassured groupparticipants that their questions wouldbe discussed but according to a certainefficient sequence.

1. Values: all perspectives that theparticipants in the group thinkneed to be highlighted to un-derstand each other and tobuild the foundation of findingcommon goals of land manage-ment.

2. Goals: all related to future landmanagement.

3. Measures: which measures arerequired in the short and longterm to reach the goals.

4. Means: which different types ofsupport exist to reach the goals?This could relate to economicmeans handled by authoritiesor project financing from organ-isations or other means likeeducation or advisory services.

The role of the Land Use Plan A challenge in the work of thegroups has been to record, in an efficientand simplified manner, the complexityof the issues discussed and what thegroup step-by-step is achieving. Thesolution to this challenge is a tool wecall Land Use Plan. There is no long textdocument within this plan. All the ques-tions and other material the group dis-cusses are visualised in the shape ofmaps. We see the plan as the bone struc-ture of the dialogue taking place in thegroups. Together, the group builds onthis structure and fills it with a uniquecontent. Often, the result is a lively dia-logue process with a lot of content andknowledge useful for achieving com-mon goals.

What is next? At the moment, we are working ondeveloping further the Land Use Plan tomake it even more efficient and easy touse for groups. It is going to be possibleto have all the material completely digi-tal and immediately accessible!

Katrin McCannLars JohanssonMagnus Ljung

The Dalsland Teamh p://www.hnvlink.eu/learning-areas/

vaestra-goetaland/

Several laps around the clockIt usually takes groups several laps aroundthe clock to go from when the participantshave their first meeting to finding their com-mon goal and deciding how to achieve it.Dialogue gets more detailed in each lap. Bythe end, the group usually has enough mate-rial to make decisions about measures.

14


The Dartmoor, UKHNV farming in the age of Brexit

Dartmoor already had a national rep-utation for new ideas and for a farmingcommunity engaged in innovationwhen the case was made in 2015 for itincluded in HNV-Link project. And so,with the support by local farminggroups and the Dartmoor National ParkAuthority. Dartmoor was the place se-lected as UK’s Learning Area (LA) whenthe project launched in 2016. The innovations in the LA selectedfor further investigation were oftenfarmer-led and had arisen to addressspecific problems related to the manage-ment of High Nature Value (HNV)farmland. The experience that Dart-moor farmers have gained from over 30years of participating in agri-climate-environment schemes, (AES) especiallyon common land, had encouraged dia-logue and collective responsibility.However other very important contrib-uting factors soon became apparentincluding providing a culture of trust toenable the farmers to contribute theirskills and experience to the process offinding solutions, and the need for inde-pendent facilitation. On the 23 June 2016, the UnitedKingdom (UK) held a referendum inwhich 52% of those who voted support-ing withdrawing from the EuropeanUnion (EU). The impact of this monu-mental decision on the UK’s farmingcommunity, including farmers on Dart-moor, has been huge. In fact, over thelast two and a half years concerns overthe future of farming, especially in thoseareas rich in HNV farmland, have domi-nated conversations and thinkingamongst the farming community. Many of the innovations originallyidentified for inclusion in HNV-Linkcame to the fore and some were sudden-ly thrust into the limelight as the Gov-ernment and its agencies struggled toprovide clarity on what might replacethe Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)in the future. Some of this a ention wasfleeting and left the farmers confusedover the future of their ideas and efforts.Worse was the significant loss of skilledand experienced staff from the agenciesinto what appears to be a bo omless pit

of Brexit preparation work. Most, if not all, the innovations re-quire the participation of both farmersand agency staff if they are not only tosucceed but to be seen to succeed. Manyinnovations are in a trial phase, steeredby a partnership providing the essentialassessment and monitoring. Today inpractice if seems as if only the farminghalf of those partnerships remain – thefarmers are left feeling abandoned at atime of crisis. Against this background of confu-sion and concern, the innovations se-

lected for the HNV-Link project havekept relevant – they have proved bothrobust and surprisingly timeless. Evenin a climate seemingly hostile to inno-vative learning those innovations andideas emerging from the other LAs willbe even more important to farmers ofHNV farmland if they are to continue tomanage important habitats and other`public benefits’ which is the mantra ofthose designing the measures whichmay (or may not!) support farmers inthe future.

