Environmental stewardship (England)

Last updated

Environmental Stewardship is an agri-environment scheme run by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in England which aims to secure widespread environmental benefits. It was formally launched on 18 March 2005, although the first agreements did not start until 1 August 2005.

Contents

If Environment Stewardship is taken up across large areas of the countryside it will help to:

The scheme, which replaces the older Countryside Stewardship and Environmentally Sensitive Area schemes, is composed of two levels: the Entry Level Stewardship (ELS), Organic Entry Level Stewardship (OELS) for Organic farms, Upland Entry Level Stewardship (UELS) comprising the lower levels; and the Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) for the upper level.

Introduction

Entry Level Stewardship aims to encourage large numbers of farmers and land managers (hereafter referred to as 'applicants') across England to deliver simple yet effective environmental management that goes beyond the Single Payment Scheme (SPS) requirement to maintain land in Good Agricultural and Environmental Condition.

Payouts are from £30/hectare for Entry Level Stewardship to £60/hectare for Organic ELS, and last either five or ten years. The scheme is non-competitive and payments awarded if the threshold 30 points per hectare is achieved when averaged over the farm.

Applicants are able to choose from a wide range of options (e.g. hedgerow management, low input grassland, buffer strips, management plans and options to protect soils), covering all farming types. Each option will earn 'points' (e.g. 100 points per hectare) towards their points total.[ citation needed ]

Applications

When applying for ELS, applicants will first have to prepare a simple record of features on their farm called the Farm Environment Record (FER). This is done using the Farm Environment Record map supplied by RDS. When they request their pre-filled application form and maps they are also given a ‘points target’ related to their farm size. There is no minimum holding size for entry into ELS. Applicants have the flexibility to decide how much of each option to have, and where to put them, until they have chosen enough to reach their ‘points target’. They need to mark the location of some of these options on the Options map provided by RDS. If they agree to deliver enough ELS options to meet their points target they will be guaranteed entry into the scheme.

In applying for, and being accepted into, ELS they agree to: a) identify, map and retain their FER features; b) deliver the options selected in their application form in accordance with the management requirements; and c) adhere to all the scheme terms and conditions contained in the ELS handbook, and in particular to follow Good Farming Practice throughout their farm, and to comply with the other additional requirements.

Entry Level Stewardship

Anyone who owns, farms or manages agricultural land can apply to take out an ELS agreement by contacting the appropriate regional office of Natural England by letter or phone. Online applications for ELS are also available.

Applicants for an ELS agreement will receive a scheme handbook in addition to the application pack. The handbook details the options for management that the applicant can choose to apply on their land. Each option carries a points score, either per agreement (for example for completing the mandatory Farm Environment Record (FER)), per hectare (e.g. grassland management), per metre (e.g. hedgerow management) or per feature (e.g. in-field trees). The scheme is non-competitive, so provided the grand total of the points is at least equal to 30 points per hectare averaged over the farm (i.e. for a 100 hectare farm 3000 points are required) then the application will become an agreement. All agreements are paid at a flat rate of £30 per hectare per year, and last 5 years.

The schemes have undergone several revisions since their inception.

Organic Entry Level Stewardship

This is very similar in nature to the Entry Level Scheme, except that it covers organic land only. Most of the options are the same in ELS and OELS, but some that are not appropriate (e.g. reduced artificial fertiliser inputs) are omitted. Like ELS the agreements last 5 years, but OELS land is paid at £60/hectare. It is possible to combine OELS with regular ELS on farms with a mixture of organic and conventionally farmed land. [1]

Higher Level Stewardship

As the name suggests this is more targeted than (O)ELS, and not all land is eligible. It is designed to offer more support to more active and environmentally beneficial management practices. Unlike ELS it also offers grants for capital works, such as the restoration of traditional farm buildings. All Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) agreements must be underpinned with basic management from an ELS or OELS agreement, but in contrast to these schemes the agreement lasts 10 years. All agreements start at one of four start dates at three-monthly intervals through the year. The first HLS agreements started on 1 February 2006. There was a delay in the launch of HLS as a result of problems with the department's computer system, "Genesis", built by Atos Origin.

