Activity Report 2010 - European Landowners AR 2010 FCS ne… · Biodiversity and Sustainable Hunting and Angling ..... 15 Historical Houses, Parks and Gardens ... • M. François

Activity Report 2010

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Dear Friends,

Tradition and innovation are two key concepts for our association: the fi rst

represents the heritage made of love for our land and social responsibility,

the second refl ects the restless eff ort in developing our estates in line with the

vital role of countryside for insuring a sustainable future to mankind. Both are

essential as tradition without innovation can’t go far and innovation without

roots can be dangerous.

In accordance with these guidelines our network takes part to the debate

regarding the function of land management in the contemporary society.

Starting point is always the importance of granting property rights which

are the pledge for long term projects and achievements and incorporate

the sense of continuity. It is our view that on this solid basis food and

environmental challenges can be better faced and the countryside and its

people will respond adequately.

Agriculture is strategic for providing suffi cient and safe food and basic

environmental protection: the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) shall

deal with these issues and, thanks to the ELO, our voice is well represented.

The message is clear : the countryside is ready to do its best to intensify

production and preserve environment utilizing in a reasonable framework

its traditional values and experience jointly with scientifi c progress and

innovation.

Avv. Giuseppe Visconti

President

FOREWORD

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Dear Friends,

2010 is now over and, looking back; I

can safely say that it has been a suc-

cessful year for the Friends. The global

economy is on the road to recovery al-

though some countries are still facing

severe problems. In our particular fi eld

of activity, it is of the essence that the

demands of global food, timber and

environmental security are taken into

account, and that ways are found to

fi nance the services that land manag-

ers provide to society.

Europe has very little pristine habitat

left - the great majority of land has

been actively managed by humans for

centuries and it is this human activity,

our human activity, that has shaped

some of Europe’s most treasured

landscapes. Many of our charismatic

species and habitats are now actually

dependent on the continuation of ap-

propriate farming or forestry practices.

We identify that without land manage-

ment, society and the environment

would be in trouble. This works both

ways: land managers and society need

the local environment; and in densely

populated areas such as ours, the envi-

ronment needs the care of land man-

agement, farming, forestry and society.

With regards to climate change, ag-

riculture and climate change are in-

extricably linked. Agriculture is both

part of the problem and part of the

solution – it is a net-emitter of Green

House Gasses. However, with advanced

land management it also has an enor-

mous potential to cut emissions.

Agriculture has two roles in this con-

text. It must both adapt and mitigate

to the changing climate. It can achieve

this through more effi cient or so-

called ‘precision farming techniques’,

or even a combination of intensifi ca-

tion of agriculture in some areas, and

extensifi cation of agriculture in others.

Friends of the Countryside, and its

sister organisation the ELO (its lobby

tool) have been effi ciently promoting

the crucial role of private initiatives,

family businesses and property for a

prosperous countryside all over Eu-

rope in the framework of a balanced

approach to social, environmental and

economic considerations.

We are very proud of our partnership

with the ELO, of which the Wildlife

Estate Initiative (which promotes such

synergies between conservation and

sustainable land use) is an up-and-run-

ning initiative and I hope that many

Friends’ wildlife and hunting estates

will join it.

We are also launching a pollinator ini-

tiative which is promoting all the ben-

efi ts we can achieve by working with

bees and insects in our estates.

Let’s be clear, we are still facing a fu-

ture of increasing food scarcity, with

high, albeit very volatile prices both for

inputs and outputs. Agricultural poli-

cies will have to be adapted accord-

ingly. For this reason, at one hand the

ELO and Birdlife International pub-

lished a paper stating their joint posi-

tion regarding the reform of the CAP

and at the other hand the ELO has

been setting up the Rural Coalition

with COPA, CEJA and FACE.

Over the past decade, the focus of

European Agriculture has shifted fun-

damentally, to focus on farmers pro-

viding environmental public goods

and services, along with maintaining

adequate and secure food supplies.

We do feel that farmers should be

more and more considered as rural

businessmen. The RISE Foundation

having published a booklet, directed

by Allan BUCKWELL, entitled ‘RISE Task

Force on Public Goods from Private

Land’ analysed the available evidence

on the range of environmental and

man-made landscape services that

land managers, farmers and forest-

ers provide. It not only deals with the

actual services delivered, but reviews

work regarding the scale of the non-

market services which come from our

multifunctional land management

and assesses the various ways of trying

to bring about the delivery of these

services.

This has been largely advocated in the

European Institutions and is today a

key piece of the proposed reform.

The Team expresses its gratitude to the

Friends of the Countryside. By being

a member, you off er your expertise,

projects and suggestions which al-

low us to work not only for the goal of

achieving a prosperous and attractive

countryside for the future, but also of

securing family business transmission.

Thank you,

Thierry de l’ESCAILLE

CEO & Secretary General of

Friends of the Countryside

FOREWORD© Alison Boyes

TABLE OF CONTENTS

FOREWORD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

BOARD MEMBERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

ORGANISATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

FAMILY BUSINESS IN THE WIDER COUNTRYSIDE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Agriculture and environmental Security .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Forestry .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Status of Private Property .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Family Businesses .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Environment, forestry and Climate Change .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Renewable energies .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Rural development and Tourism .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Biodiversity and Sustainable Hunting and Angling .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Historical Houses, Parks and Gardens .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

The Wildlife Estates network .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

The Life + project in Midden Limburg- 3WatER .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

The pollinator Initiative .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

GENERAL ASSEMBLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

General Assembly and Conference of the Friends of the Countryside .. . . . . 21

Excursions .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

EVENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

National branches events .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

3rd Forum for the Future of Agriculture (FFA) ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

3rd Forum for the Future of Agriculture- regional conferences .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Green Week ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

SUPPORT FOR MEMBERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

The Countryside Magazine .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

The Trusted family network .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Creating the future of countryside .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Website .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

PARTNERSHIP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Young Friends of the Countryside .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

The RISE FOUNDATION .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Europa Nostra .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

AWARDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

The Anders Wall Award .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

The Environment and Soil Management Award .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Belleuropa Award .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

FINANCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

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• Don Giuseppe VISCONTI (Italy)

Giuseppe VISCONTI is a member of the “International Bar Association”, a senior

partner and founder of “Studio Legale Portale VISCONTI”. FCS’s President is a

landowner in Lombardy and Piedmont and the founder of the “Movimento

Europeo Terra e Ambiante (Meta)” which was subsequently merged into FCS.

He has been both president of the Italian Landowners Association and Board

Member of the ELO for many years. Last but not least, he is an academic of the

“Accademia dei Georgofi li”, a director of the “Società Agraria di Lombardia” and

an editorialist of “Nuova Proprietà Fondiara”, a monthly Magazine of the Italian

Landowners Association.

• Principessa Giorgiana CORSINI (Italy)

• Comte de RADIGUES de CHENNEVIERE (Belgium)

• Michael SAYER, Esq. (United Kingdom)

• Alonso ÁLVAREZ de TOLEDO y URQUIJO, Marqués de Valdueza (Spain)

• Comte Ghislain d’URSEL (Belgium)

• Thierry de l’ESCAILLE (Belgium)

• Prince Charles-Louis d’ARENBERG (Belgium)

• Georges BERGENGREN, Esq. (Sweden)

• Comte Charles-Hubert de BRANTES (France)

• Nicolas de BUMAN (Switzerland)

• Conte Giorgio CICOGNA MOZZONI (Italy)

• Wolfgang von DALLWITZ (Germany)

• Karl GROTENFELD (Finland)

• Graf Maximilian HARDEGG (Austria)

• Sir Charles KEANE, Bt (Ireland)

• Graf Constantin KINSKY (Czech Republic)

President

Vice Presidents

CEO & Secretary General

Board Members

BOARD MEMBERS 2010

© Thomas de Dorlodot

5

• Baron Johan NORDENFALK (Sweden)

After ten years as President of the organization and having passed the reins on

to Giuseppe VISCONTI, FCS is particularly thankful to Johan NORDENFALK for the

energy, dedication and effi ciency that he devoted to setting up and presiding

over Friends of the Countryside. We are all extremely grateful for his personal en-

gagement in the pursuit of the cause of private property and private enterprise

and hope that he will keep helping and supporting FCS for many years to come.

Johan NORDENFALK graduated with a Bachelor of Law degree from Uppsala

University and held several important positions in the Swedish Ministry of Jus-

tice, Finance and Industry. FCS certainly benefi ted a lot from his knowledge and

experience as a private landowner and which he acquired as Chairman of the

Swedish Landowners’ Organization for thirteen years. Our Honorary President is

still actively involved as Chairman of the Royal Swedish Patriotic Society, as Chair-

man of Friends of the Nordic Museum and Skansen, as a Member of the Royal

Swedish Academy for Forestry and Agriculture, and as Member of the Gustavus

Adolfus Academy.

Honorary President

Honorary Members

• Eric KWINT (The Netherlands)

• José de MASCARANHAS (Portugal)

• Antonio MELGAREJO (Spain)

• Poul MIKKELSEN (Denmark)

• Emilio NAVARRO MARTINEZ (Spain)

• Marchese Guiseppe PATERNŎ di SAN GIULIANO (Italy)

• Prinz Michael zu SALM-SALM (Germany)

• Prinz Friedrich von SCHWARZENBERG (Czech Republic)

• Baron Hubert de SCHORLEMER (Luxembourg)

• Graf Günther von der SCHULENBURG (Germany)

• Mark THOMASIN-FOSTER, Esq. (United Kingdom)

• M. François DEBIESSE (France)

• M. Youssef DIB (France)

• Dr. Anders WALL (Sweden)

BOARD MEMBERS 2010

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ORGANISATION

SECRETARIATConsultative Committee; Think Tank on rural policy issues

Responsible for communication, logistic, organization of meetings, marketing and general coordination

The RISE Foundation

Think TankYFCS FCS

Member Organisations & Associates Members Grouping landowners

associations from 27 EUMember States + Acceding Countries

BOARDPolicy Group

Technical policy papers

EUROPEAN LIAISON COMMITTEEPolicy Group


GENERAL ASSEMBLY GENERAL ASSEMBLY GENERAL ASSEMBLY

BOARDPolicy Group


BOARD OF DIRECTORSPolicy Group


Rural landowners, entrepreneurs and businesses as

Friends & Young Friends of the Countryside from EU 27

European Family BusinessesG E E F

PROJECTS & PARTNERS

7

Agriculture and environmental se-

curity have never been more tightly

linked as they are at the present mo-

ment in history. At European level, we

are currently discussing the reform of

the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP).

In this regard, many points are being

reviewed, in particular the budget as-

signed for agriculture. In this context,

the ELO and its member Organisation

have created the Forum for the Future

of Agriculture, as a discussion plat-

form, where politics, academics, indus-

try and civil society meets and fi nd a

common agreement of Europeans’

agriculture.

In the past 60 years world agriculture

has doubled food production through

advances in production systems and

crop and livestock breeding programs

while only using 10 percent more ag-

ricultural land. Those extraordinary

gains are now under pressure as the

world population is forecast to reach

9 billion by the year 2050, requiring a

70 percent increase in agricultural pro-

duction despite the fact that very little

new land is available. This need alone

is a daunting challenge, but climate

change and dependence on foreign

oil poses its own dangers to this al-

ready precarious set of demands. Just

as consumer habits are setting these

benchmarks for those wanting to fore-

cast how supply will need to keep up

with demand, the shifting pressures

on farmers will also put pressure back

on policy makers and also consumers,

further increasing the unpredictability

of the future market.

For most scientists it is impossible to

separate the changing climate from

the fossil fuels needed by our present

economy, to the same extent, most

farmers and land managers will agree

that it is impossible to separate our

present agricultural economy from

their need for fossil fuels. This dilemma

is not going to go away on its own.

Indeed, the stakes are only expected

to rise as demand for energy puts ad-

ditional pressure on farmer and land

managers by increasing the prices for

their inputs, including plant protection

chemicals and fertilizers.

According the a report by the Food

and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)

2010 report, climate change is ex-

pected to reduce agricultural produc-

tivity to lower levels as well as making

production more erratic. Although

the fi gures vary, some estimate that

for every 1 degree Celsius increase in

global average temperature, we can

expect 7 to 10 percent losses in grain

yields. Climate related changes also in-

clude shifting patterns of temperature

and precipitation, changing not only

seasons of production but also that of

pest and disease patterns.