Learning within Dartmoor’sLearning Area

Farmers from within the DartmoorLearning Area have used the opportu-nities created by the internal cross-visits

to find out more about selected innova-tions. Visits to Ireland (the Burren) andSweden (Dalsland) and to a forage inno-vator elsewhere in England proved tobe both useful and thought provoking,providing the opportunity to discusshow innovation is encouraged in addi-tion to specific innovations. Consideringthe situation in which the UK farmersfind themselves, it is not surprising thatthe visiting farmers’ interest often fo-cused on the various support mecha-nisms and payment for delivering pub-lic benefits including HNV farmland. The other theme that emerged wasthe pressing issue of promoting farmingto the public and raising the profile offarming so essential to influence politi-cians who are usually focused on urbanissues. Already one farmer has organ-

ised a successful event based on theBurren Winterage School; an event de-signed to inform the local non-farmingcommunity on the essential role offarming in the enhancement of themoorland by extensive grazing. Thenetwork of sites that demonstrate agri-cultural innovations especially for HNVareas is in place and knowledge transferbetween these Learning Areas has al-ready secured real benefits. As well as showcasing its innova-tions in events outwith the area, Dart-moor has also hosted visits from farm-ers from Ireland (both from the BurrenLearning Area and elsewhere) and fromWales to learn about the area’s innova-tions, particularly:

Russell Ashford demonstratinghow to age a sheep after gather-ing the sheep from the commons.

15


· Dartmoor Farming Futures – a farmerdesigned outcome focused agri-environment scheme currently undertrials,

· Meat marketing initiatives,

· The Bovine Tuberculosis (TB) Con-trol Plans provided for the areas ofcommon land,

· Fire Plans that enable farmers towork alongside professional firefighters to tackle moorland fires,

· The Dartmoor Vision – capturingwhat all the statutory agencies wantDartmoor’s moorland to look like in25 years’ time.

A strong message from the Dart-moor farmers is that the informationexchange has not been only one wayduring these visits; the host farmershave really valued and benefi ed fromthe various discussions. Indeed, theythemselves have in the past importedideas from as far afield as Swi erland;the first visit in 2005 led to the for-mation of Dartmoor Farmers’ Associa-tion providing a strong voice for farm-ers on the newly formed Dartmoor Part-nership - a tourism partnership and tothe development of the very innova-tions they were explaining to the visi-tors.

Barriers to delivery The long history of participation inAES within the LA is clearly linked tothe evolution of some of the selectedinnovations. It was often the perception

by the farmer that the AES agreementwas flawed that created the impetus tofind a be er way of doing something. Over the last 30 years, it has been thepolicy of successive governments to useAES agreements to a empt to securebe er environmental condition for na-tionally and internationally-designatedsites and for HNV farmland in the`wider countryside’. Take-up of AES onDartmoor has been spectacular in thepast with almost 90% of the eligibleland under agreement (in 2005, during aprevious programme), but today onlyabout 30% of Dartmoor is in an agree-ment and this figure is falling; the latestAES is largely unfit for purpose forthose farming in the hills. This situation has been made worseby the loss of skilled and experiencedadvisory staff. The important role ofadvisers who are easily accessible bythe farmers to guide, explain and sup-port was very apparent during the visitsto Sweden and Ireland. Unfortunatelythe important, if not essential, role ofadvisers appears not to be appreciatedby government in the UK and fails to berecognised as a crucial component inthe plans for the future. In the early stages of all the selectedinnovations the focus was on how toempower the farming community toencourage them to suggest solutionsand to develop ideas which would ben-efit the wider environment. Today iron-ically it is the loss of advisers and agen-cy staff with the knowledge and confi-dence to understand the potential of anoffer that appears to be stifling new

