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This paper provides an analysis of the importance implicitly attached by local stakeholders to different environmental objectives in agri-environmental schemes in Europe. For at least 20 years, increasing the sustainability of agriculture has been a major policy concern in Europe. However, the relative importance of specific objectives of agri-environmental schemes is rarely quantified, and this strongly affects the ability to assess the actual effectiveness of such schemes. This paper adopts a methodology based on the use of the concept of «weight» as a quantitative measure of the importance of each objective. The objectives have been identified using a hierarchical grid of indicators based on the EU framework for the mandatory evaluation of agri-environmental schemes. The quantification of weights was based on a questionnaire submitted to more than 70 stakeholders in 10 case study regions in different EU countries. The results highlight different regional profiles, denoting strategies with very different objective-related agri-environmental scheme specialisations, with some programs focusing on specific individual environmental issues such as landscape and biodiversity, and others focusing on several environmental objectives. Such results emphasise the need to integrate academic and institutional evaluation exercises in the measurement of the policy priorities, hence enabling to provide robust evaluations of policy effectiveness. ; En este artículo se ofrece un análisis de la importancia que los distintos agentes implicados conceden a los objetivos ambientales de los programas agroambientales de la política europea. Durante los últimos 20 años, el aumento de la sostenibilidad de la agricultura ha sido una de las mayores preocupaciones en Europa. Sin embargo, la importancia que los objetivos ambientales específicos tienen en los programas agroambientales ha sido escasamente cuantificada, lo que dificulta la evaluación de la eficacia de este tipo de programas. En este artículo se utiliza una metodología basada en el uso del concepto de «peso» como una medida cuantitativa para evaluar la importancia de cada uno de estos objetivos. Los objetivos han sido identificados utilizando una jerarquía de indicadores que se deriva del propio marco europeo para la evaluación obligatoria de los programas agroambientales. Se realizó la cuantificación de los pesos mediante un cuestionario presentado a más de 70 agentes en 10 regiones de diferentes países de la UE. Los resultados ponen de manifiesto la existencia de diferentes perfiles regionales, que revelan estrategias muy diferentes en cuanto a la especialización de los programas agroambientales. Estos van desde programas focalizados en un aspecto ambiental muy específico, como el paisaje y la biodiversidad, a programas que tienen un enfoque ambiental más general, atendiendo a varios objetivos ambientales simultáneamente. Estos resultados subrayan la necesidad de integrar las evaluaciones académica e institucional con mecanismos de medida de prioridades políticas, de cara a permitir evaluaciones más sólidas de la eficacia de los programas agroambientales.

Cystoseira species are some of the most important marine ecosystem-engineers, forming extended canopies comparable to land forests. Such forests are sensitive to human disturbances, like the decrease in water quality, the coastal development and the outbreak of herbivores. Conspicuous historical declines have been reported in many regions and several Cystoseira species are presently protected by European Union (EU) environmental policies. The aim of this work was to synthesize the conservation perspectives of Cystoseira forests in the Mediterranean Sea, focusing on the opportunities offered by artificial restoration and highlighting the potential role of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). MPAs give a better protection to healthy forests than non-managed sites and may be a source of propagules for natural recovery and/or for non-destructive artificial restoration of nearby damaged forests. MPAs lacking Cystoseira forests may also represent preferential sites for reforestation. We proposed a flow-chart for the conservation and a reasoned restoration of Cystoseira in the Mediterranean Sea. The successful conservation of Cystoseira forests is still possible, via raising public awareness on the role of Cystoseira and reducing human impacts on coastal ecosystems. Such actions have to be coupled with more specific large-scale management plans, encompassing restoration actions and enforcement of protection within MPAs. ; Peer reviewed

[EN] The contribution of small farms to local food supply, food security and food sovereignty is widely acknowledged at a global level. In the particular case of Europe, they often are seen as an alternative to large and specialised farms. Assessing the real role of small farms has been limited by a lack of information, as small farms are frequently omitted from agricultural censuses and national statistics. It is also well acknowledged that small farms differ widely, and are distributed according to different spatial patterns across Europe, fulfilling different roles according to the agriculture and territorial characteristics of each region. This paper presents the result of a novel classification of small farms at NUTS-3 level in Europe, according to the relevance of small farms in the agricultural and territorial context of each region, and based on a typology of small farms considering different dimensions of farm size. The maps presented result from an extensive data collection and variables selected according to European wide expert judgement, analysed with advanced cluster procedures. The results provide a fine grained picture of the role of small farms at the regional level in Europe today, and are expected to support further data analysis and targeted policy intervention. ; This work was supported by the SALSA project (Small farms, small food businesses and sustainable food and nutrition security) (Project ID: 677,363) funded under H2020-EU.3.2. Societal Challenges - Food security, sustainable agriculture and forestry, marine, maritime and inland water research and the bioeconomy; and by FEDER Funds through the Operational Programme for Competitiveness Factors - COMPETE and National Funds through FCT - Foundation for Science and Technology. Helen Sooväli-Sepping was funded by the Estonian Ministry of Education target-financed project IUT3-2 Culturescapes in transformation: towards an integrated theory of meaning making. ; Guiomar, N.; Godinho, S.; Pinto-Correia, T.; Almeida, M.; Bartolini, F.; Bezák, ...

784 798 75 ; S ; [EN] The contribution of small farms to local food supply, food security and food sovereignty is widely acknowledged at a global level. In the particular case of Europe, they often are seen as an alternative to large and specialised farms. Assessing the real role of small farms has been limited by a lack of information, as small farms are frequently omitted from agricultural censuses and national statistics. It is also well acknowledged that small farms differ widely, and are distributed according to different spatial patterns across Europe, fulfilling different roles according to the agriculture and territorial characteristics of each region. This paper presents the result of a novel classification of small farms at NUTS-3 level in Europe, according to the relevance of small farms in the agricultural and territorial context of each region, and based on a typology of small farms considering different dimensions of farm size. The maps presented result from an extensive data collection and variables selected according to European wide expert judgement, analysed with advanced cluster procedures. The results provide a fine grained picture of the role of small farms at the regional level in Europe today, and are expected to support further data analysis and targeted policy intervention. This work was supported by the SALSA project (Small farms, small food businesses and sustainable food and nutrition security) (Project ID: 677,363) funded under H2020-EU.3.2. Societal Challenges - Food security, sustainable agriculture and forestry, marine, maritime and inland water research and the bioeconomy; and by FEDER Funds through the Operational Programme for Competitiveness Factors - COMPETE and National Funds through FCT - Foundation for Science and Technology. Helen Sooväli-Sepping was funded by the Estonian Ministry of Education target-financed project IUT3-2 Culturescapes in transformation: towards an integrated theory of meaning making. Guiomar, N.; Godinho, S.; Pinto-Correia, T.; Almeida, M.; Bartolini, ...