Although the most imminent chal-

lenges surrounding food security are

to be faced in the developing coun-

tries, the EU is now taking the matter

seriously as well. Production systems

need to become more resilient by be-

ing more capable of performing well

under adverse circumstances. This will

require transformations in the man-

agement of natural resources includ-

ing land, water, soil nutrients, and per-

haps genetic resources. That is not to

say that all farmers will face the same

challenges nor will the degree of the

changes be consistent across all levels

of industry.

Agriculture and Environmental Security

FAMILY BUSINESS IN THE WIDER COUNTRYSIDEE © Alison Boyes

© Alison Boyes

8

In 2010, EU forests were at an inter-

section with the Climate Change dis-

cussions, the budget review, the pan-

European discussions on forestry and

the terminus of the Forest Action Plan,

discussions that will dictate the future

of European forests.

Climate Change poses important

challenges to European forests which

have strong potential to cope with

mitigation measures, their reason for

being highlighted during the COP16

in Cancun.

The discussions fl oated around REDD+

(Reducing Emissions from Deforesta-

tion and forest Degradation) and con-

sequently focused on mitigation in

developing countries, falling short on

opportunities arising for European For-

est owners, even if the international

community agrees that we must miti-

gate and adapt to climate change.

Even with positive outcomes, the ELO

expects a stronger international com-

mitment to reduce greenhouse gas

emissions for the next summit in Dur-

ban, South Africa, in November 2011.

Current emission reduction pledges

fall short, but it paved the way and kept

the options open to do so in the future.

Regrettably, the inclusion of carbon

markets to pay for forest protection

has been left out.

Decisions taken on a global level often

have an impact within the EU and thus

also infl uence the framework condi-

tions of the European forests. In the

context of climate change, the Com-

mission launched a debate on the EU

level instruments for “Forest Protec-

tion and Information” in the fi rst of

March 2010. The ELO participated in

the consultation on the green paper

that ended in July, having organized a

“forest dinner” to consolidate the work

developed during the internal policy

group meetings. A white paper on the

matter is expected in 2011 and a pos-

sible legislative proposal in 2012.

The International Year of Forests

2011 will off er a unique opportunity to

further the forest agenda and the forest

community should make the best use

of it. These questions captured the at-

tention of the Twentieth Session of the

Committee on Forestry (COFO), held at

FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy from

4 - 8 October 2010, held in conjunction

with second World Forest Week.

Forestry

FAMILY BUSINESS IN THE WIDER COUNTRYSIDEF

9

FAMILY BUSINESS IN THE WIDER COUNTRYSIDEE

■ The FLEGT 2010

Due to the environmental damages

caused by illegal logging and the com-

petitive issues it brings to the sector,

the EC completed and reinforced the

FLEGT (Forest Law Enforcement, Gov-

ernance and Trade) Action Plan with

additional measures in October 2008,

having presented a legislative proposal

aimed at minimising the risk of illegally

harvested timber entering in the EU in

December this year. However the regu-

lation requires all the EU economic op-

erators that place timber and timber

products in the EU market for the fi rst

time to ensure the legality of the prod-

ucts for both imported and domesti-

cally harvested timber.

The ELO will continue to follow this

regulation closely in the coming year,

when the risk assessment and risk

mitigation procedures are expect to

be defi ned as well the procedures to

recognize monitoring organizations,

which may create an extra burden in a

sector where the risk can be consider

negligible and the percentage of cer-

tifi ed wood is considerable. The Euro-

pean Union must minimize the impact

caused by illegal wood without com-

promise the viability of its forestry sec-

tor, which is a precondition for increas-

ing wood mobility and respond to the

political challenges and targets that

contribute to a sustainable, inclusive

and smart growth.

■ Cork

The ELO join eff orts with C.E.Liege to

promote cork, as it has a wide range

of environmental and social advan-

tages, besides the economic one. In

order words, the value of the cork oak

(Quercus Suber L.) is based not only on

the products extracted from the tree,

but on all of the agricultural, forest and

hunting activities that revolve around

the cork oak forestall exploration.

The cork oak is a slow growing tree that

may live for 200 years, which allows, on

average, to be stripped 16 times dur-

ing its lifetime. Meanwhile it serves as

habitat of many species, including pro-

tected ones, in an ecosystem, which

can survive to nearly desert climates. In

other words its contribution to tackle

climate change and to enhance biodi-

versity is unquestionable, but still it is

not suffi ciently communicated, reason

why the ELO organized the European

Biodiversity Conference at the Europe-

an Parliament on 7th of December enti-

tle “Sustainable Agriculture supporting

European Biodiversity”, where was no-

tably presented the case study about

“Evaluation of ecosystem services at

local scale – the role of the cork in oak

montado”.

The ELO was therefore actively pushing

for means to support the use of cork

stoppers, for instance through label-

ling, namely an indication that a bot-

tle contains cork and not the alterna-

tive materials like plastic or aluminium,

with a much higher carbon footprint.

In spite of the problems starting to ap-

pear in those diff erent stoppers, still its

use is increasing, partly because of the

lack of information among the con-

sumers and the fact that they don’t

have the right to choose, since there is

no way to know what corking material

the bottle contains.

Cork is an ecological material, which is

considered the best option for a wine

stopper, mainly because of its physical

properties like elasticity and its func-

tions as a fi lter, the given reason for

being the chosen material amongst all

the great wine brands.

10


The protection and recognition of private property is one of the central issues of the ELO in its role as a lobby tool of the

Friends of the Countryside. In order to ensure the protection of the status of private property, the ELO has developed a

strong partnership with the Union of European Historic Houses Association. The action this year was mainly focused on the

Energy Performance of Buildings directive (EPBD), reduced VAT, forestry, CAP, and the proper implementation of environ-

mental directives (including the Birds and Habitats Directives, Natura 2000, Biodiversity strategy, Green Infrastructure, the

Water framework Directive, etc). Property rights and its property use remains the key to economic development and future

innovation. This year’s work was therefore to ensure that the implementation of new regulations does not hinder the future

economic development of our regions and our countryside.

Most of the Friends of the country-

side consider themselves to be Fam-

ily Businesses, due to their long-term

outlook and their social responsibility.

Therefore, the relationship between

both the friends and European Fam-

ily Businesses-GEEF is mutually benefi -

cial. Following on from the successes

of 2009, European Family Businesses-

GEEF has truly established itself as a Eu-

ropean stakeholder. Partly due to the

commitment that was made by EFB-

GEEF’s Madrid General Assembly that

saw the Secretary General take up a

full time position in Brussels and due

to the continuing relationship with

the ELO. For the fi rst time, EFB-GEEF

is now regularly taking part in consul-

tations and establishing strong links

with the EU’s institutions. At the No-

vember General Assembly, FBN Hun-

gary was accepted as a new member.

Matti VANHANEN, former Finish Prime

The status of private property

Family businesses

European Family BusinessesG E E F

© Chlumec nad Cidlinou estate

Minister and the new President of the

Finnish Family Firms Association will be

joining the Management Committee

as of 2011. Matti VANHANEN’s appoint-

ment to the Management Committee

will undoubtedly bring an unparalleled

network base and valuable political ex-

perience. European Family Businesses-

GEEF will continue its activities in 2011,

with a view to further promote and un-

derline the importance of Family Busi-

nesses on the European stage.

www.efb-geef.eu

Philip AMINOFF - President


11

The adoption of the UN Framework

Convention on Climate Change (UN-

FCCC) in 1992 established the course

for the international community to be-

gin to recognise the human impact on

the earth’s climate. From 1995 parties

to the convention have reconvened

on an annual basis under Confer-

ences of the Parties (COP) to reassess

progress on the climate change issue.

The most recognised of these meet-

ings was held in Kyoto, Japan (COP 3),

where the legally binding agreement

on mitigating GHG was established,

known as the Kyoto Protocol. This Pro-

tocol required its signatories to reduce

GHG emissions by 5.2% from 1990 lev-

els. The notable exception to the treaty

was the United States which refused to

ratify the Protocol. Nearly two decades

later, the international community still

lacks a concrete mechanism to tackle

the quantities of Green House Gasses

(GHG) in the atmosphere. Resistance

to these measures by various actors in

the international community has post-

poned subsequent accords despite

some progress, e.g., the Bali Action

Plan (COP 13) in 2007. The Bali Action

Plan recognised that large reduction

of GHG would be needed it the ob-

jectives of the Convention were to be

met. This process outlined the need to

determine long-term cooperative ac-

tion up to the expiration of the Kyoto

Protocol in 2012. These actions would

need to be measureable, reportable

and verifi able mitigation commit-

ments established by both developed

and developing countries. Within this

framework was the special attention

given to reducing emissions from de-

forestation and forest degradation in

developing countries.

■ The REDD Mechanism

Part of COP 13 included Reducing Emis-

sions from Deforestation and Degra-

dation (REDD). REDD was proposed to

give developed countries guidelines

to pay developing countries to con-

serve climate stabilising habitats. This

would be possible through a series of

fi nancial incentive to provide compen-

sation for the protection of ecosystem

services like biodiversity conservation

and forest protection. The measure

defi ned that both deforestation, the

permanent removal of forest cover, as

well as forest degradation, the misuse

of forest products over time, are prob-

lems needed to be addressed. REDD

aimed to establish an off set scheme to

compensate the maintenance of forest

cover for its ability to sequester carbon

which polluting industries could then

pay for. These “carbon credits” would

then be tradable on the international

commodity markets much like the

timber or energy products responsible

for infl uencing climate change.

In 2010 the EU mobilized € 2.2 billion

to support developing countries’ ef-

forts to adapt to and mitigate climate

change, part of the overall commit-

ment to provide € 7.2 billion 2010-

2012. All 27 Member States and the

European Commission are contribut-

ing to this funding, despite the dif-

fi cult economic situation and strong

budgetary constraints. Most EU fund-

ing is provided through Member State

budgets and allocated on the basis of

national decisions.

The Copenhagen Accord (COP 15)

did recognise REDD, and its ancillary,

REDD+, in the role of preventing a 2°C

rise in the earth’s average tempera-

ture but it failed in establishing com-

mitments for the reduced emissions

that would be necessary to achieve

this goal. However, land temperatures

would still be higher than the mean,

and even stabilisation at + 2° would

mean a rise of perhaps + 3° to + 4° in

northern Europe, which would poten-

tially trigger the melting of the Green-

land ice sheet with a gradual increase

of some seven metres in mean sea lev-

els. ELO has had observer status with

the UNFCCC since 1999 and Copenha-

gen was the sixth meeting of the Con-

ference of Parties (COP) which ELO has

attended.

■ The COP 16 negotiations

The Cancún Agreement, known as

COP 16, of 2010 built on the decisions

taken in Copenhagen representing

a compromise between diff erent in-

terests within the United Nations sys-

tem. The Accord acknowledged, for

the fi rst time in a UN document, that

global warming must be kept below

2°C compared to the pre-industrial

temperature, the establishment of

a process to defi ne a date for global

Environment, forestry and Climate Change


© Alison Boyes

12


emissions to peak and a global emis-

sions reduction goal for 2050. The text

also recognised that overall mitigation

eff orts need to be increased in order

to stay within the 2°C limits. It was also

agreed that developed countries will

mobilise US$ 100 billion in climate

funding for developing countries an-

nually by 2020 and which will establish

a Green Climate Fund through which

much of the funding will be chan-

nelled. “REDD+” was developed as a

mechanism enabling further action to

reduce emissions from deforestation

and forest degradation in developing

countries. The European Union has set

climate and energy targets for 2020

in-line with COP 16 and will present a

strategy for completing the transition

to a low-carbon economy by 2050.

The strategy will aim at stimulating

economic growth, job creation and in-

novation while strengthening the EU’s

energy security. The COP 16 Accord

also suggested setting up new carbon

market mechanisms going beyond a

project-based approach as in the pre-

vious system. It was also agreed upon

that there was a need to establish a

clear process for reviewing the ad-

equacy of the goal of keeping global

warming below 2°C, including the

consideration of strengthening the

goal to 1.5°C, to be concluded in 2015.

■ The Durban Conference

of 2011

The 2011 United Nations Climate

Change Conference will be held in

Durban, South Africa, from 28 Novem-

ber to 9 December 2011. A primary

focus of the conference will be to se-

cure a global climate agreement as

the Kyoto Protocol’s fi rst commitment

period (2008–2012) is about to expire.