innovation and the development of ex-isting ones. This is particularly damag-ing when innovation is rejected orworse ignored by other players neces-sary for the innovation to flourish oftendemonstrating that it is their lack ofownership of the initiative that prohibitstheir engagement. These uncertain times appear not toencourage or empower non-farmingprofessionals to be open to new ideas orto recognise potential innovations; lostis the willingness to accept that thepractitioners, the farmers, may wellhave a solution. Sadly that is just whatis needed. On Dartmoor, the original objectiveof the HNV-Link project, which was totackle the complex issue of innovationin HNV farming, remains a challenge,but one well worth pursuing. Our re-view of some key innovations on Dart-moor suggests those farmers motivatedand trusted to propose solutions aremuch more likely to successfully deliverenvironmental outcomes.

John WaldonChairman of the Dartmoor Commoners’

Council, the UKh p://

www.dartmoorcommonerscouncil.org.uk

Knut Per Hasund of Swedish Board of Agri-culture, notes there are similarities between

value-based agri-environment paymentscurrently being trialled in Sweden and

Dartmoor’s Farming Future trial.

16


The Montado case studyCo-construction of locally-led innovative solutions

The interactive relationship betweensociety and science is one of the

critical challenges of the modern con-struction of science. Two premises canbe found in research aiming to be social-ly meaningful. The first premise is theinvolvement of enlarged peer communi-ties for the co-construction ofknowledge in order to enrich scientificresearch. The second premise is the ac-knowledgment of the central role offorms of human knowledge other thanthe scientific form, including that suchinclusion may empower otherwise mar-ginalized social groups. The discussionabout these relationships is not new inthe agricultural sector, especially withregard to knowledge transfer, which hashistorically been framed as `extension’.In recent years, the concept of learningand innovation networks for sustainableagriculture has emerged, and researchand extension services have been exper-imenting with new methods and prac-tices related to facilitation and broker-age within networks. The story we areabout to tell is based on these premisesand develops around the growing in-volvement of a multi-stakeholder net-work, as well as the adoption of partici-patory approaches where researchersembrace the roles of learning-innovation-change facilitators andknowledge brokers.

The agro-silvo-pastoral systemMontadoThe Montado is the dominant land usesystem in the Alentejo region, SouthernPortugal, and is quite similar to theDehesa in the Southwest of Spain. It isan agro-silvopastoral extensive produc-tion system with a variety of productsand high levels of associated biodiversi-ty. It is considered a High Nature Value(HNV) farming system. The open treecover, mostly composed of Quercusrotundifolia and Q. suber in changing den-sities, provides forest products such ascork, acorns, and wood for charcoal.The trees provide shelter for the live-stock grazing in the undercover both insummer and winter. The pasture under-cover is composed of species-rich nativeor cultivated grasslands, combined withshrubs in varied densities. It is a highly

multifunctional system providing multi-ple benefits to society. However, thedecline of the Montado due to loss oftree density and a more or less extensiveabsence of tree regeneration, is now anunavoidable reality recognized by allactors actively involved with it – pro-ducers, researchers, public administra-tion, non-governmental organisations(NGOs), and users. Agri-climate-environment schemes(AES) are one of the key practical toolsto mitigate and reverse the growing lossof biodiversity and structural diversityof European farming systems. AES canbolster the conservation of complexsystems such as the Montado and candirectly support adaptive managementfor these systems. The AES currentlyavailable for the Montado are manage-ment-based in that they support man-agement practices prescribed to the pro-ducers and which are expected to resultin positive impact on the environmentalstatus of the Montados. Alternatively oradditionally to such AES, the EuropeanCommission advocates using of results-based approach. There is a paradigmshift in it: payments are given if a de-fined environmental result is achievedregardless of the undertaken manage-ment. Therefore, the producer has thefreedom to decide on the managementthat he/she considers most appropriateto achieve the defined result. Further,this new results-based model is basedon a close interaction with extension

services for defining the managementstrategies for achieving specified envi-ronmental results. Nonetheless, the pro-ducer is the final decision maker.

