Potential and Existing Instruments for the Integration of Ecosystem Services into Agricultural Policies

Ecosystem services and their economic valuation play a major role in the current debate about strategies for halting biodiversity loss. However, to what extent has the ecosystem service approach been taken up by relevant policies to date and what needs to be done in order to enhance the integration of the approach in policy mechanisms? These questions were discussed among others at an expert workshop on 12 November in Berlin. Timo Kaphengst gave a presentation on the integration of the ecosystem service approach in European and German agricultural policies. The presentation can be downloaded.

The workshop, organized by the research group on ecosystem services, aimed to foster a discussion about the implementation of the ecosystem service approach in Germany. The research group presented preliminary results from its scientific work, which was complemented by expert inputs from different policy areas. In his presentation, Timo Kaphengst explained in which measures and to what extent the ecosystem service approach is currently represented in agricultural policies. In this context, he discussed the role of agri-environmental measures in the funding scheme of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). He also highlighted the provision of ecosystem services in agriculture and their dependency on agricultural practices and spatial planning.