Congress report - European Health Forum Gastein

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European Health Forum Gastein 2001
only undermines food production and, in turn, the existence of farmers in many regions of
the world, but it threatens food security and the environment.
The CPE and the Austrian Mountain Farmers Association are convinced that to ensure the
nutritional value of our food and to preserve the ecological balance worldwide, this can only
be possible with a non-industrial and responsible agriculture.
EU level: Interpreting the multifunctional role of agriculture and rural
development across Europe
Elisabeth Guttenstein
In discussions with Génon Jensen of EPHA last summer she suggested to me that the
environmental movement in agriculture can today reap the fruits of its success. European
Leaders such as Schröder and Blair now speak about the need to reform the CAP along the
same lines we have been promoting over the last ten years. It clearly is a success.
However, I replied, our new challenge is even greater. We now have to achieve
environmental standards and the provision of environmental services through a policy which
is still based on the objectives of productivity and security of supplies.
The concept of ‘multifunctionality’ in agriculture has not been around for very long. The
different aspects of multifunctionality have been around for much longer, of course, the
environment, food security and safety, consumers, landscapes and rural economies.
However, in Europe we champion the concept of multifunctionality because we recognise the
need to bring these different issues into a coherent framework. Articles 2 and 6 of the
Treaty of Amsterdam are arguably an expression of this. These two articles stipulate the
need for all community policies, including the CAP, to integrate sustainable development and
environmental protection. I will not list all the different functions we want integrated in the
CAP to make it more sustainable. The recent crises in the agricultural sector have once again
provided us with clear evidence of the depth of public concern about the future of agriculture
and rural areas. I will instead analyse the example of environmental integration in the
process of CAP reform, and whether CAP reform is contributing to environmental protection.
WWF is the first to agree that the management of natural resources is at the heart of the
daily work of farmers. Nonetheless, evidence shows that when environmental constraints
pose a challenge to productivity, achieving environmental protection through agriculture
creates tensions. The tensions can be competing demands on natural resources such as
water; on finances available to deliver agricultural and environmental services; or
contradictory incentives provided for the two sectors.
These are just the most common conflicts that occur between the environment and
agriculture. If we then add the need to respond to consumer demands, to maintain fragile
rural economies, not to mention a sustainable impact on the economies of developing
countries; multifunctional agriculture seems doomed to failure from the outset.
Policy may not be able to resolve all those conflicts alone. Today we recognise the
increasing role played by the market, global trade and the consumer. The question I would
like to address is the following: which policy model for a future CAP is most likely to deliver
on multifunctional objectives?
International Forum Gastein, Tauernplatz 1, A-5630 Bad Hofgastein
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