Inspiring cross-visit to theBurren In June 2018, a 20-strong group offarmers, researchers and public admin-istrators, assembled through previouslyexisting initiatives from ICAAM/University of Évora1, visited the Burrenarea in Ireland. The objective was togain knowledge on the experiences oflocal co-construction of results-basedAES through a multi-actor approach,and to discuss possible problems andapplied solutions transferable to theMontado. The expectations were tolearn about the actors and institutionsinvolved and to see in-loco the implemen-tation experience of a results-based ap-proach supporting sustainable agricul-ture. In the Burren, rural entrepreneurshipbuilds on the unique characteristics ofthe local landscape, which is interna-tionally recognized for the richness anddiversity of its heritage and flora. In thiscontext, the producer plays the role ofguardian of the existing natural andcultural values while maintaining aneconomically viable business model.The visit to the Burren was carried outunder the Horizon2020 HNV-Link pro-ject in collaboration with a regional pro-ject – ProAgriFor, funded by Alentejo

17


2020. HNV-Link is dedicated to the de-velopment and sharing of innovativestrategies and practices to support HNVfarmland systems, while ProAgriForaimed to promote stakeholder involve-ment in the agroforestry sector. Duringthe visit to the Burren, the Portuguesegroup had the opportunity to witnessthe joint production and conservationpractices carried out in effective partner-ships among farmers, scientists andpublic administration. The Burren hasshown that the threats posed by ecosys-tem degradation caused by land aban-donment or by intensification of agricul-ture can be overcome using agri-environmental approaches based onfarmer-centred processes. The Montadohas similar challenges and, therefore,the potential transferability of the Bur-ren experience is enormous.

The take home message outlined bythe Portuguese visiting group was two-fold:

· The environmental services expectedfrom agriculture can be producedwhen the farmer has room for adap-tive management backed by flexiblepolicy tools.

· A continuous partnership among thedifferent actors involved in design-ing, implementing and evaluatingresults-based AES is critical for thesuccess of the programme.

At the end of the three-day visit, thegroup reviewed the experience anddrew up an outline of the action plan forthe construction of a AES with mixedresults- and management-based ele-ments for the Montado, aiming at theimplementation of a pilot experience inthe Montado.

Multi-actor approach After the visit to the Burren, we pur-sued a multi-actor approach, already aroutine in the research we develop, withthe objective of defining the measurableenvironmental results for the Montadoprogramme and the possible indicatorsto be used to assess those results. Ac-cording to our definition, identifiedenvironmental results would only beeligible if (i) they respond to agricultur-al management practices, (ii) they are aconservation priority at regional or na-tional level, and (iii) there is sufficientprevious scientific knowledge to sup-port the selection of indicators for theirassessment. In order to facilitate the organizationof the work, we established differentgroups dedicated to specific compo-nents of the Montado ecosystem (soil,pasture, trees, biodiversity and water).Each group identified the intended en-vironmental results, management prac-tices affecting those results, and possi-ble indicators to assess the environmen-tal results. This progress was achievedin 4 months through the group meet-ings and, when deemed necessary, withexperts in the different subject areasinvolved in the programme. The main environmental results weidentified through this process are: (i)maintenance or improvement of ahealthy and functional soil; (ii) conser-vation of biodiverse Mediterraneanpastures; (iii) promotion of the long-term viability of the Montado throughoak tree regeneration; (iv) conservationof temporary Mediterranean ponds; (v)conservation of water courses with ri-parian galleries (that is, buffer zoneswith trees). In the meantime, we launched contactwith the Ministry of Agriculture, inparticularly with the Department re-sponsible for policy design and moni-toring. Researchers and farmers togeth-er presented the draft programme forthe Montado and discussed its technicaldetails with the technical team in theMinistry. Because results-based mecha-nisms to compensate farmers who de-liver environmental benefits are likelyto become commoner in Member Statespost 2020, the proposed programmeaddresses public policy needs. Afterfinalising the indicator list, we hope thatthe proposed programme will be testedas a pilot in a local Natura 2000 siteMontado area, and that ultimately theapproach will become part of the Portu-

guese Rural Development Programme(RDP). Our next steps in this collaborativeprocess will be devoted to the harmoni-zation of the objectives for the differentenvironmental results, refinement andquantification of indicators in order tobuild a scoring system and, later on,establishment of the payment levels. Wewill continue to work through a multi-actor approach with a close collabora-tion among producers, researchers andpublic administration with the aim ofachieving an implementation phase onthe ground in the form of a pilot pro-gramme capable of delivering the de-sired environmental results.

