
One Europe More Nature
Over 50% of Europe's land area is used for agriculture. However, a silent revolution is taking place in agricultural areas. Especially farmers working extensively and on a small scale cannot compete with the global market and are increasingly forced to close their businesses. This process is accelerated by changes in European agricultural policy and the accession of new member states to the EU.
New forms of land use with perspective for nature and economy
When a farmer stops, roughly two things can happen to their land. The best land is often bought by wealthier colleagues who aim for scale enlargement and intensification. There is little room left for nature and landscape values. The poorer quality land often remains fallow, eventually becoming closed forests. The result: 'digital landscapes' (either completely open agricultural production land or closed forest) where ecological richness is much more limited than in the semi-open landscapes that naturally occur in Europe.
The International World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has asked Bureau Stroming to develop proposals for new forms of land use that offer perspective for nature and are economically attractive.
WWF's Web of Life program
One Europe, more nature is part of WWF's Web of Life program. The program has the following objectives: - connecting existing nature into a coherent network of protected areas - surrounding the network with naturally rich, sustainably managed cultural landscapes - finding partners to realize this - a more central role for well-informed consumers.