Agri-environmental schemes governance – a systematic literature review

🌍🌱 Reflecting on Agri-Environmental Governance in the CAP 🌱🌍

On the 21 March, we had the opportunity to present at a seminar on The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and the Environment, exploring the (in-)effectiveness of agri-environmental policy instruments, hosted by the IEE/CEDRE – at the campus UCLouvain SaintLouis 🎤📖

🔍 Our colleague’s Diana Borniotto presentation focused on how governance models shape the environmental performance of Agri-Environmental Schemes (AES).

💡 A key takeaway? The balance between policy relevance and policy coherence remains a critical challenge.

⚖️ The discussion deepened with insights from environmental law scholars, highlighting how CAP Regulation 2021/2115 reinforces a fragmented approach to agri-environmental measures rather than fostering systemic coherence. As a result, policies often fail to capitalize on synergies between measures, limiting both environmental effectiveness and farmers’ decision-making frameworks.

💡 Key takeaways from our interdisciplinary exchange:
🔹 CAP’s governance logic tends toward scattered measures rather than integrated systems, weakening environmental impact
🔹 Design choices matter—coherence between measures is as crucial as their individual effectiveness
🔹 Actors’ engagement is shaped by governance structures; environmental and agricultural actors are not on the same footing in the decision-making processes of AES and, more broadly, the CAP’s green architecture

🔹 Implementation trade-offs—transaction costs along with administrative burdens should be reduced through effective governance processes, without compromising budgetary accountability

🔗 Interdisciplinary approaches help us tackle these complexities by bridging insights from policy analysis, law, and governance. We would like to thank CEDRE for hosting us and providing a great space for discussion!