Policy Briefings (test)

Policy Briefing #8 (v4) reflects the revised text of the EU Regulation for a Carbon Removals Certification Framework (CRCF). It a) summarises current estimates of the carbon sequestration potential of agroforestry in Europe, b) provides a timeline and references for studies of carbon farming in the EU; c) considers how the specific monitoring requirements of…

Policy Briefing #44 (v1) summarises the inclusion of agroforestry in the Spanish CAP Strategic Plan 2023-27 (CSP), and other related national and regional plans and regulations. A maximum of 100 trees/ha is allowed for agroforestry to remain classified as “arable land” or “permanent crops”, although autonomous regions have the option to reduce this threshold. In…

Policy Briefing #26 is a contribution to the DG CLIMA consultation on 2040 climate targets. It suggests that, if the EU’s target of 3 billion additional trees  by 2030 were planted in agroforestry systems at the density of 150 (50-400) trees/ha, with 1 million ha planted each year to 2050, that a long-term average of…

Policy Briefing #69 (v1) is a response to a discussion paper from DGAGRI on “Governance and Performance of the CAP”, circulated to a Civil Dialogue Group technical meeting on 12.4.24.  We conclude that …– Agricultural data needs to be collected in a common geospatial framework linked to forestry, climate, soils, environment, energy and economics and…

Policy Briefing #15 (v4) shows that Trees outside Forests (ToF) are greatly under-reported in EU and FAO statistics, and regrets that they were not mentioned in the EU Forest Monitoring Regulation (FMR).  ToF comprises 20-30% of tree-cover in the EU, and there is a need for consistent reporting of areas of copses, hedges, lines of…

Policy Briefing #22 collates the definitions of agroforestry included by all Member States in their CAP Strategic Plans.  Some are detailed and include minimum and maximum numbers of trees per hectare, but usually without a definition of “tree”.   However, few of the definitions can lead to remotely-sensed identification of those parcels which are “agroforestry”…

Policy Briefing #21 collates the Landscape Features selected by Member States in their Strategic Plans for 2023-2027, and their dimensions.  All MS except FI and SE implement at least one of the options for hedges, trees in groups, trees in line, isolated trees and Forest margins, but the rules for tree crown size and block…

Policy Briefing #29 (v1) focuses on the flexibility allowed to Member States to define permanent grassland to “include other species such as trees and/or shrubs which produce animal feed”.  This option has not been selected by 15 administrations (AT, BE-F, CZ, DK, EE, HU, HR, LT, LU, LV, MT, NL, PL, SK, SI). Six administrations…

Policy Briefing #27 notes Agroforestry is mentioned in the Adaptation Strategy or Adaptation Plan of ONLY 11 Member States.  This is despite extensive scientific literature on using agroforestry systems to help adapt agriculture and forestry to climate change. There is also a FAO guide on how to include both forestry and agroforestry in National Adaptation…

Policy Briefing #20 welcomes the draft CRCF, and its initial proposals for robust certification of carbon removals including a) quality criteria, b) verification and certification, c) functioning of certification schemes.  However we feel that rigorous certification is only needed for a subset of specialised carbon farming schemes.  There is much more to be done, in…