The EU, while hoping to formulate a

legally binding agreement before the

COP 17 in Durban, is pessimistic about

its likelihood. That said, the EU is tak-

ing a “step wise” approach to continue

incremental movement, anticipating

future legislation, moving the EU clos-

er to a legally binding climate change

agreement.

© Alison Boyes

13

■ MAKE-IT-BE

MAKE-IT-BE (Decision-MAking and

Implementation Tools for delivery of

local and regional BioEnergy chains)

is a three year project with a special

focus on the development and im-

plementation of integrated bioenergy

chains across Europe. The project is

co-funded by the Executive Agency

for Competitiveness and Innovation

(EACI) through the Intelligent Energy

Europe (IEE) programme. Launched in

2008 the project brings together eight

partners from Austria, Belgium, Ger-

many, Italy, Slovenia and the UK. The

overall objective of the project is to

support development of a methodol-

ogy and tools for bioenergy initiatives

to assess the current regional situation,

identify potential biomass resources as

well as bioenergy demand/supply at

the local level.

The ELO plays a key role in data col-

lection as well as in communication

and dissemination of project results.

Thanks to the network of the Friends

of the Countryside, the ELO could pro-

vide outstanding examples of the bio-

mass use in the EU.

Last year was crucial for the develop-

ment of the project. The ELO in coop-

eration with its partners fi nalized three

important deliverables of the project: a

short list of relevant cases in integrated

bioenergy planning; a long list of rel-

evant cases of integrated bio-energy

planning and a report on good prac-

tices on integrated bioenergy plan-

ning. The report was published in four

project languages: English, German,

Italian and Slovenian and is available

on the project website. The short and

long list of relevant cases in integrated

bioenergy planning aims to present

and analyse good practices of inte-

grated bioenergy activities, selected

from experiences across the European

Union. Whereas the short list brings a

brief overview of 65 cases, the long list

analyses 15 selected cases into detail

including typical problems and suc-

cess factors experienced in integrated

bioenergy planning and promotion.

The report on good practices on in-

tegrated bioenergy planning results

from previous studies of several Euro-

pean cases and presents 16 cases in

detail in terms of national and regional

context, type of biomass resources,

quantitative indicators, achieved re-

sults, lessons learned and contact de-

tails. The case studies selected from

European countries including Austria,

the Czech Republic, Finland, France,

Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland, Slove-

nia, Sweden, the Netherlands and the

United Kingdom highlight the steady

growth in biomass for heating in Eu-

rope. Biomass in many forms, including

wood and crop residues, is becoming

widely accepted for district heating

and power generation in Europe.

In 2010, the ELO presented the project

results at various conferences includ-

ing the 3rd Forum for the Future of

Agriculture, the regional Forum for the

Future of Agriculture in Budapest and

Moscow, the Green Week, the Europe-

an Biodiversity Conference and other

events organised at local and Euro-

pean levels. With a support of Rudolf

TORNERHJELM, member of the Friends

of the Countryside, the ELO co-organ-

ised the conference on renewable en-

ergies with a special focus on biomass

on 27th September 2010 where the

project results were presented and the

future perspectives for bioenergy were

addressed.

In 2010 the MAKE-IT-BE project be-

came an offi cial partner of Sustainable

Energy Europe. The project will be

concluded in 2011 and its conclusions

will be presented during the Final

Conference which will take place

in Brussels in October 2011. More

information is available on the project

website www.makeitbe.eu.

Renewable energies


© Escrick Park Estate

14


Most of the Friends are concerned

with the defence of rural property and

its functions. 80% of European land

area is rural and privately owned. Rural

development policy thus plays an im-

portant role in creating territorial, eco-

nomic and social cohesion. Therefore,

the ELO is strongly involved in the dis-

cussion on rural development issues

which are closely bound to the reform

of Common Agricultural Policy.

Natural and cultural heritage represent

key resources for the tourism industry.

The richness and variety of this herit-

age is a valuable asset. Most of this

heritage is privately owned and it is

generally recognised that it is best,

and more economically, preserved in

private ownership for the benefi t of

society and future generations.

Rural Development and Tourism


The committee of the Regions pub-

lished a draft opinion concerning the

new political framework for tourism in

Europe.1 The communication points

out that the tourism sector shrank by

5.6% during 2009. Therefore there is a

need to respond to these new chal-

lenges. Amongst these, Europe should

take into account the increasing de-

mand for sustainable tourism thanks

to Europe’s advantages: not only in the

wealth of its landscape but also in the

enormous opportunities for growth in

tourism on its heritage. Europe’s worth

in terms of heritage is a strategic factor

in its development and it is particularly

rich in this regard.

Therefore, the EU Council emphasized

in its decision on the preservation and

sustainable management of Europe’s

cultural heritage, called ‘Cultural Herit-

age and Global Change: a New Chal-

lenge for Europe’, that “European cultur-

al heritage is of exceptional economic

importance for the tourism industry,

generating estimated annual rev-

enue of € 335 billion, and that many

of the 9 million jobs in the tourism

sector are linked to it directly or indi-

rectly. Moreover, the market for con-

servation of this heritage is estimated

at some € 5 billion per year ”.2

The entry into force of the Lisbon

Treaty provides an opportunity to

enhance the competitiveness of the

European tourism sector, thereby

contributing to the new Europe 2020

Strategy for smart, sustainable and

inclusive growth. The Lisbon Treaty

includes, amongst the Union’s ob-

15

Hunting and angling activities are of

particular importance for private own-

ers everywhere in Europe. Since 2001,

the political engagement of the Euro-

pean Union on biodiversity has been

constantly renewed. In light of this, the

participation of rural stakeholders and

especially private landowners in this

new European challenge is vital. The

FCS are directly concerned as sport-

ing estates can play an important role

in providing and maintaining cultural

services for the ecosystem. Sporting

estates focused their attention on land

which is, or could be, rich in the envi-

ronmental dimensions in which they

are interested, often designated under

the Natura 2000 European Directives

for Birds and Habitats. They concen-

trate their eff orts in conserving the

most interesting wildlife or heritage

sites.

■ Biodiversity

2010 was the annual year for biodiver-

sity and the time the European Com-

mission decided to elaborate its new

strategy on Biodiversity. The Spanish

presidency conference on Biodiversity

in January and the European Council

in March 2010 which decided an am-

bitious target to halt biodiversity loss

by 2020 were the starting points of the

EU policy developments on biodiversi-

ty. The FCS 2010 strategy refl ected the

initiatives and expectations of private

landowners and took into account the

conclusions of the international con-

ference on biodiversity held in Nagoya

in October 2010. This strategy was en-

riched with the participation through

the ELO Professor Allan BUCKWELL’s in-

tervention to the Belgium Presidency

Conference on biodiversity which took

place from the 8 to 9th of September

2010 in Ghent.

Biodiversity and Sustainable Hunting and Angling


jectives together with economic and social cohesion, a new territorial dimen-

sion and foresees that particular attention shall be paid to rural areas. It is the

Commissions’ wish to deal with the tourism policy in coordination with other

policies such as transport, agriculture and environmental protection policies.

Finally, the European Commission and the Committee of the Regions want to

maximise the potential of the EU’s funding instruments in the fi eld of tourism by

considering to the possibilities provided by the European Agricultural Fund of

Rural Development (EAFRD).3

1. Europe, the world’s No 1 tourist destination- a new political framework for tourism in Europe,

COM (2010) 352, Mr. Ramón Luis Valcárcel Siso, January 2010, DdR 342/2010

2. Doc 117022/10 COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION 3035th COMPETITIVENESS Council meeting ,

Luxembourg, 12 October 2010

3. Europe 2020. A strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth- March 2010.

16


Most of the contributions to policy

formulation was made in close con-

tact with the EC DG Environment, dur-

ing the various working groups (NEEI

- Non Energy Extractive Industry, Cli-

mate and biodiversity, CGBD, Habitats

Directive, ... etc) and Nature Directors

meetings, and during the EP meetings,

notably the meetings of the European

Parliament Intergroup on Sustainable

Hunting, Biodiversity and Countryside

activities, jointly run by the ELO and

the FACE.

■ The Intergroup on

sustainable hunting,

biodiversity, countryside

activities, agriculture &

forest

The ELO is hosting the Secretariat of

the Intergroup for Sustainable Hunt-

ing, Biodiversity, Rural activities and

Forestry with FACE (the Federation of

European Hunters). This intergroup

founded in 1985, is now chaired by the

MEP Veronique Mathieu.

The day-to-day management of the

Intergroup is the responsibility of a Bu-

reau, consisting of one President and a

number of Vice-Presidents. Participating

in the Intergroup activities is open to all

MEPs willing to promote in the Europe-

an Parliament conservation, sustainable

use, hunting, fi shing, the countryside

and its traditions, without any distinction

between their Group affi liation, Com-

mittee membership or nationality. The

Intergroup wants to be as representa-

tive as possible for the political spectrum

and/or for the diff erent Member States.

The Intergroup deals with issues for

which the European Parliament is

competent in relation with hunting,

wildlife management, angling for-

estry, agriculture, biodiversity and na-

ture conservation taking into account

public and wildlife health and welfare

aspects. With regular meetings, the In-

tergroup often interacts the European

Commission and European Parliament

to give the necessary political impulse

to take action on Hunters and land-

owners’ preoccupations.

This year, the FCS and the ELO organ-

ised several meetings such as “For-

estry management for biodiversity”

and “The impact of the CAP reform

on Biodiversity”. At this occasion, the

Intergroup met Agriculture Commis-

sioner Dacian CIOLOS on 7th July 2010

who called for a better incorporation

of biodiversity in the future Common

Agriculture Policy (CAP). The report

provides the Commission with the fi rst

offi cial view from the European Parlia-

ment about how it wants farm policy

to evolve post-2013.

The activities for hunters will continue

in 2011 as two new meetings are held

in April and June 2011. At the same

time, the FCS will continue its work

with MEPs as part of the Intergroup.

17

■ European Historic Houses

Association

This year, the ELO keeps on linking its

eff orts to the Union of European His-

toric Houses Association, in order to

reinforce their common interest and

issues. The major issues worked on by

the association during 2010, related

to cultural heritage, were essentially

around the environmental issues (PPP

Directive), fi scal issues (reduced VAT on

restoration and maintenance work to

historic monuments), the Energy Per-

formance of Buildings Directive (EPBD),

and security issues (theft, keeping and

traffi cking of illicit of cultural goods).

During the General Assembly, in Octo-

ber, the new President, Mr Rodolphe

De LOOZ- CORSWAREM was elected to

replace the former president. Ghislain

D’URSEL. As former Director General

of The Brewers of Europe Confedera-

tion, a representative body of 29 Na-

tional Brewers’ Associations, and for-

UEHHA General Assembly - Ireland 2010

mer director of Business Europe, Mr. de

LOOZ- CORSWAREM has tremendous

experience in running a European

Confederation.

The 2010 General Assembly took place

in Ireland from 30th September to 3rd

October. More than 150 participants

gathered in Killruddery House, Bray,

Ireland to discuss “The sustainable

Management and Transmission of His-

toric Houses”. Coming from diff erent

parts of Europe, speakers shared their

experience in estate management, as

well as on “the transmission of houses

and estates to the next generation”

and how to arouse the next genera-

tion’s will to succeed their parents’ life-

long devotion.

The Members of European Historic

Houses had the opportunity to dis-

cover a selection of castles and houses

in the region, which off er a diversity of

management examples to all partici-

pants.

The European Historic Houses Asso-

ciation organises the next General As-

sembly from the 30th September to 2nd

October 2011 in Brussels, Belgium and

the proposed theme will be “Tourism

and Commercial activities”.

The European Historic House an-

swered the consultation on the EC

culture programme from 2007-2013.

They stated that the new EC culture

programme was not paying enough

attention to the heritage sector. This is

an important area of concern for the

European Historic Houses as the en-

hancement of cultural heritage gener-

ally contributes to a better society. The

European Historic Houses is favourable

to an integrated approach that would

encourage the adoption of legislative,

fi scal and fi nancial measure support-

ing heritage conservation.

In 2011, The European Historic Houses

Association will participate in a Euro-

pean programme, which aim is a study

on illicit traffi cking of cultural goods

conducted under the auspice of the

French research centre CNRS. The

EHHA will therefore participate in the

part dedicated to the needs of devel-

oping cooperation and the strength-

ening of operational means of control,

especially on Data analysis, compari-

son, and proposals with the sending of

questionnaires to EHHAs’ network.

http://www.uehha.org/

Historical Houses, Parks and Gardens


18


In 2010 the European Landowners’

Organization along with key part-

ners, have continued to promote the

synergies between responsible land

management and sustainable wild-

life usage through the Wildlife Estates

project. The main objective remains

to facilitate a label, both fl exible and

reproducible for so called “exemplary

Wildlife Territories” in Europe.

