High nature value farming: environmental practices for rural sustainability - Transition Pathways towards Sustainability in Agriculture: Case Studies from Europe - page 99

transition as an ongoing process where innovations developed within the three HNVF
initiatives lay the basis for potential radical change.
The research is largely based on qualitative methods of data collection. In the three
case studies, semi-structured interviews were conducted with representatives of various
stakeholders: farmers, including young farmers and new entrants; local and regional
authorities (mayors and municipality representatives); representatives of public-private
bodies (chambers of agriculture); agricultural officers and experts; non-governmental
organizations (environmental NGOs and others); entrepreneurs (hotel-keepers, food
processors); and other key informants. Desk-based research was also carried out to provide
the data for analysis (at the meso and local levels) of the contextual features of the case
studies, including historical, socio-economic, cultural and agricultural characteristics. A
review of relevant policy documents (EU and national) relating to nature conservation and
biodiversity issues was also carried out.
The 'high nature value farming' concept
The broad concept
The HNVF concept, which first emerged in 1993, recognizes the relationship between
certain types of farming activity and 'natural values' (Baldock et al. , 1993), and that the
conservation of biodiversity in Europe depends on the continuation of low intensity, low
input farming systems across large areas of countryside (Baldock et al. , 1993; Bignal and
McCracken, 1996; Opperman et al. , 2012). HNVF is an extensive system and conforms to
Natura 2000 regulations and other requirements covering protected areas. In general, it
implies grassland management with benefits for biodiversity conservation and habitat
protection. Its cornerstone is semi-natural pastures, meadows and orchards, as well as
peripheral semi-natural features such as large hedges and copses (Opperman et al. , 2012).
HNVF is carried out in all European countries. It is an integral part of the landscape,
covering a broad range of landscape types and having common features across Europe.
Farm operations are based on management systems that use regional breeds of livestock.
Local skills, which complement the climate and geography of the locality are drawn upon;
the use of artificial fertilizers and chemicals is minimized; small scale cultivation often
takes place alongside livestock production; and largely uneconomic and declining labour -
intensive management practices, such as shepherding, are often revived 1 .
HNVF is a top-down approach, which is emphasized in EU directives for the
protection of HNV areas 2 . These encourage bottom-up initiatives which adopt
environmentally-friendly land management practices for HNV grassland, biodiversity
protection and nature conservation in HNV areas in Europe 3 . They include: 'optimising the
1 WWF Danube-Carpathian Programme, project 'High Nature Value Farmlands - Recognizing the European
Importance of SEE landscapes', www.panda.org/dcpo
2 Birds Directive 79/409 and Habitats Directive 92/43
3 A European Commission report (2009) indicated that the increase in agricultural land, climate change, tourism,
and poor land management leads to loss of biodiversity in the 27 EU countries, and governments must take
measures for its protection. This informed the need for sustainable management of HNV farmlands through
HNVF. It designates broad categories of low-intensity farming and livestock breeding that use environment-