identifying the core data needed for agri- environmental ... · high nature value farmland...

Identifying the core data needed for agri-environmental statistics:The Eurostat “DireDate project”

Johan Selenius, team leader

15 October 201015 October 2010

Johan Selenius, team leaderEurostat, Unit E1, Farms, agro-environment and rural developmentpment

Background

� Eurostat is coordinator of statistics within the EU

� My task in Eurostat is to collect data on the agri-environmental indicators and to develop this work together with the statisticians from the EU member states

� We can clearly see that the present demands for data are very demanding

15 October 201015 October 2010 The Eurostat “DireDate project”The Eurostat “DireDate project”

are very demanding

� There is a clear risk that too many actions are under way, both in the EU and worldwide, not properly coordinated

� Instead of waiting for users to come to us, we have started an initiative to offer users available data that can be used for most needs, anything else must be very well justified

Agri-environmental commitments

Land use change Risk of land abandonment

Genetic diversity

Agricultural areas under Natura 2000

Cropping patterns Gross nitrogen balance

High nature value farmland

Farmers’ training levels and use of agri-env. advisory services

Livestock patterns Risk of pollution by phosphorus

Production of renewable energy

Area under organic Soil cover Pesticide risk Population trends of

EU agrienvironmental indicators and

sub-indicators


Area under organic farming

Soil cover Pesticide risk Population trends of farmland birds

Mineral fertiliser consumption

Tillage practices Ammonia emissions Soil quality

Consumption of pesticides

Manure storage Greenhouse gas emissions

Water quality –Nitrate pollution

Irrigation Intensification/ extensification

Water abstraction Water quality –Pesticide pollution

Energy use Specialisation Soil erosion Landscape – State and diversity

Land cover Pollution by nitrates and pesticides

Natural handicap payments to farmers in mountain areas

First establishment of agroforestry systems on agricultural land

Areas of extensive agriculture

Water use Payments to farmers in areas with handicaps, other than mountain areas

Natura 2000 payments

Natura 2000 area Areas at risk of soil erosion

Natura 2000 payments and payments linked to Directive 2000/60

Improving the environment and the countryside through land management

EU Rural Development Programs data requirements


Population of farmland birds

Organic farming Agri-environment payments

Reversing Biodiversity decline

High Nature Value farmland areas

Production of renewable energy from agriculture and forestry

Animal welfare payments

Maintenance of high nature value farming and forestry areas

Water quality UAA devoted to renewable energy

Non-productive investments

Improvement in water quality

Gross Nutrient Balances

GHG emissions from agriculture

First afforestation of agricultural land

Contribution to combating climate change

Total number of farmers, and farmers with livestock

Annual contribution of mineral and organic forms of N (Kg N/ha)

CoGAP soaked, frozen, snow covered soils

CoGAP vegetation cover

Total land (km2) Annual use of mineral and organic N (kilotonnes)

CoGAP proximity of water courses

CoGAP fertilisation plans and spreading records

Agricultural land (km2)

Nitrogen discharge into the environment from agriculture, urban wastewater and industry.

CoGAP effluent storage works

CoGAP irrigation relating runoff and leaching

EU Nitrates Directive data requirements


and industry.

Agricultural land available for application of manure (km2)

Date of publication and revision of codes of good agricultural practice (CoGAP)

CoGAP limitation and splitting of mineral and organic nitrogen inputs

CoGAP Estimation of farmers who voluntarily apply the code

Permanent pasture CoGAP periods of spreading

CoGAP methods of spreading

Permanent crops CoGAP

spreading on sloping soils

CoGAP crop rotations and crop maintenance

Enteric fermentation

Agricultural soils

Manure management

Prescribed burning of savannas

Rice cultivation Field burning of agricultural residues

UNFCC data requirements (very basic level)