In 2008, the PWEi (Pilot Wildlife Estates

initiative) offi cially became the WE

(Wildlife Estates). Taking into account

traditional activities such as agricul-

ture and forestry, the WE-Label created

a system which ensures and demon-

strates that the management and the

use of natural resources on relevant

estates comply with biodiversity and

nature conservation principles. Land

managers are developing the natural

quality of their property in order to

provide the best possible habitat for

wildlife. This is to the advantage of

global biodiversity.

The ELO team met representatives

from Finland, Sweden and Denmark

to discuss the WE in the context of the

boreal region and to raise the question

of how to make progress in its imple-

mentation. Representatives of the WE

also regularly participate in interna-

tional conferences related to wildlife

management, biodiversity, sustainable

hunting, and nature conservation. For

instance, one ELO representative took

part in the international Conference

on Hunting and Natura 2000 in May

2009, which was organised in Sail-

lagouse, France by representing the

European perspective and introducing

the Wildlife Estates project.

With the support of key partners such

as the European Commission, and now

the CIC and FACE, the Wildlife Estates

Label promotes synergies between

conservation and sustainable use by

rewarding, in 2010, approximately

30 European estates recognised for

their exemplary land use practices. The

management of the project is being

fi ltered by WE liaison offi ces at a na-

tional level, National representations

for the Wildlife Estates in each Euro-

pean country facilitate the evaluation

process and support the communica-

tion of the project to a wider European

audience.

We therefore suggest you to join the

network, and follow-up the new es-

tates that have been lately awarded.

More information is available on the

project website

www.wildlife-estates.eu/

The Wildlife Estates network

19


■ General progress of the

unique Life+ project

3watEr (before ‘Triple E’)

The Life+ project 3watEr started on

the 1st of January 2010 and will run for

4 years. The project aims at the sus-

tainable development of a pond area

with high nature value of 4000 ha in

the north east of Belgium. The area is

for a large extent Natura2000 area and

covers valuable wetlands and heath-

lands and the core populations of

Bittern and Tree frog in Belgium. The

project is unique in the sense that it

goes through a close collaboration of

all stakeholders involved and in par-

ticular the local private landowners,

the public administrations, such as the

ministry of environment, the Green

parties and the Agency of Nature and

Forestry. The project is innovative since

it handles a Triple E approach. This

Triple E approach stands for the estab-

lishment of more synergy between

Ecology, Economy and Education, the

fundaments of a healthy, sustainable

society.

The ELO is the coordinating benefi -

ciary of this innovative project and is

supported by the European Com-

mission Directorate General Environ-

ment under the LIFE+ Nature pro-

gramme (Grant Agreement N° LIFE

NAT/B/000036), and the Flemish Gov-

ernment.

The website has been launched:

www.3water.eu (before we used www.

lifevijvergebied.eu which still works)

but will get strongly improved and up-

dated in 2011. An online questionnaire

exists in three languages (English,

French and Dutch) and was created by

the ELO to investigate both good and

bad experiences of the private sector

whilst carrying out their role in dedi-

cated conservation and management

of Europe’s nature and biodiversity. The

outcome of this survey will be present-

ed during a European conference on

‘The participation of the private sector in

Natura 2000’ on 10 and 11 November

2011 in Brussels.

The Life+ project in Midden Limburg

Launch conference in Heusden-Zolder

20


The Pollination is the process by which

pollen is transferred in plants, thereby

enabling fertilization. Pollination is a

necessary step in the reproduction

of fl owering plants, resulting in the

production of off spring that are ge-

netically diverse, and about 80% of

all plant pollination is biotic. Thanks

to few but rewarding eff orts of sev-

eral farmers and their partners in using

fi eld margins as a bed of plants which

are particularly adept for pollination,

they showed the enormous added

value to nature conservation, biodi-

versity production and the gain in

biodiversity and natural enemies that

could provide the support of pollina-

tion activities. In that sense, the ELO

and the Members of the Friends of the

Countryside created the pollination

initiative, meant to be functioning as

a network for land managers who feel

ready to contribute actively, but with

few eff orts to the environment. In that

way, all partners who join the network

affi rm their commitment to combine

quality production, with biodiversity

and environmental protection. Hence,

their support is fundamental for the

future of the production of environ-

ment.

Joining the Pollinator Network initia-

tive “PNI” is an additional, but separate

project to the Wildlife Estates (WE) and

can be understood by land managers

as an integration of support towards

the enhancement of pollination ser-

vices, providing agricultural solutions.

Eventually, the ultimate aim to be a

forum for knowledge sharing, encour-

ages innovative ideas to tackle bees

and other insects’ mortality and by

engaging private land managers in

sustainable estate management for

generations to come.

Therefore, the ELO and the FCS encour-

age properties to participate jointly in

both the WE and the PNI since the two

schemes help to spread the mission of

all three organisations.

The Pollinator Initiative (PI)

© Jethro Schiansky

© Alison Boyes

21

The XIIIth FCS General Assembly took

place from the 27th-30th June in Apel-

doorn, the Netherlands. More than 150

people gathered in the Auditorium of

Kröller-Müller Museum in the national

park Hoge Veluwe to discuss the “Land-

owners’ Challenges”, with a special fo-

cus on the Netherlands. Once again

the conference attracted interesting

speakers such as Ladislav MIKO, head

of unit of the DG Environment of the

European Commission, Jan HELDER,

the Chairman of the Dutch Landown-

ers Organisation, Professor Jan SEVINK,

Senator Sybe SCHAAP and Professor

Marc VAN DER WOUDE.

After the welcoming words of Gi-

useppe VISCONTI, President of the FCS,

and Erik KWINT, Board member and

one of the main organizers of the Gen-

eral Assembly, Thierry de l’ESCAILLE

in his capacity of Secretary General of

the ELO and FCS gave a brief overview

of the ELO and FCS activities. Frans

von CHRISMAR, Board Member of the

YFCS, continued by explaining the

activities of the Young Friends of the

Countryside, representing future land

managers. Their association is strongly

supported by the FCS who is deeply

concerned about the future of the rural

private property in Europe.

Mikhail ORLOV, the Russian FCS Mem-

ber, presented the conference which

took place on 6th September 2010 in

Moscow. This sub-conference follows

on from the Annual meeting of the Fo-

rum for the Future of Agriculture and

will examine the role of « Russia’s agri-

culture and its place in the world: chal-

lenges and opportunities. »

The rest of the Assembly focused on

the role and challenges of the land-

General Assembly and Conference of the Friends of the Countryside (FCS)

owners in general, and the role for the

FCS within the EU in particular. Where-

as Johan NORDENFALK and Professor

Allan BUCKWELL, CLA - Policy Director

and the ELO Policy Group Chairman fo-

cused on the infl uence of the FCS, the

following speakers gave insights on

Dutch land management challenges.

Jan HELDER, Chairman of Dutch Land-

owners Organisation gave a presen-

tation on “Estates Act 1928 – Natuur-

schoonwet 1928”, which recognizes

the value of historical estates and their

importance to the landscape. The bill

ensures nature conservation, prevents

splitting up of private landownership

and, more importantly, gives private

land owners tax benefi ts and exemp-

tions. He explained that there are four

conditions to obtain an Estate status:

size, percentage of forest areas, land

usage and appearance.

Professor Jan SEVINK, Emeritus profes-

sor in physical geography, soil science

and landscape ecology at the Institute

for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynam-

ics Universiteit van Amsterdam, spoke

about „Nature Conservation through

the Ages in the Netherlands“. He ex-

plained that the concept of nature

conservation has evolved throughout

the ages from nature being the en-

emy (in the Middle Ages) to nature as

a post-modern ecosystems based con-

cept (this era). Being a small country

and surrounded by water, Dutch land

use has always revolved around land

reclamation and productivity and prof-

it. The development of Dutch forestry

is also quite interesting as the area of

Dutch forests, of which one third is pri-

vate owned, has nearly doubled in the

last fi fty years. The legal framework for

nature conservation, which is subsi-

dized in the Netherlands, has aff ected

private landownership. As subsidies are

limited for landowners, their role in na-

ture conservation has historically been

limited. However, the Natura 2000

network might get estates into nature

conservation again.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Royal Palace Het Loo (NL)

22

GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Senator Sybe SCHAAP, Professor of the

Technical University Delft and former

President of the Union of Water Boards

and Chairman Water Board Groot Sal-

land, focused on Dutch Water Manage-

ment. Emphasising the fact that sixty

percent of the country area is threat-

ened by fl oods (the North Sea, rivers).

The necessity of effi cient water man-

agement including protection against

fl oods (dike rings), water level control

(polder system) and water quality con-

trol (sanity / ecology) is even the more

pressing. Public authorities at all levels

(EU, national, regional, provincial and

local) set the legal framework and de-

termine the management. The core of

water management is represented by

fl ood control. However, threats such

as vulnerable deltas (world wide), land

subsidence, reckless spatial planning,

growing density population, compli-

cated physical and social structures, cli-

mate change and evacuation make the

setting of fl ood control policy a really

challenging tasks. In order to ensure

effi cient fl ood control it is necessary

to halt land subsidence, implement

autonomy water policy and proactive

attitude, and take long-term decisions;

and to fi nd a balance between central

and decentralized policy and control

spatial planning.

Marc van der WOUDE, from the Eras-

mus University Rotterdam gave a pres-

entation on „Inequality in land acquisi-

tion”, explaining that issues of nature

conservation and land owner-ship are

interrelated. Illustrating the case of na-

ture conservation in the Netherlands,

he showed that nature conservation

can infringe upon individual rights. He

clarifi ed that in the Netherlands some

owners were privileged as regards na-

ture conservation subsidies. A Select

and limited (state-owned) group of

benefi ciaries received subsidies for

nature conservation, while traditional

private landowners were excluded.

Such unequal procedures had a nega-

tive impact on private land acquisition,

as land ownership was concentrated

in hands of a few foundations and as-

sociations which were closely linked

to the public institutions making it ex-

tremely diffi cult for others to acquire

land. There was a question if such a

practice was not only negative but also

illegal. Such subsidies might have been

incompatible with the EU State Aid

rules. A group of private landowners

have fi led a successful complaint. The

European Commission regards such

state aids as arbitrary and discrimina-

tory and therefore illegal, and thus it

must have been resituated. The future

development will show the impact

of this case on the situation in other

Member States.

The presentations were followed by

the attribution of the Anders WALL

Award 2009 to the owner of the Escrick

Park Estate Charles FORBES ADAM.

The diploma of excellence was given

by Ladislav MIKO from the Directorate

General for environment to Mr David

BINNIAN.

© Rodolphe de RADIGUES

© Rodolphe de RADIGUES

23

GENERAL ASSEMBLY

After the General Assembly, the par-

ticipants of the Congress had the op-

portunity to discover the national park

Hoge Veluwe. Some of the participants

discovered the park through a bike

tour, others went with the game keep-

ers to observe the fauna or to visit the

St Hubertus Jachthuis. The afternoon

visits were followed by the Gala Din-

ner at the Royal Palace Het Loo in the

presence of Her Royal Highness Prin-

cess Margriet of the Netherlands. The

President Giuseppe VISCONTI during

his allocution made a short presenta-

tion of the activities of the FCS and the

importance of the network in Europe

and off ered the new book “Creating

the Future of the Countryside, the Eu-

ropean Estate” to the Princess.

The visits of the beautiful and well

managed estates followed next day.

The FCS had the opportunity to

discover among other estates, the

Steegro Dairy farm of Marknesse, Huis

Almelo, Twickel Castle and the Keppel

Estate.

On Saturday evening all the Friends of

the Countryside, Young Friends of the

Countryside and the owners of the

visited estates had a very original visit

and dinner at Burgers’ zoo at Arnhem.

The owner Alexander van HOOFF, who

is the fourth generation to run this

family business, made a presentation

of this private owned enterprise and

made an interesting comparison be-

tween the management of a zoo and a

farm and opened the discussion about

the challenges of the private owners

to maintain their enterprises and the

numerous activities which can be de-

veloped. The zoo welcomes each year

more than 500,000 visitors and this

surprising visit was very appreciated

by all the participants.

Excursions

As confi rmed in Apeldoorn by the

General Assembly, next FCS Congress

will take place in Vienna.