Role of HNV-Link Interactive innovation has good con-ditions to emerge when different andcomplementary knowledge, perspec-tives and skills are combined in a pro-cess where all involved feel empowered.The multi-actor process we have pre-sented here reflects one of such situa-tions – researchers took the lead as initi-ators of the process, and continue coor-dinating, but the results-based pro-gramme for the Montado has, step-by-step, been appropriated also by farmersand the staff from the central and re-gional administration. The platformfacilitated by the Horizon2020 projectsestablished the frame for this to happen.In this case, there was a fortunate com-bination of HNV-Link with the on-going initiative of a bi-monthly regulardiscussion meeting of Montado stake-holders, facilitated by a researcher inICAAM, and an already long history ofscience-practice interface within theMontado in Alentejo. Competitive re-search funding is a supporting mecha-nism, but long term investment outsideof these projects is a pre-condition forthe co-construction to take place, espe-cially concerning the management ofsuch a complex system as the Montado.

Isabel Ferraz de [email protected]

Helena Guimarã[email protected]

Teresa Pinto [email protected]

Instituto de Ciências Agrárias e AmbientaisMediterrânicas

Universidade de Évora, Portugal1European funded projects such as Farmpath(FP7) and HNV-Link (H2020), Regional

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Dalmatian islands as HNV farming landscapesA network to foster mosaic landscape preservation

Learning area of Dalmatian islands areconsidered a touristic ‘’hot spot’’ due toits mild Mediterranean climate, crystalclear sea, remarkable landscapes andthe rich natural and cultural patrimony(Lerin, 2018). It is the main characteriza-tion of these seven islands and one pen-insula situated in the central and southDalmatia in the Split-Dalmatia and Du-brovnik-Neretva region. However, it is precisely due to tour-ism development, and tourism being amain economic activity that sustainabledevelopment and farming activities inthis area are in constant decline. In thisarea, HNV farmland landscape pro-vides se ing for tourism that the is-landers seek to use to support theirsmall-scale HNV farms by producingadded value agricultural projects for theniche market, for tourists visiting theislands in the search for ‘’authenticity’’and a ‘’unique experience’’. It is through the HNV-Link projectthat islanders covering the territory ofthree Local Action Groups: LAG 5, LAGBrač and LAG Škoji have come togetherwith the aim to foster a multiscale andmulti-actor network that will act as anactive innovation broker able to sustainlong-term territorial dynamics of HNVinnovation in the islands. By building asocio-economic and environmentalbaseline through a participative processwe have defined further HNV actions atlocal scale of an island, but also on theoverall Learning Area (LA) in order tofoster the preservation of the specific

HNV territory of Dalmatian islands,mosaic landscape.

The High Nature Value of Dal-matian islands

Dalmatian islands represent a uniquelandscape that has been man shapedover the last 2000 years in long histori-cal sequence of intensive and extensiveagricultural practices. Shaped by con-stant island depopulation, land aban-donment and a shift from farming totourism activity agricultural land todaycovers only 6% of the overall land sur-face (186 000 ha in total) (Abdessater etal., 2017). Most of the surface is used forolive groves (53%), vineyards (21%),and karst pastures (15%) with marginalgroves of almonds, figs, carob trees,

medicinal and aromatic plants (Lerin,2018). HNV farming in the islands ischaracterized by a mosaic landscapewith a network of dry stone walls thatproduce agri-environmental, economicand safety benefits ( fire prevention andimproved water collection for fields)(Poux, Bernard, & Lerin, 2017).

