AUTHORS: Ben Allen – Clunie Keenleyside – Hetty Menadue

The current CAP reform proposals include a number of significant changes to the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD). These include the introduction of new priorities, the removal of the four axes, streamlining of the individual measures and increased provisions for cooperative approaches. These changes present significant opportunities to move beyond the current framework and allow a more flexible approach to the integrated use of measures to deliver environmental benefits.

The report, produced for the RSPB, is intended to support Member State and regional managing authorities in the design of their 2014 – 2020 Rural Development Programmes (RDPs). It sets out a series of environmental principles and priorities to help guide this process, highlights the risks and opportunities offered by the different measures and how these can be used to contribute towards a range of environmental priorities, often in combination.