24

EVENTS

■ BELGIUM Brussels, February 1st

Book Launch: ‘Creating the Future of

the Countryside, the European Estate’

Monday 1st February - a historic day for

the ELO, FCS and all 63 owners of the

estates described in this fantastic new

book. Its launch at the Hotel Plaza in

Brussels was a great success with ap-

proximately 270 people attending,

including Friends, owners of the men-

tioned estates and around 25 Young

Friends and other interested young

individuals. The book has been trans-

lated and exists in English and French.

The evening, organised with the sup-

port of the BNP Paribas Wealth Man-

agement began with a short speech

by François DEBIESSE who spoke rath-

er positively about the current bank-

ing situation. Later on, the president

of FCS, Giuseppe VISCONTI spoke pas-

sionately about, among other issues,

the matter of public goods produced

by Private Land and the development

of the role of private businesses in the

promotion of biodiversity. He referred

to the inspiring story Danilovka Es-

tate to refl ect the challenges taken by

many landowners. The editor of the

book, Carlos OTERO, then described

its structure and explained the signifi -

cance of the eight themes on which

the content of the book is focussed.

Throughout the dinner pictures of

the various estates and their activities

were projected onto the stage. At the

end of the evening, the guests were

off ered a copy of the English version of

the book.

■ BELGIUM Namur, October 21st

In the context of the Year for Biodiversi-

ty, NTF- Nature, Earth and Forest- invit-

ed for the 21st of October its members

and partners, as well as many mem-

bers of the Friends of the Countryside

National branches events

to a seminar regarding “Farmland: new

potential for biodiversity”.

This journey, attended by a hundred

participants, brought together speak-

ers of diff erent perspectives, amongst

them were Benoît COSSEE de MAULDE

(Label WILDLIFE ESTATES in 2010) and

Martin de COCK (AGRILAND), discuss-

ing two major themes: “pollination

and rural areas” and “ Wildlife and ru-

ral areas”. The meeting focused on

stakeholders’ options to contribute to

the enormous potential of biodiver-

sity, of which they are the guardians

and managers. As Etienne SNYERS,

president of NTF, underlined in his in-

troduction, the issue of tomorrow’s

agriculture will be two fold: to feed

the ever increasing world population

thanks to growth in production, while

preserving environment by respecting

nature. In this order, another meeting

will be organised in May 2011 by one

of these stakeholders to discuss again

more specifi cally the commodity mar-

kets in Europe.

■ SPAIN Zaragoza, March 25th

CONFERENCE ON SUSTAINABLE

AGRICULTURE

By looking at the growing importance

of the environment in a sector that

should be able to meet the needs of

a growing population which requires

healthy, diverse and aff ordable food,

diff erent stakeholders came together,

to analyse the agricultural sector and

its sustainability.

The questions that were raised could

not have arrived at a better moment,

given the current discussions on the

future of the CAP reform in Brussels,

Carlos OTERO, Belen de LIMBURG STIRUM and Ghislain d’URSEL during the book launch in Brussels

25

EVENTS

which extend to the various stake-

holders in each European member

state.

Moreover, the agricultural sector

needs to respond to challenges such

as biodiversity conservation and cli-

mate change, issues which the Euro-

pean Landowners’ Organization has

been arguing in the political sphere,

that the BASF has developed to pro-

vide the right tools for farmers, and

Agro-business has advised farmers.

The 100 Participants were taken to the

Assembly Hall, where the president of

AGROWUE, Rafael ESCANERO, intro-

duced the stakeholders and contex-

tualized the theme of the conference

in relation to the requirements of both

markets, the environment and in the

fi eld of European politics.

In fact, asking farmers for more pro-

duction at lower cost, with the tools

they have available, considering that

new technologies are restricted in Eu-

rope, underlines the major challenge

that farmers face.

The following 2 presentations were

made by industrial representatives of

BASF, Mario MANARESI with the theme

of sustainable agriculture in Southern

Europe and Juan PASCUAL, who gave

his speech on ‘Agriculture and biodi-

versity.’

Mario MANARESI said that the main

challenges for agriculture are: The

growing population that requires

health and nutrition, the centralization

in the cities and the construction re-

quirements and consequent lifestyle,

energy and climate change call for

more investment in energy and re-

sources and fi nally, globalization and

growth of developing countries that

require mobility and communication.

Juan PASCUAL focused on the issue of

biodiversity, including the eff ects of

agricultural practices on bird popula-

tions, one of the 2 main indicators of

biodiversity, among the 26 mentioned

by the SEBI in 2010.

The speakers illustrated that the farmer

faces a huge challenge. The farmer has

to feed a growing population sustaina-

bly meeting the requirements of ecol-

ogy, economy and society in general.

They demonstrated that the industry

contributes signifi cantly to sustainable

agriculture with new innovative tech-

nologies.

The speakers have shown their com-

plete support in a model of innovation

for sustainable agriculture and insisted

on the idea that innovation is the key

to a more sustainable agriculture.

■ SPAIN Madrid, December 13th

At the initiative of various Spanish

Friends of the Countryside, including

the Marquis of VALDUEZA, Emilio NA-

VARRO, Antonio MELGAREJO, Carlos

OTERO and José TORRES, a breakfast

discussion was organised at the Circle

of the Gran Peña with twenty invitees.

An ELO representative came from

Brussels to explain in detail the diff er-

ent activities of Friends of the Country-

side and the important lobbying that

ELO does. Secondly, Jésus CASADO,

Secretary General of the EFB-Family

Businesses did an exposé of their ac-

tivities and its integration as an active

member of the ELO. Such meetings

covering diff erent subjects planned

for 2011 with the objective to reinforce

communication of the important net-

work of private landowners and rural

entrepreneurs in Spain.

■ SCOTLAND Blair Estate,

August 31st - September 2nd

The Plenary session of the Wildlife Es-

tates was held in Scotland where many

WE-partners, WE-members, WE-dele-

gates and estate owners amongst Vis-

count COKE, Lord JOICEY and Günther

von der SCHULENBURG were present.

Following the workshops, the visit to

Langholm, part of the Buccleuch Es-

tates was an opportunity to discover a

very well managed estate.

Blair Estate - Scotland

26

EVENTS

■ RUSSIA

Moscow and surrounding area,

September 6th, 7th, 8th

Although smaller in scale than the FFA

conference organised in Brussels, this

sub-conference focussed on Russia’s

agricultural potential, the challenges

and opportunities as well the trad-

ing and infrastructures enabling Rus-

sian agriculture to reach its potential

brought together some members of

the Friends of the Countryside.

They had the opportunity to assist to

the conference on September 6th and

to go for a two day fi eld trip to the

Black Earth region with the president

of the ELO, Corrado PIRZIO BIROLI, the

president of the FCS, Giuseppe VIS-

CONTI and Franz FISCHLER, chair for

the FFA. Michal ORLOV who organised

and knows the region very well was a

perfect guide.

■ LUXEMBOURG September 13th

Patrice CROCHET, head of BNP Paribas

Luxemburg, hosted as way of tradition

the annual meeting of the branch, by

off ering 80 participants an enjoyable

dinner at Château de Sept Fontaines,

property of the family de SCHORLEM-

ER. As all the ELO Board members and

the three ELO Vice Presidents Etienne

SNYERS, Michael SALM zu SALM and

Luke BORWICK who attended a meet-

ing the same day in the headquarters

of the BNP Paribas were present, as

well Robert FLIES from the European

Commission- DG ENVI, the dinner of-

fered the opportunity for interesting

discussions with the Friends of the

Countryside about the CAP reform,

the European Environmental Policies

and the role of the private owners in

the management and conservation of

biodiversity.

■ GERMANY Property Day 2010, Berlin

The eff ects of the exorbitant national

debt on the importance of property

were the focus of the “Day of the prop-

erty”, on 6th of October 2010. The land-

owners’ associations, together with

the Economic Council of Germany,

invited the Friends of the Countryside/

Germany to Berlin and discuss these

themes.

“In times of high indebtedness, the risk

is strongly possible that the govern-

ment tries not only to save spendings

but also to increase its revenue. For

example, by falling back on the prop-

erty of its citizens and by using their

property for its shortcomings, through

wealth taxes or property transfer tax-

es”. With these words, Michael SALM

zu SALM expressed the fears of land-

owners and questioned the right way

to stability.

© Thomas de Dorledot

Field trip Russia

27

EVENTS

Field trip to the Black Earth Region (Russia)

“We must abandon any illusion; we are

in the midst of a historic era. If there are

no penalties in the budget policy, the

growing debt of developed countries

to an average of 140 percent of GDP

by 2020, while the debt of emerging

countries will amount to about 40 per-

cent. The national debt has become

our fate issue”, added Prof. Dr. Kurt

J. LAUK, president of the Economic

Council of Germany.

Federal Minister Ilse AIGNER pointed

out in her point of view the conse-

quences of the fi nancial and econom-

ic crisis: “We need a new ethic of re-

sponsibility ‘. The consolidation of the

budget can only succeed if we embed

an item out of the forestry concept:

‘sustainability’ as a principle. We must

set clear rules, not with the aim of

paternalism, but in order to achieve

transparency and improve the protec-

tion of the consumer. Germany is again

the engine of economic development

in Europe. This must not hide the fact

that much remains to be done. “

The thesis, which was raised up by Mi-

chael SALM zu SALM as moderator, we

would have lived beyond our means in

the past few years and this was done

beyond all parties, was discussed by

MdB Nicolette KRESSL (SPD), Dr. Mi-

chael MEISTER (CDU / CSU), Dr. Volker

WISSING (FDP), Dr. Gerhard SCHICK

(Bündnis 90/Grüne) and Prof. Dr. Jo-

hann EELHOFF, Institute of Economic

Policy, University of Köln. Also the nec-

essary measures have been weighted

very diff erently. There was an agree-

ment, however, that consolidation and

crisis prevention with no cuts are not

be uncomfortable for all.

The importance of a new stability and

consolidation of culture, not only in

Germany but throughout Europe, em-

phasized Wolfgang STEIGER, Secretary

General of the Economic Council of

Germany, very impressive in his clos-

ing remarks: “in the EU, each country is

responsible of its own debt. Therefore

more important is the entrenchment

of a debt brake on the German model

in the constitutions of all EU Member

States “.

■ UK

The FCS Members in the United King-

dom held a meeting the 2nd of Decem-

ber 2010, chaired by the Vice-President

of the CLA, Mr. Michael SEYERS. Dur-

ing the meeting, a lively debate took

place regarding the forthcoming CAP

reform, where more than 25 mem-

bers of FCS actively participated to the

discussions on the Commission’s pro-

posed changes in the CAP. Thierry De

l’ESCAILLE made an overview of the

ELO’s activities during the year, and

Professor Allan BUCKWELL presented

the key issues of the forthcoming re-

form. Eventually, Sebastian HILLGARTH

presented the Young Friends of the

Countrysides’ activities, in order to up-

date the evolution and new aspects

of the younger generation in terms of

landownership and management.

28

EVENTS

■ ITALY

150th anniversary of the

unifi cation of Italy: From Italy

unifi ed to the new prospects of

the European Union

On the occasion of the 150th anni-

versary of the Unifi cation of Italy, The

Friends of the Countryside-meta (FCS-

meta) and the Associazione Italiana

delle Aziende Familiari (AidAF), repre-

senting important industrial families,

promoted an initiative with great suc-

cess on October 23rd at the property

of Ferruccio FERRAGAMOe in San Gi-

ustino Valdarno (Arezzo), “il Borro”. The

event was also supported by SYNGEN-

TA, a leading agro-pharmaceuticals

and by Banca Nazionale del Lavoro

(BNL Gruppo BNP Paribas).

Mario BOSATELLI, Honorary President

of AidAF, and Giuseppe VISCONTI,

President of FCS-meta underlined the

importance of the alliance between

the world of agriculture and industry

to achieve the common good and the

essential role they had and continue

to hold for growth and development

of Italy.

Giovanni GENTILE, President of Con-

fi ndustia di Firenze focused mainly on

the importance of the European Un-

ion leadership in dealing with the re-

cent economic crisis, however recog-

nizing the problems that Italy is going

through concerning competitiveness,

labor costs and GDP, and the necessity

to solve them to allow the develop-

ment of the territory.