Multiscale and multi-actor ap-proach to ensure implementa-tion of the HNV vision

Baseline assessment of the LA wasdone based on a territorial approachthat considers historical and socioeco-nomic components, environment issuesand farming systems. This approach isnot directly focusing on HNV types andpractices but rather on the socio-economic and environmental compo-nent of and HNV territory as a whole(Plieninger & Bieling, 2013). It is startingfrom this approach in the framing phaseof the project that LAG 5 as a coordina-tor has started forming a multi-actorislander network including actors fromother scales that are able to contribute tothe implementation of the HNV vision.In the shaping phase and thoroughought the using phase of the projectactivities have been steered towardsdeveloping a set of locally focused terri-torial projects that will kick start imple-mentation of the vision. New projectsthat contribute to the HNV vision in LA

LA Dalmatian Islands: islands Šolta, Brač, Hvar,Vis, Lastovo, Korčula, Mljet, Pelješac peninsulaand Dubrovnik West Coast Municipality

HNV type 2- mosaic landscape of the island of Korčula

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from other scales that are able to con-tribute to the implementation of theHNV vision. In the shaping phase andthorough ought the using phase of theproject activities have been steered to-wards developing a set of locally fo-cused territorial projects that will kickstart implementation of the vision. Newprojects that contribute to the HNV vi-sion in LA Dalmatian islands have al-ready started. Rural 3.0, an Erasmus +Knowledge Alliances project that aimsto improve the quality of education for asustainable development and promoteuniversity-community partnerships inthe rural areas through the innovativeservice-learning methodology started inJanuary 2019. Projects that will engage

valorising HNV landscape through aseries of island roads, a LEADER coop-eration project ‘’DalmaTIMski otoci’’, isin its final shaping phase. In the pro-gramme of islander LAGs for 2019 aremeeting with HNV farmers to kick startdialogue around the development ofproducers associations in the islands.Using the methodology of the frenchSMILO organization island commi eeof Lastovo has been set up and hasstarted with its first activities in thesphere of HNV landscape valorisation.Long term Advocacy of the NGODragodid has bear fruit and dry stonewalls as a key feature of the HNV mosa-ic landscape of the islands has beendeclared as UNESCO patrimony.

LAG 5 as a national coordinator hasacted as an institutional entrepreneurwho has framed the learning area as ahybrid space where different actorscome together to create collective condi-tions that will induce change in the en-vironment in which they operate. It willallow them to implement their vision ina way that will foster preservation of theHNV farmland territories in the face oftourist pressure that is becoming evermore prevalent.

Marija [email protected]

Local Action Group ‘’LAG 5’’

ReferencesAbdessater, C., Bi on-lebeau, L., Bisiaux, L., Bourdin, M., Briand, P., Rochegonde, M. De, … Bernard, C. (2017). Strategic EnvironmentalManagement Analysis of Case studies from Mljet and Korčula Islands and Pelješac Peninsula in Croatia. Montpellier.Keenleyside, C, Beaufoy, G, Tucker, G, and Jones, G (2014) High Nature Value farming throughout EU-27 and its financial support under

the CAP. Report Prepared for DG Environment, Contract No ENV B.1/ETU/2012/0035, Institute for European Environmental Policy,London.

Lerin, C. (2018). High Natural Value farming in Dalmatian Islands (Croatia ): Landscape analysis and agrarian systems analysis on Mljet &Korčula Islands and Pelješac Peninsula. Georg-August-University of Gö ingen.

Poux X. (ed.), Bernard-Mongin C. (ed.), Lerin F. (ed.), HNV-Link Project Partners. (2017). The HNV-Link Atlas — Crossed perspectives on10 learning areas -Understanding the field of play for High Nature Value innovation projects. Paris (France) : AScA. 78 p. (HNV-Link H2020 project). HNV-Link WP1 deliverable 1.4

Plieninger T, Bieling C (2013) Resilience-Based Perspectives to Guiding High-Nature-Value Farmland through Socioeconomic Change.

