New research shows that modern agriculture is impacting biodiversity inside protected areas in Europe, while some traditional agricultural practices may help preserve it.
The Natura 2000 is the largest network of protected areas in the world, established to conserve the most valuable habitats and species in the European Union.
Researchers conducted a large-scale survey among Natura 2000 protected area managers across Europe focusing on management practices, funding, and threats to biodiversity facing the Natura 2000 network.
The findings are quite clear. Up to 60 percent of the respondents named agriculture as a risk factor for biodiversity in protected areas. Indeed, the Natura 2000 network of protected areas does not necessarily enforce a strict protection of the ecosystems, but often covers a variety of uses on a territory that is rich in biodiversity.
“The main threat to biodiversity conservation inside Natura 2000 areas in Europe comes from the intensification of agricultural practices, like the use of pesticides, overgrazing, and hedgerow removal. It was alarming to learn how managers of protected areas feel that biodiversity is not safe from these harmful practices,” says the study’s first author, Doctoral Researcher Giorgio Zavattoni from the University of Turku, Finland.
The European Environment Agency (EEA) has evaluated that an alarming 80% of the EU’s most valuable and protected habitats have an unfavourable conservation status, with national reports suggesting that the main driver for habitat degradation is intensive agriculture, a process characterised by increased use of inorganic fertilizers, pesticides, and new crop types including winter crops.
The findings of this study reveal that these agricultural pressures in fact pose significant challenges for protected area managers, who often cannot address them fully. In practice, the Natura 2000 network allows very varying practices in the maintenance of protected areas.
“This highlights how the simple designation of a protected area does not itself ensure the effective conservation of its habitats and species, because stakeholder involvement and active management is often essential,” says Zavattoni.
Supporting traditional farming practices to preserve biodiversity
Are protected area managers against agriculture inside the protected areas? The answer is no. In fact, some of the most common measures implemented by Natura 2000 managers to improve the state of biodiversity coincide with some traditional low-intensity farming methods.
Practices, such as sustainable grazing and mowing, play a key role in preserving important habitats vital for many endangered species.
“Grasslands and marshes are among the most biodiversity-rich ecosystems in Europe, and protected area managers may use extensive grazing to ensure the conservation of these habitats. Unfortunately, with the intensification of modern agriculture, these traditional practices are disappearing in the EU,” says Dr Elie Gaget from the Tour du Valat, research institute for the conservation of Mediterranean wetlands in France.
The EU legislation includes certain restrictions, but many intensive and modern agricultural practices are still allowed within Natura 2000 protected areas, as long as they do not undermine the sites’ conservation objectives. In many areas, however, landowners and farmers have committed to using only traditional agricultural methods to protect biodiversity.
“Traditional agricultural practices are widely implemented as a tool for biodiversity conservation also in Finland. For example, in the Archipelago National Park, grazing is a key strategy used to maintain open habitats that host hundreds of endangered species,” Zavattoni adds.
The same is true for other parts of Europe as well.
“For example, in Camargue, France, one of the largest wetlands of Europe, horse and cattle grazing is widely implemented to control growing vegetation and maintain favourable habitats for a large number of waterbirds,” Gaget explains.
Funding available to manage Natura 2000 protected areas often relies on the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), which Member States apply through their own national programmes. The same instrument also provides subsidies to intensive agricultural practices even inside protected areas.
Professor Jon Brommer from the University of Turku explains:
“The Natura 2000 network aims at protecting biodiversity without excluding human activities. However, it is confusing to use public money to support two very different approaches, with mixed effects on biodiversity”.
Overall, the study underscores the urgent need to strengthen agricultural regulation inside protected areas if the EU is to achieve its biodiversity conservation goals.
“Much of what currently seems to be lacking was included in the full set of original Green Deal proposals, which were diluted following the farmer protests of spring 2024, including, for example, the proposal to cut pesticide use by 50% by 2050,” Brommer says.
At the same time, the study highlights how low-intensive agricultural practices, both within and around protected areas, are needed for conserving European biodiversity.
