Grazing by domestic and wild animals is shaping landscapes across Europe. It can also contribute to multiple ecosystem services, such as providing habitat for biodiversity. Grazing systems with lower animal densities and with minimal and specific applications of deworming and other medicinal treatments offer benefits for the protection of local biodiversity and various ecosystem services. However, this type of land management also poses a number of challenges, leading to a steady decline in the number of land users engaging in low-intensity grazing. A team of researchers led by iDiv, UL and UFZ set out to investigate these challenges and possible interventions in eight European case studies. Between 2019 and 2021, they conducted 74 face-to-face interviews with farmers, landowners, ranchers, and managers of a recovery area with semi-wild herbivores, such as ponies or semi-wild cattle.
Land users depend on subsidies, but money is not everything
The researchers focused on the motivation and challenges that drive decision-making among all land users participating in low-intensity grazing practices. This was despite economic considerations becoming increasingly important as the income-generating activities of land users are no longer sufficient to cover the rising cost of equipment, rent and taxes.
“Money is not everything. Many of the land users we interviewed practice this type of grazing management because they think it is good, not because of economic motivation,” says first author Dr. Julia Rouet-Leduc. Rouet-Leduc led the project as a former doctoral researcher at iDiv and UL and is now a postdoctoral researcher at the Stockholm Resilience Centre. Care for nature and, in some cases, also the desire to maintain traditional agricultural practices were important aspects of the motivation of land users. For example, a land user working with wild ponies in Galicia, Spain, shared: “The main reason for maintaining this system is that people… love ponies; ‘they have fever,’ and this tradition is very deep-rooted.” in their hearts.”
Researchers found that many land users struggle with rules and regulations that are incompatible with low-intensity grazing management. For example, rules for marking or tagging livestock (an extremely challenging task when animals are allowed to graze freely over large areas) were perceived as limiting. Land users also felt that current policies, especially the European Commission’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), were holding back sustainable and nature-friendly practices. For example, a land user in Romania noted that farmers had to remove brush from their pastures or else they would be ineligible for subsidies or even have to pay fines. However, shrublands have important ecosystem functions, such as providing shade in summer and as an additional food resource in winter. The CAP was generally perceived as too restrictive and many land users chose not to apply for any subsidies. “By not applying for CAP aid, we have the freedom to really see what suits the local ecosystem,” said a Belgian land user.
The rural exodus puts the traditional workforce at risk
The interviews also showed that many land users struggle with socioeconomic changes in the countryside. The so-called “rural exodus” is causing a lack of labor, while physical labor remains very necessary, especially for work with cattle or horses. “The next generation doesn’t want to farm because it’s too hard and requires a lot of work,” said a land user from Lithuania. “Usually they move abroad and choose easier career options.”
“The CAP could support farmers in agricultural regions of high nature value and establish incentives to preserve or restore extensive grazing systems,” suggests lead author Dr. Guy Pe’er, senior researcher at UFZ and iDiv. “It is not a lack of budgets but rather a lack of ambition to support sustainable agriculture.”
More flexibility and better access to markets needed
The researchers used the interviews to derive and suggest interventions to encourage better grazing practices. “What is needed is more flexibility for land users,” says Rouet-Leduc. “Current policies, for the most part, do not encourage such practices and, in particular, do not provide a level playing field for land users.” While the EU CAP offers important economic support, it also drives counterproductive management due to problematic requirements, she adds. According to the study authors, additional financial incentives could improve support for more sustainable grazing management. Especially in areas where land has been abandoned, there may be opportunities to recover large herbivores, which ultimately provide multiple ecosystem services. However, such systems require flexibility as they differ from domestic animal management approaches.
The researchers also call for better labeling and certification of environmentally friendly grazing practices to increase public support and help develop markets for such products. Some of the land users interviewed felt that market access could be improved by supporting direct marketing, for example through farm shops.
“It is clear that there are real challenges for farmers and they are not easy to overcome,” explains Pe’er in light of the ongoing farmer demonstrations in countries such as Germany, Poland and Italy. “But removing environmental rules will not help land users. They need a package that includes an ambitious reform of the CAP, which gives real support to farmers who need it to become more sustainable; the Nature Restoration Act for improve good governance standards; and a framework “For sustainable food systems to improve market options for sustainable agriculture.”