29

EVENTS

The fi rst meeting was titled “Agricultur-

al and industrial entrepreneurs: a con-

tribution to the unifi cation process”,

moderated by George LEONARD. The

speakers were Ciuff oletti ZEFFIRO, Pro-

fessor of contemporary history at the

University of Firzenze, Stefano CORD-

ERO DI MONTEZEMOLO, Academic Di-

rector at the European School of Eco-

nomics, Francesco LECCHI, Professor of

Agricultural Economics at the Univer-

sity of Milano, and Franco SCARAMUZ-

ZI, President of Georgofi li Academy of

Florence. The speakers faced various

issues such as economic conditions

and social pressures in addition to the

ideals that brought the unifi cation of

Italy, the consequences of the unity

in the economic and social prospects

and the new opportunities brought

about by the European Union.

During the second meeting took part

the writer and journalist Isabella BOSSI

FEDRIGOTTI, Federico VECCHIONI,

President of Confagricoltura, Piero

ANTINORI, the wine entrepreneur

and fi nally Claudio BISCARELLI RUFF,

Professor of European Law at the Uni-

versity of Milano-Bicocca. It has been

discussed in depth the role of the rural

United Europe also highlighting the

many excellent european products in

the global market. It was also under-

scored the urgent need to implement

an eff ective governance at European

level, but without forgetting history

and traditions.

VISIT OF THE BORRO:

AN HISTORIC CORNER OF

TUSCANY

A breakfast was organized after the

meeting. It took place in a typical

Tuscan style at the Borro’s tavern, fol-

lowed by a tour of the Borro estate of

FERRAGAMO. Il Borro is not only an es-

tate with thousand years of history, an

exclusive health club, a restaurant and

a luxury resort, but also a renowned

winery. Finally, Ferruccio FERRAGAMO

has exposed to the public his valuable

private collection of historical engrav-

ings.

30

EVENTS

3rd Forum for the Future of

Agriculture 16th March 2010:

The Economics and Politics of

Food security vs. Climate Change

The Forum for the Future of Agricul-

ture aims to bring together all those

who have a stake in agriculture and

environment to catalyze thinking on

the way agriculture, particularly in

Europe, needs to respond to the ma-

jor challenges of the sector – deliver-

ing food and environmental security.

Launched in March 2008 by the Euro-

pean Landowners´ Organization (ELO)

and Syngenta, the Forum has featured

responses by the European Commis-

sioners, MEPs, National governments,

ministers, industry leaders, NGOs, and

International Organisations, including

OECD and FAO, and academics on the

future of European and world agricul-

ture.

The third edition took forward the de-

bate with stakeholders in shaping the

development of European agricultural

and environmental models in a global

context. The Forum in 2010 analysed

the interrelationships between climate

change and food production.

This was timely as the forum closely

followed the Copenhagen Summit on

Climate Change which proved a failure

and therefore European and global

leaders sought to address this impact.

FFA 2010 featured keynote speeches

from International Trade Economist

Jagdish BHAGWATI and the Commis-

sioner for Environment Janez POTOC-

NIK. It has become apparent that two

subjects still remain unresolved in to-

day’s international matters, these are:

the evolution of the world’s environ-

ment and food security.

As Franz FISCHLER, Chairman of the

RISE Foundation and Chair of the Fo-

rum for the Future of Agriculture, said

during his opening speech: “Today’s

focus on the role of climate change in

food production is particularly timely

(…) Mainstream scientists are actually

more and more worried and fi nd that

the evidence of global warming is worse

than the IPCC assessment of 2007 (…)

Clearly, the new CAP will have to give

proper weight to food, ecology and cli-

mate change”.

The role of public goods is becoming

more important in the debate on CAP

reform. Mairead McGUINNESS MEP,

author of Private Initiative Report on

Food Security, Prof. Allan BUCKWELL,

Policy Director CLA/ELO and Ariel

BRUNNER Chief Policy Offi cer, Birdlife

International investigated how the

concept of public goods could span

the gap between agriculture, environ-

ment and climate change. They ex-

plored and explained the nature and

the concept of public goods and poli-

cies which might accelerate or hinder

their delivery. They also tackled the

creation of markets for public goods.

The FFA 2010 took matters to another

level. The Forum called on EU leaders

to reform the Common Agricultural

Policy to meet global challenges of

food security, climate change and

environmental degradatation and

warned that failure to act would have

detrimental eff ects on food produc-

tion, environment and climate. The Fo-

rum also highlighted the vital role that

farmers and land managers have to

play in tackling the food security and

climate change challenges –

The Forum called on the EU and its

Member States to make the CAP

more stable, predictable and fl ex-

ible; promote innovation, education

and knowledge transfer for farm-

ers; improve their access to markets,

strengthening their market power in

the food chain; facilitate the availability

of new agricultural technologies; re-

ward land managers for the provision

of environmental and social ‘public

goods’, that the market does not pay

for; and fi nally, endeavour to maintain

reasonable farm income levels in order

to foster ecosystem management and

slow down the rural exodus.

For more information concerning the

conference please visit our website:

www.forumforagriculture.com

All documents, pictures and videos

from all FFA meetings are available on

the FFA trusted network:

https://forumforagriculture.trust-

edarea.net/login

3rd Forum for the Future of Agriculture

31

EVENTS

© A

lison

Boy

es

■ 3rd Forum for the Future

of Agriculture – Budapest,

3rd June 2010

The ELO, in cooperation with Syngenta

and the GOSZ (the Hungarian Grain

Producers Organization), organised a

regional conference of the Forum for

the Future of Agriculture in Budapest

on 3 June 2011. Entitled “Challenges

of Modern Food and Feed Produc-

tion”, the conference attracted over

200 stakeholders representing the

Hungarian farming community & land

managers, government, NGOs, univer-

sities and research institutions.

The conference was followed by a trip

to showcase sustainable agricultural

projects. Rozalia PECZE from Syngenta

presented the company’s MARGINS

project which seeks to demonstrate

how soil erosion can be reduced

through minimum tillage and strategi-

cally placed and managed fi eld mar-

gins or buff er strips. There was also a

chance to see Operation Pollinator,

which aims to boost pollinator popu-

lations through the cultivation and

management of fi eld margins which

provide habitat and nutrition.

In conclusion, this FFA2010 Regional

Conference, together with the fi eld

trip, took matters to another level and

arguments put forward during the

conference reinforced the need for

food and environmental security to

be addressed together at both EU and

Member States and shows the ben-

efi ts which can be delivered when this

happens.

■ 3rd Forum for the Future

of Agriculture – Moscow,

September 2010

The event which took place for the

fi rst time in Russia, which brought

together over 140 participants repre-

senting governments, administration,

agri-businesses, NGO’s and research

communities to discuss “Russian agri-

culture and its place in the world: chal-

lenges & opportunities.”

The Forum was chaired once again

by Franz FISCHLER, Chairman of the

RISE Foundation and former EU Com-

missioner (Agriculture and Rural De-

velopment). He opened the debate

underlining that according to the Fi-

nancial Times, the price of grains and

grainproducts is set to rise sharply af-

ter Russia imposed a ban on grain ex-

ports triggering panic in commodities

markets.

The 3rd Forum for the Future of Agriculture- regional conferences

3rd Forum for the Future of Agriculture, Session 3

32

Alexander PETRIKOV, Deputy Minister

of Agriculture, welcomed conference

participants on behalf of Elena SKRYN-

NIK, Russian Minister of Agriculture.

He highlighted the importance of

agribusinesses for Russian economy,

notably grain production. He recalled

recent droughts that had compli-

cated the economic conditions of

agricultural commodity producers.

Mikhail ORLOV, Founder & President

of the Ambika Group explained that

Agriculture plays an important role in

Russian Federation, as it has 127 mil-

lion hectares of arable land. He men-

tioned the fact that only two per cent

of the world’s population live in Russia.

Therefore, Russia can play an impor-

tant role for food security on a global

scale. He underlined the necessity of

mutually benefi cial cooperation be-

tween Russia and the EU. It is of a vital

importance to develop commercial,

scientifi c and other mutually benefi cial

cooperation to build bridges between

Russia and the European Union.

The fi rst panel featured views of Alex-

ander PETRIKOV, Deputy Minister of

Agriculture of the Russian Federation;

Kazys STARKEVICIUS, Minister of Ag-

riculture of the Republic of Lithuania;

Romin MADINOV, Chairman of the Ag-

ricultural Committee in the Parliament

of Kazakhstan, Corrado PIRZIO-BIROLI,

President of the ELO and Vice-Chair-

man of RISE and Claudio VERSIENTI on

behalf of Paolo DE CASTRO on what

Russia’s agricultural potential is and

what is needed to unlock. Moreover,

distinguished speakers explored on

opportunities for mutually benefi cial

partnerships and collaborations be-

tween Russia and Europe.

The participation in the second ses-

sion with a special focus on farming

in Russia was accepted by Arkady

ZLOCHEVSKIY, President of the Russian

Grain Union, Alexey UGAROV, KWS LO-

CHOW GmBH; Dmitri RYLKO, Institute

for Agricultural Market; Dmitri VALIG-

Corrado PIRZIOBIROLI, Franz FISCHLER, Commissioner Janez POTOCNIK, Thierry DE L’ESCAILLE

URSKY, Moscow Farmer’s Union; Ste-

fan DUERR, Russian-German EkoNiva

Company; Sanduhadze BAGRAT, plant

breeder and member of the Academy

of Sciences and Pierre COHADON,

Chief Executive, Syngenta Russia.

In the third panel entitled “Trading &

Infrastructure: enabling Russian agri-

culture to reach its potential”, on issues

linked to trade and infrastructure: ena-

bling Russian agriculture to reach its

potential; and the Common Agricul-

tural Policy, the provocation speech-

was made by Boris ROZENWALD,

Director for Business Development,

Ambika-agro and it was followed with

Juri BELOUSOV, DKRU; Alexander GO-

LIKOV, BSBA; Oleg ROGACHEV, Rusa-

grotrans; Rob HANSEN, Cargill Grains &

Oilseeds Russia and Oleg KANANYKH-

IN, Russkiy Dom.

The fi nal panel, moderated by Thierry

de l’ESCAILLE, of the ELO, with the

speakers Anna GEORGIEVA, World

Bank; Peter BRYDE, European Bank for

Reconstruction and Development;

Mikhail ORLOV, the Ambika Group;

Vladimir PRIMAK, Alpcot Agro and

Andrey SIZOV debated investments

into Russian agriculture: risky, capital

intensive and a new frontier, and part-

nership opportunities for Russia and

Europe.

EVENTS

33

Since 2004 the ELO has been actively

involved in the Green Week, the larg-

est annual conference on European

environment, organised by the Di-

rectorate General for Environment of

the European Commission. Last year’s

edition with a special focus on biodi-

versity took place in Brussels from 1st

to 4th June 2010. The ELO on behalf of

its members had its stand during the

exhibition to showcase the experience

of the management of private proper-

ties through a range of examples of

best practices.

Over thirty sessions were organised

and specifi cally addressed the cur-

rent state of biodiversity and nature

in Europe, off ering potential solutions

to the current alarming rates of loss.

During The Green Week 2010, Prof. Al-

lan BUCKWELL, Chairman of the ELO

Policy Group and Policy Director of

the CLA, participated as a speaker in a

session dedicated to “Agricultural Land

Use and Biodiversity”. The session was

moderated by Corrado PIRZIO-BIROLI,

the ELO President and Vice-Chairman

of the RISE Foundation. Prof. Buckwell

made his presentation on Public goods

aspects of agriculture – biodiversity

and the CAP where he highlighted

that European goals for biodiversity,

cultural landscape and protection of

water, soil and air can only be achieved

by working side-by-side with farmers

and foresters.

The ELO stand attracted a lot of visi-

tors, notably the EU Commissioner for

Environment, Janez POTOCNIK, who

was hosted by the Secretary General

of the ELO Thierry de l’ ESCAILLE. The

ELO created a quiz with 20 questions

related to information that can be

found in the book “Creating the future

of the countryside- The European Es-

tates”, with regard to biodiversity. Fur-

thermore, all publications related to

the item has been presented and suc-

cessfully exposed to the participants,

such as the cork project, the 3 WatER

and the Make-It-Be.

The Green Week 2010 also saw the

launch of the new Business and Biodi-

versity platform of which the ELO is a

partner, which aims to raise awareness

of the business arguments for protect-

ing biodiversity. The Green week 2011

will take place from 24th to 27th May in

Brussels its theme is “Resource Effi -

ciency - Using less, living better”.

The ELO participation in the upcoming

edition has already reached its plan-

ning stage.