HNV innovation seminar:building HNV vision forthe islands

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HNV farms are multi-functionaland must be supported accordingto their ecological, social and eco-nomic benefits.

HNV farms deserve to receive astronger support as without HNV farm-ing, biodiversity and semi-natural eco-systems cannot be preserved acrosssufficiently large scales, and EU Biodi-versity Strategy goals cannot bereached. HNV farmers apply low quantitiesof inputs, a prerequisite for biodiversityconservation and self-sufficiency. Theytake advantage of spaces and resourcesunused by more intensive systems andare therefore more resource-efficient. Bytheir practices, they also slow downscrub encroachment onto open culturallandscapes. Thus, grazing land withshrubs or trees that are grazed directlyor fed to livestock, should be consideredeligible for CAP payments and otherforms of support. HNV farms, since they operate oftenin constraining and less productive are-as, are usually less competitive andmore fragile than more intensive farms.This “fragility” must be compensated iftheir contribution to biodiversity con-servation, landscape maintenance, foodquality, sustainability and society’s wel-fare is to be recognised.

Suitable innovations they must beadopted more widely, consideringnational, regional and local con-texts. Farmers and NGOs undertake inno-vative activities to maintain HNV farm-ing at varying scales, and some govern-ments apply innovative approaches tosupporting HNV farming. There is anurgent need to spread such approachesmore widely across HNV farming areas. EIP Operational Groups and locally-led projects can help kick-starting inno-vative processes. Successful initiativesexist in different parts of Europe andcan serve to inspire new ones. Institutional and regulatory barrierscan prevent support from reachingHNV farming, whilst also blocking in-novation on the ground from farmersand other actors in civil society. Conse-quently, social/institutional and regula-

tory/policy innovation must be encour-aged at all scales. Addressing HNV farming challeng-es through innovation is not merely aquestion of individual initiatives.Different types of innovation feed-offeach other, creating synergies. In themost successful cases there is a long-term, multi-actor “HNV innovationprocess” involving a bundle of innova-tions in different themes (Fig. p 21).Nonetheless, driving and sustaining aneffective HNV innovation process ischallenging. Actors should agree on ashared vision of what the territorycould look like in the future, and com-mit towards common goals. Then, ac-tive brokers with suitable skills mustcatalyse innovation processes and pro-jects, working locally with HNV farm-ers to build trust and commitment. Thisin turn requires a continuity of institu-tional cooperation and support, with acontinuity of personnel over the years.

Supporting HNV farmers’ em-powerment, organisation, and co-operation with other stakeholdersis key. Overall, HNV farmers’ interests arepoorly represented, both by main-stream farming unions (for whomprofitability and competitiveness arepriorities) and by some conservation-ists (whose interests may be purelyenvironment-oriented). Supporting theempowerment, organisation and coop-eration of HNV farmers is thus criticalto advocate for change. Multi-actor networks such as HNV-Link have a key role to play in boost-ing innovation & driving policychange, by fostering knowledge ex-change, co-innovation and by bridgingthe gap between research and practice.

Thoughtful policies and regula-tions, in the agriculture, environ-ment, food and rural developmentsectors, can strongly benefit HNVfarming. HNV farming has been a priorityfor EU rural development policy since2005 and lots of work has been doneand public money spent to support andmonitor HNV farming since then. But

