Harnessing the biodiversity value of Central and Eastern European farmland

A large proportion of European biodiversitytoday depends on habitat provided by low- intensity farmingpractices, yet this resource is declining as European agriculture intensifies. Within the European Union, particularly the central and eastern new member states have retained relatively large areas of species-rich farmland, but despite increased investment in nature conservationhere in recent years, farmland biodiversitytrends appear to be worsening. Although the high biodiversityvalue of Central and Eastern European farmland has long been reported, the amount of research in the international literature focused on farmland biodiversityin this region remains comparatively tiny, and measures within the EU Common Agricultural Policyare relatively poorly adapted to support it. In this opinion study, we argue that, 10 years after the accession of the first eastern EU new member states, the continued under-representation of the low-intensity farmland in Central and Eastern Europe in the international literature and EU policy is impeding the development of sound, evidence-based conservationinterventions. The biodiversitybenefits for Europe of existing low-intensity farmland, particularly in the central and eastern states, should be harnessed before they are lost. Instead of waiting for species-rich farmland to further decline, targeted research and monitoring to create locally appropriate conservation strategies for these habitats is needed now.