GREEN WEEK

Come and take part in the QUIZ

Landowners’ key contributions to halting the loss of biodiversity

Stand n°4

EVENTS

34

The CountrySide Magazine is a European newsletter for

entrepreneurs and political decision makers working for the

future of the rural world in the EU. Issued in English, French,

German, Italian and Spanish, it informs its readers about the

latest developments of European policies, and is a platform

for FCS members and partners to present their local, region-

al and national viewpoints. Numerous experts contribute

to its articles and give the magazine a sharper perspective.

The CountrySide Magazine is read throughout the EU

and beyond, by members of the European institutions as

well as national decision makers, landowners and land

managers.

Always looking for a better communication with our

network, 2011 will give a new look to the magazine.

The paper version will be edited every two months in

English and French, in a bigger format, and an adapted

electronic format also translated in German, Spanish will

be sent out on a monthly basis.

In order to improve the level of services provided to its members since 2006, the Friends of the Countryside has actualised, together with the ELO, a service which is aimed at giving advice to Friends in matters of European aff airs. This service should help the Friends to deal with problems initiated by the European legislation. Friends of the Countryside services SA is based in the heart of European Union in Brussels and has already made several achievements.

Members are receiving dedicated information through the CountrySide which presents current key European issues.

The CountrySide Magazine

Friends of the Countryside services SA

SUPPORT FOR MEMBERS© B

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European Landowners’ Organizat ion MARCH-APRIL 2011 - BIMONTHLY - EN

W e are proud to present to you this edition with a special focus on the questions and conclusions that arose during the 4th Forum for the Future of Agricul-ture (FFA), which the ELO organized on the 15th March with Syngenta, the support of the RISE Foundation, and its sponsors’ European Voice, BNP Paribas and Friends of the Countryside. The FFA brings a unique dimension to the debate on the future of the CAP and sustainable land management by attaching equal weight to food and environmental security. The 4th Forum was a great success, and I would like to thank all the panellists for the quality of their interventions as well as the large audience for their participation and thought-provoking questions.The ELO advocates a European agriculture that is competitive as well as sustainable, and a CAP reform which is acceptable to land managers and

society alike.

Land managers should be provided proper remuneration for their products and services in order to maintain a decent livelihood. European farming must further improve its production efficiency, produce more food and fibre with less, and enhance the production of public services such as attractive landscapes. Maintaining land in good condition is an extremely important investment in view of the indirect public services such as water storage and purification, carbon sequestration and biodiversity which are cur-rently and must continue to be provided through

proper land management. To do so requires “sus-tainable intensification”(F.FISCHLER). European Agriculture must also continue to contribute to world food security.It is essential that the new CAP enables land managers to have the financial means to con-tinue their profession (maintain SFP in Pillar 1). Anxieties, in general, are centred on current (and

perhaps future) greening policies within the CAP with little guidance and over reliance on dispro-portionate sanctions. Their contribution to sus-tainability cannot simply rely on regulations and sanctions, but depend on the right incentives.

Thierry de l’ESCAILLESecretary General

Editorial Key messages emerging from the 4th Forum For Agriculture

f

Corrado PIRZIO-BIROLI

Mella FREWEN

John ATKIN

Mairead MCGUINNESS

Paolo DE CASTRO

Refocusing security on food and natureCAP renewal for better farming.

NO132

Friends of the Countryside launched

a new communication tool in 2009

which becomes the principal com-

munication tool for the members. The

Trusted Network is a platform enabling

members to fi nd an up-to-date ad-

dress book of all the members, keep in

The Trusted family network

touch with them through an internal

messaging system, view the pictures

and download the presentations of all

the conferences, watch some exclu-

sive video interviews and access the

knowledge database of interesting ar-

ticles and documents.

This network also gives the opportu-

nity to reinforce communication be-

tween the members and to share ex-

periences by posting pictures, videos,

articles or documents.

Link only available on invitation.

35

SUPPORT FOR MEMBERS

The book which was presented at the

end of 2009 was printed in English

and French and was ready for the new

year of 2010. By the end of 2010 most

were already distributed amongst the

owners of the described estates, the

Friends of the Countryside, the Euro-

pean institutions, the ELO contacts

and all the speakers of the diff erent

conferences and workshops organised

during the year everywhere in Europe

as well in Russia and Morocco.

James JOICEY, member of the Friends

of the Countryside made a remark-

able description of the book edited by

Carlos OTERO with the contribution of

the ELO team, the Friends of the Coun-

tryside and the support of the BNP

Paribas:

“Whenever we look at the European

countryside, and wherever we look,

we see the hand of man. We see it in

trees planted, houses built, landscapes

shaped, crops grown, culture and

heritage maintained or adapted. The

countryside has always been created

and shaped by man.

“This book portrays 63 owners and

managers of private land from across

the whole of Europe, a small sample

of those who are today, at the outset

of the 21st century, responsible for

managing our countryside and for

creating its future for coming gen-

erations. Some of their properties are

large; others are small. Some have

been in the same family ownership

for over 500 years; others have been

acquired more recently. Together they

form a mosaic, the fascinating refl ec-

tion of the consequences of European

history, social development, style,

fashion, fortune, personal ambition,

Creating the future of the Countryside, The European Estates

climatic change, scientifi c advances,

and many other factors.

“Almost all land owners and managers

understand that decisions aff ecting

land management need very careful

thought, are usually costly, and take

a long time to come to fruition. One

just needs to think of planting trees,

conserving biodiversity, repairing old

buildings, or caring for sensitive and

vulnerable landscapes. The economic

return on these decisions is not in-

stant, nor indeed certain, even over a

period of half a century. But they are

crucial for a healthy and wholesome

countryside, which in turn, in an in-

creasingly pressured world, is a basic

precondition for the health and well-

being of Europe’s peoples. As in every

generation our prime concern is that

the countryside must be sustainably

conserved. We use a background of

continuity, stability, vision for the fu-

ture, experience.

“The future of the countryside has

always been created by land manag-

ers, who have loved it, cherished it,

enjoyed it, and shared it. Without the

fl ora and fauna and biodiversity, and

the people who live in it, there would

be no countryside. This book shows

how owners and managers of private

land continue the art of creating the

future of the European countryside.

More importantly, it shows how much

they love and enjoy the challenge, de-

spite the fact that the future has never

seemed so complex.”

The website of the Friends of the Countryside, giving information and publish-

ing the most important dates and documents, has been refreshed during the

last year.

http://www.friendsofthecountryside.org/

Website

36

PARTNERSHIP

Since its funding, fi ve years ago, the

“Young Friends of the Countryside”

is off ering a real opportunity for the

new generation to be better informed

about issues playing a major role in our

modern rural world, preparing them

for challenges ahead. A goal achieved

due to the continuous involvement

and support given by the FCS.

During this time, the YFCS has proven

to be a successful way of improving

the debate among its members on

current issues and in raising aware-

ness of relevant European policies. The

YFCS intranet platform is an example

on how this idea comes into life, as it

allows “friends” with common interests,

to post articles and other documents,

to react on the content available, to be

informed on current issues and keep

track on the organisation activities.

The YFCS continues to grow and in-

tends to increase its representativeness

in Europe, by boosting the involve-

Young Friends of the Countryside

ment of young rural entrepreneurs,

aged between twenty and thirty-fi ve.

It now helps people from seventeen

EU countries to meet each other and

exchange similar experiences. In addi-

tion, last year, the organisation devel-

oped several partnerships to increase

the visibility and scope of the organi-

sation, through the concretisation of

diff erent projects and sharing of infor-

mation.

Among the advantages of being in

a close relation with the FCS, is that

members have the opportunity to

learn from their substantial experience

by joining them in diff erent events,

such as the FCS General Assembly,

which last year took place in Apel-

doorn, in the Netherlands and counted

with approximately 40 Young Friends

for 3 days.

For its own General Assembly, the

board of the YFCS select Madrid as ven-

ue for 2010, also the place chosen for

the ELO’s General Assembly. In addi-

tion, on the 1st of October, some Young

Friends went to Dublin for the 30th An-

nual General Meeting of the Board of

the Governors of the European Historic

Houses Association.

In fact, 2010 was a busy year, starting

with a gala dinner in February to pre-

sent the book “Creating the Future of

the Countryside” and the 3rd Forum for

the Future of Agriculture, which count

with the participation of well-known

experts such as Jagdish BHAGWATI,

Professor of Economics & Law at Co-

lumbia University, Janez POTOCNIK,

EU Commissioner for Environment or

Franz FISCHLER, Chairman of the RISE

Foundation and former EU Commis-

sioner for Agriculture. Another impor-

tant event in Brussels was the Green

Week 2010 that turned the spotlight

on biodiversity.

In the United Kingdom, the Young

Friends organised a stand during the

37

PARTNERSHIP


CLA Game Fair and some months af-

ter they were invited to a CLA Meet-

ing, where Thierry de l’ESCAILLE gave

the UK FCS their annual briefi ng and

Sebastian HILLGARTH had the oppor-

tunity to say some words about YFCS.

In Vienna, took place a recruiting event

that counted with 30 participants and

was followed by the St. Stephan Ball at

the Hungarian Embassy.

These are some examples that show-

case the unique and valuable oppor-

tunity given by the YFCS to the mem-

bers, and constitute one of the reasons

for the attribution of the Filippas Engel

Award 2010 to the organisation. A rec-

ognition only possible due to the sup-

port of the FCS, ELO, BNP Paribas and

other strategic partners, who remain

fundamental of the organisation.

www.yfcs.eu

38

2010 has added further key building

blocks to the architectural framework

supporting the young RISE Foundation

in its development in full independ-

ence from any other organisation.4 In

the early months of 2010 following

the publication of its infl uential Euro-

pean task force report on ‘Public Goods

from Private Land’ led by Professor Al-

lan BUCKWELL in December 2009, the

RISE Foundation took the concept on

the road across Europe to gain support

for its argument that land managers

need incentives from the market and

public-private initiatives in order to de-

liver environmental services and public

goods alongside their core business of

producing food and fi bre.

In addition, the 3rd Forum for the Future

of Agriculture also was the occasion for

RISE Chairman and FFA Chair, Franz

FISCHLER to emphasise that public

goods were the missing link in the pur-

suit of a well-balanced environmental

and economic framework supporting

European agriculture. Consolidating

this work, the RISE Foundation won a

tender contract in December along-

side the IEEP to provide recommen-

dations for the European Parliament

advising as to what tools and mecha-

nisms could optimise the delivery of

environmental and social public goods

as part of the reformed CAP (to be pub-

lished in May 2011).

2010 was also the year of the publica-

tion and dissemination of an impor-

tant and infl uential paper from Cor-

rado PIRZIO-BIROLI who issued a stark

warning to European policy-makers

about the dangers of rushing into bi-

lateral free-trade agreements (FTAs)

such as the proposed EU-MERCOSUR

FTA, as against concentrating on mul-

tilateral trade negotiations within the

WTO. The European Parliament (Com-

The RISE Foundation

mittee on Agriculture and Rural Devel-

opment), who did not initially oppose

restarting those negotiations for lack

of arguments has now called-up the

Commission for failing to carry out ob-

jective impact assessments and for in-

adequately defending the interests of

the European Union in the MERCOSUR

negotiations on the crucial issues of

food security, sustainability and climate

change, and standards.

Finally, 2010 saw the recruitment of a

part-time Managing Director, Bernard

GRACIET to help with the on-going

task of fundraising and securing fi nan-

cial partnerships for the Foundation.

This will be a key focus of RISE eff orts in

the early part of 2011 and throughout

the year.

For more information check the web-

site http://www.risefoundation.eu

4. For the Foundation’s full activity reports as approved by its Board please consult the web-site

www.risefoundation.eu. The 2010 full activity report will be approved on 7 June 2011.

PARTNERSHIP

39

The new Brussels liaison offi ce of Eu-

ropa Nostra, the Voice of cultural herit-

age in Europe is, since 1st March 2010,

hosted by the ELO offi ce in Brussels. The

pan-European federation for cultural

heritage has as its mission the raising

of awareness of the value of Europe’s

unique and rich cultural heritage and

works, to protect it for present and fu-

ture generations. As the representative

platform of over 230 heritage Member

NGOs, 160 Associate organisations

and 1500 individual active members

throughout Europe, it is the voice of

this vast movement of European civil

society, active in the fi eld, targeting the

concerned international bodies, in par-

ticular the European Union Institutions,

the Council of Europe and UNESCO.