The application procedure is basically the same as for ELS but, due to the added complexity and competitiveness of the scheme and its highly targeted nature, a visit from a Natural England advisor is required. The payment received for HLS agreements is dependent on the precise options chosen, rather than a flat rate.

Upland Entry Level Stewardship

Is a new scheme following the same format as the entry level stewardship schemes. It was launched in 2010, with the first agreements running from 1 July 2010. It replaced the 'Hill Farm Allowance Scheme', a DEFRA and RPA run scheme. [2]

Management options covered by the ELS, OELS, HLS and UELS schemes

Objectives

Environmental Stewardship has a number of wide-ranging objectives, which include:

Alternative schemes

Related Research Articles

Conservation agriculture

Conservation agriculture (CA) can be defined by a statement given by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations as "A farming system that promotes minimum soil disturbance, maintenance of a permanent soil cover, and diversification of plant species. It enhances biodiversity and natural biological processes above and below the ground surface, which contribute to increased water and nutrient use efficiency and to improved and sustained crop production."

The Avon Wildlife Trust aims to protect and promote wildlife in the area of the former county of Avon — now Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire, in England. It has its headquarters in Bristol and runs wildlife centres at Folly Farm, Somerset and Feed Bristol, Frenchay, North Bristol.

The Countryside Stewardship Scheme was originally an agri-environment scheme run by the United Kingdom Government set up in 1991. In its original form it expired in 2014. It was relaunched for the Rural Development Programme England (RDPE) 2014-2020 with £3.1bn of government subsidy for agriculture and forestry, replacing the previous Environmental Stewardship scheme.

England Rural Development Programme is the instrument by which the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) fulfills its rural development obligations in England, as set out by the European Union. It is derived primarily from Council Regulation European Union Regulation No. 1257/1999 and the related successive implementing Commission Regulations.

Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve

Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve, located in Wells, Maine, USA, is 2,250 acres (9.1 km2) of protected land headquartered at a restored saltwater farm called Laudholm. As a National Estuarine Research Reserve, the Wells Reserve works to expand knowledge of coasts and estuaries, engage people in environmental learning, and involve communities in conservation, all with a goal of protecting and restoring coastal ecosystems around the Gulf of Maine. Wells Reserve funding is largely through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the nonprofit Laudholm Trust.

An environmental management scheme is a mechanism by which landowners and other individuals and bodies responsible for land management can be incentivised to manage their environment.

On 26 June 2003, EU farm ministers adopted a fundamental reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and introduced a new Single Payment Scheme for direct subsidy payments to landowners.

Shawangunk Grasslands National Wildlife Refuge Protected area in Ulster County, New York

The Shawangunk Grasslands National Wildlife Refuge is a wildlife refuge located in Ulster County, New York, United States. Formerly the Galeville Military Airport, it was decommissioned in 1994 and turned over to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service in 1999. It serves as a waypoint for grassland-dependent migratory birds.

Hunting and shooting in the United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, the term hunting with no qualification generally refers to hunting with hounds, e.g. normally fox hunting, stag (deer) hunting, beagling, or minkhunting, whereas shooting is the shooting of game birds. What is called deer hunting elsewhere is deer stalking. According to the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) over a million people a year participate in shooting, including stalking, shooting, hunting, clay shooting and target shooting. To undertake shooting in the UK a valid firearms license and insurance is required.

The Conservation Security Program (CSP) was a voluntary conservation program in the United States that supported stewardship of private agricultural lands by providing payments and technical assistance for maintaining and enhancing natural resources. The program promoted the conservation and improvement of soil, water, air, energy, plant and animal life, and other conservation purposes. Congress established the CSP under the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (FSRIA), which amended the Food Security Act of 1985. The program was administered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Hill farming Hill farming or terrace farming is a Type of agricultural in upland areas

Hill farming or terrace farming is an extensive farming in upland areas, primarily rearing sheep, although historically cattle were often reared extensively in upland areas. Fell farming is the farming of fells, a fell being an area of uncultivated high ground used as common grazing. It is a term commonly used in Northern England, especially in the Lake District and the Pennine Dales. Elsewhere, the terms hill farming or pastoral farming are more commonly used.

