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AGRI-ENVIRONMENT PAYMENTS (Land Managers Options and Rural Priorities)
Article 36(a)(iv)
Measure code (214)
Rationale for Intervention
Farming and forestry play an important role in securing the range and quality of species and habitats that make up biodiversity in rural Scotland. Agri-environment measures encourage land management practices that address our key environmental priorities, as set out in Axis 2 of the Strategic Plan. All of the agri-environment options go beyond minimum national standards. We will support a range of agri-environment measures that seek to deliver additional environmental benefit which go beyond national and international obligations (for example under Natura 2000 and SSSIs) and maintain and enhance the quality of the natural environment across rural areas through high nature value farming, crofting and forestry. These measures must be applied in a targeted way to ensure that support addresses the specific needs of different areas including, for example, priorities of Natura and Local Biodiversity Action Plans. All of the measures may be applied in Natura areas. In addition, a number of the measures are available only in Natura areas.
This measure contains both generic and site specific operations that may be used singly or in combination to achieve biodiversity outcomes. The measures are not applicable to aquaculture farms. For combined measures, there will be no double accounting of income foregone on the same parcel of land.
The Scottish Executive recognises that the benefits deriving from agri-environment actions are likely to be enhanced when actions take place over a wider area and a longer time period. For that reason we will encourage existing agri-environment participants to make use of RDC - Land Managers Options and make proposals for support under Rural Priorities that together build on their previous or existing agri-environment contracts. Furthermore, we will encourage landscape-scale actions and will give priority to high quality collaborative Rural Priorities proposals that aim to deliver benefits over a wide area.
Where a plan is required ( e.g. for moorland, machair or fen management), this is voluntary and may be drawn up by the land manager or by a professional conservation adviser. The plan will set out the activities to be carried out by the land manager to deliver the agreed conservation objectives. Typically, this would cover the numbers and types of livestock that would use different fields, the periods during which grazing would be undertaken, shepherding arrangements, areas where livestock should be excluded etc The plans do not have statutory force, but failure to comply with the agreed requirements would constitute a breach of scheme conditions.
For water margins and buffer strips, payment will be made only for management which goes beyond the requirements of the revised Nitrates Action Programme.
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