In the last decade, the term biodiversity has become increasingly popular. It has claimed its rightful place among climate change and environmental change. This is not without reason. According to the Global Assessment issued by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) in may 2019 about 1 million species are threatened with extinction [61]!

 

Almost 40% of the European Union's budget - 408 billion euros in the period 2014-2020 - is spent on the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Even though CAP is officially supposed to benefit biodiversity, the budget is largely spent on incentivising agricultural practices that are proven to be unproductive at best and damaging at worst in trying to achieve this. Although the current public opinion favours green practices and space for nature through eco-agriculture and rewilding, most people aren’t aware of the everyday influence of CAP on their lives and their environment. Due to its high complexity and vastness CAP remains a hidden giant.

Time to change that!

 

On this website, we offer an introduction to the problematic relationship between CAP and biodiversity. We will explain the reader to the general concept of biodiversity, analyze CAP (2014-20 reform) itself, and what this could mean for biodiversity, and discuss opportunities for different stakeholders that arise out of the current situation.