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Nitrate in drinking water
The increasingly widespread runoff of agricultural
nutrients and pollutants is not only endange r i n g
plants and animals, but also human beings. In
most countries discussion on this subject is mainly
focused on nitrate levels in drinking water. Here
the EU has fixed a maximum of 50 mg nitrate per
litre (NO3/l). In all member states there are at least
local or regional problems with staying below this
limit. Most disturbing here is the increase in nitrates
leaching into groundwater. As it often can take
more than ten years before nitrate losses from the
topsoil finally reach the aquifer, further increases
in nitrate levels have to be reckoned with fo r
many years to come, even if nitrate losses were
stopped immediately. In addition to nitrates, residues
of pesticides (e.g. Atrazine) are also threatening
the quality of groundwater.
Surface water pollution
Also surface waters, rivers, lakes and even marine
ecosystems, are becoming increasingly polluted
with agricultural emissions. The runoff of nutrients
caused by agriculture has played a majo r
role in the massive growth of algae in the North
Sea and the Adriatic. Studies on nutrient runoff
into German rivers demonstrate that almost 60%
of the nitrogen and over 40% of the phosphorous
emissions originate from diffuse, non-point sources,
of which 80 to 90% come from agriculture.
While it has been possible to reduce the total
phosphorous emissions by 30% since 1975, the
runoff caused by agriculture has risen by 10%. As
a result, agriculture’s share of this pollution as a
whole has almost doubled to over 30% (UBA
1997).
Causality and responsibility
When assessing the environmental impact of
agriculture, it is important to distinguish betwee n
the ecological or technological causality and the
economic and political responsibility. The environmental
problems described are, of course,
caused by agriculture, but it is not really the individual
farmer who is to blame. Farmers operate
within a broader context of general economic and
NATURE AND FARMING IN A EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVE / HEINO VON MEYER
social change, and this context is strongly determined
by policies. The negative impact of structural
transformations in agriculture is not primarily
an ecological or technological problem, nor
can it be solved by improved education and training
of farmers alone. Structural changes and current
farming practices are not the result of an
“autonomous” technological development, they
are strongly influenced by agricultural policies
which provide strong economic incentives to
carry on with, or even intensify, env i r o n m e n t a l l y
harmful, unsustainable farming practices.
Sustainable rural development and effe c t iv e
nature conservation in Europe can only be achieved
if agricultural policy priorities and measures are
fundamentally reconsidered and reoriented.
First steps towards reform
The “McSharry reform” of 1992 marked a first
serious policy effort to reshape the EU’s Co m m o n
Agricultural Policy (CAP). However, chances for
a real shift towards encouraging environmentally
sound, sustainable agriculture were missed.
The CAP continued to focus on food production
and farm income. Environmental considerations
found marginal attention only under the “accompanying
measures” in regulation 2078/92. The
main purpose of the reform was to curb surplus
production, to limit resulting budget costs and to
ease growing tensions in international trade
( GATT). A key concern was how agricultural
incomes could be maintained even though agricultural
guarantee prices had to be reduced. In this
r e gard, an important step towards decoupling
the policy means for market regulation (administrated
prices) and income support (direct payments)
had been achieved.
Agenda 2000
With “Age n d a 2000”, as proposed by the EU
Commission, we are today facing a new opportun
i ty of redefining the priorities and orientations of
the European rural and agricultural policy • . O v e r
the coming weeks, the EU Council of agricultural
ministers, and finally a summit of the heads of
state, will have to agree on a new European policy
• At the time of the Seminar, January 1999, Agenda 2000 was still under negotiation. The final decisions confirm the concerns
expressed in this paper.
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