engleski

Interrelation between Agriculture & the Environment

The links between the richness of the natural environment and farming practices are very old and complex. Needs for food and feed production are always being very important, and today, special emphasis is on its quality. Farming and nature influence each other. Inappropriate agricultural practices and land use can have an adverse impact on natural resources, like soil, water and air pollution, fragmentation of habitats & loss of wildlife. In the same time, agriculture is directly influenced by the nature. For example, regarding the climate change, agriculture is cause but in the same time and the victim of it. In Croatia in 21st century drought caused 51 % of total agricultural damage, hail 16 % and floods 12 % and more than half of the money that Croatia invested through direct payments (CAP) has been “eaten” by weather conditions. European Union as a leader in environment protection within CAP develops two mechanisms (direct and voluntary payments) and defines priority areas for agriculture: soil and water management, biodiversity preservation, landscape and climate change. Agri-environmental indicators (AEIs) are useful tool for analyzing the relationship between agriculture and the environment and identifying trends in this evolving interaction. To provide information on the state of the environment in agriculture and to understand and monitor the linkages between agricultural practices and their effects on environment, different set of indicators are identified: OECD and UN-FAO identified 62 AEIs, EU-EC-EEA 28 AEIs using DPSIR framework and methodology. Some of them will be explain and discussed.

Ecological Footprint, Food and Feed Footprint, Agri-environmental indicators (AEIs), DPSIR methodology, Natural Resources

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