The agricultural policy of the United States is composed primarily of the periodically renewed federal U.S. farm bills. The Farm Bills have a rich history which initially sought to provide income and price support to US farmers and prevent them from adverse global as well as local supply and demand shocks. This implied an elaborate subsidy program which supports domestic production by either direct payments or through price support measures. The former incentivizes farmers to grow certain crops which are eligible for such payments through environmentally conscientious practices of farming. The latter protects farmers from vagaries of price fluctuations by ensuring a minimum price and fulfilling their shortfalls in revenue upon a fall in price. Lately, there are other measures through which the government encourages crop insurance and pays part of the premium for such insurance against various unanticipated outcomes in agriculture.

Churchtown Farm

Churchtown Farm is a community nature reserve one mile south of Saltash, Cornwall, England. It is owned and managed by Cornwall Wildlife Trust, and includes diverse habitats such as grassland, estuarine mudflats, wetland, woodland, disused quarries and hedgerows.

Purple moor grass and rush pastures One of UKs natural habitats

Purple moor grass and rush pastures is a type of Biodiversity Action Plan habitat in the UK. It occurs on poorly drained neutral and acidic soils of the lowlands and upland fringe. It is found in the South West of England, especially in Devon.

Three Brooks Local Nature Reserve

The Three Brooks Nature Reserve is a Local Nature Reserve of approximately 44 hectares in Bradley Stoke, South Gloucestershire, England. It is named after the Hortham, Patchway, and Stoke Brooks which run through it, meeting at Three Brooks Lake before flowing eastwards back under the M4 motorway as Bradley Brook.

Hazelwood Hall Victorian mansion in Lancashire, England

Hazelwood Hall is a Victorian mansion set in 18.5 acres of mature woodland and gardens in the village of Silverdale, Lancashire, England, some 8.5 miles (13.7 km) north of Lancaster. In 2007 it was converted into apartments.

Range Farm Fields Biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, England

Range Farm Fields is a 12.8-hectare (32-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, near to Gloucester City, notified in 1996.

Fundación Vida Silvestre Argentina

Fundación Vida Silvestre Argentina is a civil association founded on June 29, 1977, working on solving the main environmental issues of Argentina. Its mission is "to propose and implement solutions for conserving nature, promoting the sustainable use of natural resources and responsible behavior on the part of mankind in the context of climate change". To achieve this it develops actions based on the protection of natural areas, on consumption and on responsible production, environmental legislation, awareness and education.

Agriculture in Wales Cultivation of plants and animals in Wales

Agriculture in Wales has in the past been a major part of the economy of Wales, a largely rural country that forms part of the United Kingdom. Wales is mountainous and has a mild, wet climate. This results in only a small proportion of the land area being suitable for arable cropping, but grass for the grazing of livestock is present in abundance. As a proportion of the national economy, the importance of agriculture has become much reduced; a high proportion of the population now live in the towns and cities in the south of the country and tourism has become an important form of income in the countryside and on the coast. Arable cropping is limited to the flatter parts and elsewhere dairying and livestock farming predominate.

Tir Gofal

Tir Gofal was an agri-environmental scheme in Wales launched by the Countryside Council for Wales in 1999. It aimed to encourage farmers and landowners to manage their land in an environmentally friendly way. Its main objectives were "to protect and enhance habitats of importance to wildlife, to protect the historic environment, to protect and restore rural landscapes and to promote public access to the countryside." The scheme operated under the Common Agricultural Policy, and was jointly funded by the European Union and the United Kingdom Government. In 2011, the scheme was transferred into the management of the Welsh Government and subsequently replaced by another environmental scheme, Glastir.

References

  1. Organic Entry Level Stewardship Handbook (2nd ed.). Natural England. 2008. ISBN   978-1-84754-081-3 .
  2. Environmental Stewardship Scheme details on Natural England Website