Common Agricultural Policy Indicators - Biodiversity

Indicators contributing to the assessment of the performance of the Common Agricultural Policy. Biodiversity in agricultural areas has to be preserved: agricultural practices directly influence the suitability of habitats for plants and animals living in agricultural areas, while a balanced presence of such organisms (e.g. pollinators) is providing ecosystem services that influence crop production. The Farmland Bird Index is a measure of the number and composition of common birds’ population in agricultural areas. Natura 2000 is the main European network of protected areas aiming to improve the conditions for habitats and birds: the share of agricultural areas gives an indication of the quantity on total agricultural areas at Member State level, while the percentage of grassland habitats by conservation status gives a qualitative indication of their suitability for hosting biodiversity. Among CAP interventions, the dashboard provides the areas of Ecological Focus Areas (EFA) declared by farmers in greening and the share of main EFA types for each Member State. The share of land under rural development contracts includes actions aiming to improve biodiversity on both agricultural and forestry areas.