Changes to and from forest land

Changes to and from wetlands

Changes to and from arable land

Changes to and from settlements

Changes to and from grasslands

Changes to and from other land

LULUCF data requirements


Use of Synthetic (mineral) fertilizer

Biological nitrogen fixation

Field burning of stubble, straw etc

Use of Natural inorganic fertilizer

Manure excreted by grazing animals

Manure management regarding organic and nitrogen compounds

Use of Organic manure (farmyard manure)

N input from atmospheric deposition resulting from NOX and NH emissions from

EU National Emissions Ceiling Directive (SO2, NOX

NMVOCs, NH3) data requirements


NH3 emissions from agricultural crops and soils

Use of Compost Crop residue application

Present situation

� No complete overview in many countries of reporting

systems, even less on EU level

� Factual data requirements much more detailed than first

impression

� Data required often almost the same, but not exactly

� Huge risk of overlapping data collection set up


� Huge risk of overlapping data collection set up

� Coefficients used in models have very high impact on

results, but are almost incomprehensible for non-experts

� Methodologies aim at showing everything, not what is

environmentally and politically most significant

Results of Eurostat/ Member States discussions

� Respondent burden too high

� Agricultural statistics face resource reductions, costs

must be cut

� Data collected is not used efficiently enough

� Each piece of data collected must be properly justified


� Better harmonisation is needed to ensure data

comparability

� AEI data systems must be flexible, transparent and

contain coherent data flows

DireDate project tasks

� Analyse AEI and other reporting obligations for data

requirements, availability and gaps

� Analyse underlying methodologies (GHG and NH3

emissions, nutrient balances) especially on coefficients with

stress on data needs


stress on data needs

� Summarise the data needs on the smallest denominator

level, identifying harmonisation synergies, give

recommendations for priority data collection

� Give best practice recommendations for common, EU-

wide, data collection arrangements

Guiding principles

� Lego blocs: design the framework and its building blocs in a way that it provides flexibility. The blocs should be used many times for many different functions. The framework has to be robust (sustainable) and flexible at the same time to be able to adjust to future changes.

� Multiple solutions: there is not just one optimal solution


� Multiple solutions: there is not just one optimal solution for deriving the framework, but a range of possible solutions. Hence provide various proposals and indicate their pros and cons and ‘margins of flexibility’.

� Primary source: data collected directly at source, at the farm level, are likely to have a much larger accuracy than data derived from indirect sources

Guiding principles (cont.)

� Effectiveness and efficiency: collect and transmit data

once; use data many times; cluster data where possible.

� First things first: the emphasis of the work has to be on

the most important aspects. The priority activities have to

be identified and these have to be carried out.


be identified and these have to be carried out.

� Subsidiarity: the idea that the central authority should

have a subsidiary function, performing only those tasks

which cannot be performed effectively at a more immediate

or local level.

� Sense of urgency

Lego blocks livestock management

Housing typeManure storage:

duration/capacity

Manure application

techniqueGrazing days

Manure treatmentTime of manure

application

Manure stored in

covered tanks

Manure stored in

lagoons

Manure stored in

manure heaps

Manure stored in

underfloor pits

If solid manure:

deep litter

For poultry manure:

share incinerated


Housing: liquid or

solid system

Housing:

differentiate national

housing types

Housing: mech.

vent.

Housing: scrubbers

or biofilters

Housing: floor types

� Blocks need to be broken down into questions

understandable for the farmer

Main challenges

� How to prevent to re-invent the wheel?

� How to prevent going too much into detail?

� How to deal with different practices and data collection in Europe?

� How to find common denominators for the indicators?

� How to create a flexible and practical framework?


� How to formulate recommendations for harmonization in a changing world?

� How to integrate the needs of the diverse group of stakeholders?

� How to minimize data collection and response burden?

� How to avoid too much emphasis (bias) on single issues that have the main interest of the consortium members?

� How to ensure that AEI are relevant for policy-making?

identifying the core data needed for agri- environmental ... · high nature value farmland...

Documents