the European Commission has droppedHNV farming from its proposals for thenew CAP. This is a blow that needs tobe reversed. The new CAP Regulationsshould make explicit reference to theneed to prioritise HNV farming sys-tems, emphasising their importance forbiodiversity and ecosystems. HNVfarming systems should be included inthe objective on biodiversity and ecosys-tem services. Member States’ CAP Strategic Plansshould include an analysis of the stateof HNV farming systems in their territo-ries, a description of the main practicesthat characterise them and identificationof the associated natural values, chal-lenges faced by the systems and oppor-tunities for their development, and con-crete objectives for their maintenance. The HNV farming context and im-pact indicators that have been devel-oped and implemented so far by Mem-ber States in their Rural DevelopmentProgrammes should not be abandoned,but improved and complemented byadditional indicators (e.g., farming via-bility or incomes). There is also scope to adjust national/regional implementation of food hy-giene regulations to suit be er local/artisan food production and processing,to help generate a greater added-valuefor HNV farm products, and enhancethe viability of HNV systems. As HNV farms are exposed to ani-mal disease control measures (e.g. tu-berculosis) and predators (e.g. wolf),which can seriously affect their viability,adapting animal health regulations andcontrol planning to the realities of ex-tensive grazing systems and offeringgreater support to alleviate predatorconflicts is essential.

Overall, a long-term innovationprocess is needed to gradually build aconsensus and political commitmentaround the need to sustain HNV farm-ing systems across Europe, and to driveaction in the field.

Guy Beaufoy

European Forum on Nature Conservationand Pastoralism

[email protected] all the HNV-Link team

Fostering High Nature Value farmingSteps forward

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Groundwork: Baseline Assessmentand literature review Through a collaborative process withlocal and regional stakeholders, eachHNV-Link Learning Area (LA) teamproduced a Baseline Assessment de-scribing their area’s characteristics interms of ecology, farming systems, andinstitutional framework. They com-pared the `business as usual’ scenario ofthe LA to a desirable `HNV vision’. Theprocess identified issues and developednetworks for working on solutions. Having reviewed literature on inno-vations supporting socio-economic via-bility of HNV farms and communities,the team discovered more `wishfulthinking’ than practical experience, indi-cating a real need for innovation andinnovation dissemination.Identifying innovations `HNV innovation’ is defined in theproject as a change in the social, institu-tional, regulatory, market or farmingapproach that raises the ability to con-serve HNV farming and its characteris-tics. The project worked along the fourthemes of innovation developed by EIP-AGRI’s Focus Group on HNV FarmingProfitability (see Figure). These helpedeach LA understand and communicatethe innovations they found in their are-as and illustrate the relative balance ofinnovations for each case. Many innova-tions contribute to multiple themes.

HNV-Link identified 63 innovationexamples of relevance in the LAs andanother 80 examples from elsewhere. Ofthese, 43 are compiled into the Innova-tion Compendium.Peer learning and support process The project promoted peer learningand networking through the LAs, whichused their expertise in participatoryapproaches to create and strengthenlocal and regional engagement. The keystakeholders are farmers, advisors, pro-fessional associations and consumergroups, NGOs, local authorities, educa-tion and research institutes.

Cross-visits among the LAs are in-strumental in innovation transfer tonew regions. The project compiled aMethodological note on conductingsuccessful study visits. HNV-Link’s outputs are designednot only to serve the individual LAs butalso to reach to any stakeholder in anyarea outside the project. The project alsocontributes to teaching of a new genera-tion of professionals at the vocationaland university educational levels ondiverse issues of HNV farming.

www.hnvlink.eu

The European Forum on Nature Conservation andPastoralism brings together ecologists, nature con-servationists, farmers and policymakers.

This non-profit-making network exists to increaseunderstanding of the high nature-conservation andcultural value of certain farming systems and toinform work on their maintenance.

h p://www.efncp.orgh ps://www.facebook.com/EFNCPh ps://twi er.com/EFNCP

This issue was supported by theEuropean Union Horizon 2020Research and Innovation pro-gramme under grant agreement no.696391 project HNV-Link: Learning,Innovation and Knowledge

This document reflects the authors’ view and theResearch Executive Agency is not responsible forany use that may be made of the information itcontains.

EFNCP, 2019

Penygraig, Llanfair ClydogauLampeter SA48 8LJ ,United Kingdom

Views expressed within La Cañada do not neces-sarily reflect those of the editor, the supportingorganisations or the publisher.

Editors of this issue of La Cañada :Traci Birge & Irina Herzon

High Nature Value farming:Learning, Innovation and Knowledge

Project in a nutshell

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