Nearly 30 Member States experts met in Brussels for a one day symposium to discuss the latest developments on agriculture and biodiversity.
Speakers gave presentations on the EU legal framework, the role of agriculture in biodiversity loss, and different approaches to wildlife conservation. This was followed by participant discussions.
The biodiversity strategy to 2020, the Nature Fitness Check and the Common Agricultural Policy 2014-2020 highlighted agricultural intensification and land abandonment as key pressures on biodiversity.
There is a suitable legal framework to protect biodiversity but the this needs to be effectively implemented by Member States. The European Commission's action plan will help facilitate this. Sustainable agricultural practices can help to achieve targets by 2020 if they are widely implemented.
Several local action programmes presented case studies . The BID-REX project was also mentioned, and project brochures handed out to participants.