As well as one of the Friends of the

Countryside associations’ objective, Eu-

ropa Nostra is dedicated to place herit-

age and its benefi ts in the mainstream

of public consciousness and to make

heritage a priority for public policies

both at European and national levels.

Its specifi c objectives are to promote,

at a European level, high standards of

quality in the fi elds of heritage con-

servation, architecture and urban and

rural planning, and to advocate a bal-

anced and sustainable development of

the built and natural environment.

Europa Nostra supports national and

international campaigns for the pres-

ervation and rescue of Europe’s herit-

age at risk. It encourages exemplary

initiatives in favour of the conservation

and enhancement of cultural heritage

by recognising outstanding heritage

achievements, in particular through

the running of the European Union

Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa

Nostra Awards. The awards 2010 were

presented by Mrs Androulla VASSIL-

IOU, the European Commissioner

Europa Nostra

responsible for Education, Culture,

Multilingualism and Youth, and Denis

de KERGORLAY, Executive President of

Europa Nostra, during the 8th Annual

European Heritage Awards Ceremony,

which took place in Aya Irini in Istanbul,

Turkey, on 10 June 2010, as part of the

Europa Nostra Annual Congress. This

event contributed to the celebration

of Istanbul as the European Capital of

Culture 2010.

Through its various activities, Europa

Nostra seeks to highlight the impor-

tance of cultural heritage as a build-

ing block of European identity and as

a contribution to the strengthening of

the sense of European citizenship.

One of Europa Nostra numerous ac-

tivities in 2010 concerns more specifi -

cally the future reform of the Common

Agricultural Policy (CAP) and its eff ect

on Europe’s natural and cultural herit-

age. Following an experts round table

discussion organised by Europa Nos-

tra in March 2010 on this issue, a joint

statement, endorsed by 8 important

European organisations, including ELO

and the RISE Foundation, and entitled

“Europe’s living landscapes: Cultural

heritage as a force for rural develop-

ment”, was prepared giving 8 key mes-

sages. It was stressed that the CAP is a

fundamentally important instrument

in terms of the diversity and attrac-

tiveness of Europe’s landscapes and

conservation, public enjoyment and

sustainable re-use of its cultural, as well

as its natural heritage.

Europa Nostra and its partners believe

that this is a matter of vital interest to

rural communities within Europe be-

cause the quality of their local heritage

and landscape promotes their sense

of identity, enhances social cohesion

and provides a cornerstone of their

prosperity, not least through tourism.

It is imperative, therefore, that the next

round of CAP reform recognizes the

European landscape and cultural herit-

age as a key public good, alongside bi-

odiversity, food security and the need

to respond to a changing climate.

www.europanostra.org

PARTNERSHIP

40

1. Anders Wall Award

The Anders Wall Award was created

in 2002 by the ELO, with the coop-

eration of the Anders Wall Foundation

(Sweden), Friends of the Countryside,

European Commission - DG Environ-

ment and the Royal Swedish Academy

of Agriculture and Forestry. Its aim is

to recognize those who have made a

special contribution to the rural envi-

ronment within the European Union.

The achievement should preferably

include the following elements – pres-

ervation and enhancement of the

landscape and/or biodiversity, pres-

ervation of the rural cultural heritage

and contribution to sustainable local

economic development.

This years’ winner of the Anders Wall

Award is the very young latvian owner

of the “Jaunumuli” Estate, Mr. Madars

KALNINS. The mission statement of the

Estate is that the spirit and purpose of

the “Jaunumuli” Estate is to realise an

excellent forest management, where

local people are employed in forestry

and local companies are business

partners for Rostes LTD, the company

of which Mr. KALNINS is the manager,

whilst improving the naturally con-

structed environment to the highest

standards now and for future genera-

tions. Furthemore, the will is to off er

those who live and work on the Estate

a share in the experience of its increas-

ing prosperity.

2. Environment and Soil

Management Award

The European Landowner’s Organi-

zation (ELO) under the patronage of

Commissioner for the Environment

Janez POTOCNIK, the auspices of the

European Commission (DG ENVIRON-

MENT and the Joint Research Centre),

in association with the BOKU and Lju-

bljana Universities and Syngenta In-

ternational awarded the “Environment

and Soil Management Award” at the

4th Forum for Agriculture, which took

place on the 15th March in Brussels.

The award was presented to the Net-

work Land Stewardship (XCT), a non-

profi t organization registered in Cata-

lonia and established in March 2003

in Vic, Spain, where it is based. The

initiative “Land Stewardship Network:

a strategy for owners and citizens for

the conservation of biodiversity” has

received the prize of € 2,500 and a di-

ploma, recognizing that management

practices contribute to soil protection,

improvement of environmental quality

and, in particular, to mitigating threats

to the natural environment. The award

also recognizes the economic, social

and environmental impact of the ini-

tiative, an initiative that is innovative,

original and transferable.

During the ceremony Thierry de

l’ESCAILLE and John ATKIN (Chief Op-

erating Offi cer- Syngenta Crop Protec-

tion) introduced the award, which was

AWARDS

followed by a few words from Matthias

Buck on behalf of Commissioner Janez

POTOCNIK. The award itself was then

given by Winfried BLUM (president of

the Jury, from BOKU university of Vi-

enna) and was received by Sergi MARI,

member of the board of the Land

Stewardship Network, Joan BOTEY,

The ELO, Friends of the Countryside and their partners have created a series of European Awards in order to promote sustainability in rural areas. The aim of these awards is to reward outstanding achievements in the European countryside.

Anders Wall award

Charles FORBES ADAM, Ladislav MIKO

41

AWARDS

landowner in Gavarres and Jordi PIETX,

director of the XCT, with the testimony

of approximately 300 participants.

ELO welcomes new projects which

fi ts the criteria and contributes to

mitigate the threats that European

soils faces nowadays.

The application should be

submitted directly by a European

physical or legal person or a public

institution working in the fi eld of

land use or land management, or

indirectly through organizations.

Besides, it must contain the name

of the project, the mail address

(with zip code), the phone number

and E-mail address, an executive

summary (maximum 1 page) and

the main document, describing the

achievements presented for award

(maximum 20 pages).

For this year prize, the

applications should be sent in until

the 30 November 2011.

Any requests for application or fur-

ther information may be submitted

to the Awards Coordinator of ELO

by post or mail at [email protected].

3. Belleuropa Award

The Belleuropa® Project was launched

in the late 1990’s. The Belleuropa Award

is given in collaboration with the RISE

foundation, Agroittica and the Institu-

to Doénco Medio Ambiente, a leading

Italian fi rm in the environmental sec-

tor. The aim of this award is to promote

improvement of landscapes, biological

diversity, CO2 abatement, noise reduc-

tion, pollution control and foster the

creation of a fertility reserve, the most

important strategic food reserve. It is a

prize destined to the agricultural com-

panies that, using agro-environmental

The winners Sergi MARI, Joan BOTEY and Jordi PIETX

measures, have realized an important

example of “Agricultural Productions

of Third Generation”. The jury received

numerous excellent applications, but,

in the end, decided to recognize the

eff orts of Mr. Luigi LOVISOTTO for his

project “Villabruna”, as recognition for

his outstanding work to recover and

manage a damaged natural habitat,

contributing to the protection, conser-

vation and sustainable management

of land.

During the last 25 years, Luigi LOVI-

SOTTO adapted the management to

the current European standards, espe-

cially in the use of renewed traditional

techniques and of seeds. It is a unique

example for this region in Italy of how

land management can be done.

The site represents one of the last

stretches of the ancient wood of Friuli’s

plain. The lagoon of Grado and Marano

is one of the major eco-system in Italy

containing endemic endangered spe-

cies of North of Adriatic habitats. The

project resulted in a landscape which

still today overcomes the signifi cant

impact of the existing urban and in-

dustrial surroundings areas.

42

FINANCES

Bilan au 31/12/2010 en euros

ACTIF 2010 2009

IMMOBILISATIONS INCORPORELLES 0 0

IMMOBILISATIONS FINANCIERES 1.000,00 1.000,00

CREANCES A UN AN AU PLUS

Créances commerciales 60.361,32 158.228,20

Clients 69.146,99 167.679,37

Créances douteuses - 10.000,00

Autres créances 528,17 20,66

Compte courant 686,16 0

Produits autres à recevoir 528,17

Réduction de valeur sur créances (10.000,00) 0

Placements de trésorerie 0 0

VALEURS DISPONIBLES 54.971,28 267.633,86

Banque FORTIS/EUR 13.183,01 210.915,87

HOARE GBP 18.428,09 18.120,91

BNP Paribas Italie 23.360,18 38.592,08

Virements internes 0,00 5

COMPTES DE REGULATION

Charges à reporter 0 0

TOTAL DE L’ACTIF 116.332,60 426.862,06

43

FINANCES

Bilan au 31/12/2010 en euros

PASSIF 2010 2009

RESULTAT REPORTE 110.172,88 107.776,69

Bénéfi ce reporté 107.776,69 105.227,86

Bénéfi ce de l’exercice 2.396,19 2.548,83

Provision pour autres risques et charges 0,00 10.000

DETTES A UN AN AU PLUS 6.159,72 170.085,37

Dettes fi nancières 0 0

GB/FB 0 0

Dettes commerciales

Fournisseurs 3844,25 85.076,57

Factures à recevoir - 82.160,12

Note de crédit à émettre - 0

Dettes fi scales et sociales - 758,21

Etablissement de crédit (25,00) 0,00

Autres dettes 2.340,47 2.090,47

COMPTE DE REGULATION

Produits à reporter - 139.000,00

Comptes en attentes - 0

TOTAL DU PASSIF 116.332,60 426.862,06

© Karlov

44

COMPTES DE RESULTATS AU 31/12/2010 EN EUROS

FINANCES© Wrams Gunnarstorp

2010 2009

VENTES ET PRESTATIONS

Chiff re d’aff aires

Cotisations 274.240,00 264.950,00

Sponsorship 159.000,00 145.006,45

Autres produits d’exploitation

Remboursements - 206,93

Récupération de frais 47.889,00 153.180,00

Exonération & allocation - 2.322,24Total 481.129,00 565.665,62

COUT DES VENTES ET DES PRESTATIONS

Services et biens divers 469.107,28 540.741,44

Location locaux 5.000,00 5.000,00

Téléphone 3.203,00 7.025,00

Frais de poste 15.451,45 14.634,73

Fournitures de bureau 11.341,81 19.618,88

Honoraires secrétariat 354,45 1.212,00

Honoraires comptable 4.658,50 2.456,30

Actions et soutiens 277.394,00 278.313,62

Publications 4.795,00 1.195,60

Congrès et actions nationales 146.790,37 207.296,61

Maintenance informatique 118,70 3.988,70

RENUMERATIONS & CHARGES SOCIALES 16.206,94 9.750,92

Rémunérations et charges 16.206,94 8.741,13

Secretariat social - 1.009,79

AUTRES CHARGES - 623,02

AMORTISSEMENTS

Dot. Amort.

Dot. Charges autres risques et charges - 10.000,00

Reprises (10.000)

Total 475.314,22 561.115,38

Bénéfi ce d’exploitation 5.814,78 4.550,24

45

COMPTES DE RESULATS AU 31/12/2010 EN EUROS

FINANCES

2010 2009

PRODUITS FINANCIERS

Intérêts banque (10,27) (90,58)

Diff érence de change 57,45 -

Produits fi nanciers divers 1005,17 229,55

CHARGES FINANCIERES

Inter., commis., frais aff ér. Dettes - -

Diff érence de change et autres 2.201,58 1.479,87

Frais de banque 769,13 660,59

Ecart de paiement 732,91 -

Perte fi nancière 2.651,27 2.001,41

Bénéfi ce courant avant impôts 3.163,51 2.548,83

Produits exceptionnels (37,07) -

Charges exceptionnelles - -

IMPOTS

Impôts et prèc. dûs ou versés 730,25 -

Bénéfi ce de l’exercice 2.396,19 2.548,83©

Ram

s G

unna

rsto

rp

46

BUDGETS 2011

2011

INCOMES 514.000,00

Membership fees 300.000,00

Sponsorship BNP-Paribas 139.000,00

Divers 75.000,00

EXPENSES 505.000,00

GROSS MARGIN 9.000,00

FINANCES

47

BILAN

48

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Belgique

Tel : +32 (0)2 234 30 00 • Fax : +32 (0)2 234 30 09

Email : [email protected]

www.friendsofthecountryside.net

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