Maintaining Semi-natural Grasslands in Slovakia Miroslava Plassmann Brussels, 15th March 2012 Farmland biodiversity in Slovakia High diversity of grassland habitats depending on farming NATURA 2000 covers 11.9% of national territory Farmland covers 14% of NATURA 2000 land (app ha) HU AT CZ PL UKR Number of semi-natural habitat types in EU Number of habitats 40 Czech rep. Hungary Slovakia Slovenia Romania No specific scheme available for habitats conservation (including NATURA sites) Targeting Agri-Environmental Schemes Step 1: integration of biodiversity into AEM Tool: scheme for conservation of the semi-natural and natural grasslands Step 3: specific grassland management adressing biodiversity Tool: grasslands devided into seven ecological groups according to habitat types Tool: National Grassland Inventory System for subsidy allocation ensuring also basic management in NATURA 2000 sites. Step 2: identification of valuable grasslands (HNV) Scheme for conservation of semi-natural and natural grasslands: Grasslands divided into seven ecological groups: 1.Dry Grasslands 2.Mesic grasslands 3.Mountain hay meadows 4.Wet grasslands of lower altitudes 5.Alluvial Cnidion grasslands 6.Wet grasslands of higher altitudes, Fen and Molinia meadows 7.High-mountain grasslands Habitat specific management under the Slovak AE scheme Gaps in knowledge on favourable management practices for different habitats Management models for grassland habitats in 2010 (methodological instrument) start in 1999 funded by PIN-MATRA programme, later WB/GEF project, national sources (MoE) and small projects in 2006 more than 96% of potential semi-natural grasslands mapped information system with more than 16,000 polygons extensive database with 1 million of species records HNV represents about 60% of grasslands in the LPIS system Semi-natural grasslands in Slovakia: ha (National Grassland Inventory 2010) National Grassland Inventory Semi-natural grasslands defined on basis of characteristic species Certificate defining semi-natural grasslands eligible for AE support and their management : map with distribution of HNV within LPIS blocks definition of main habitats basic management recommendations all certified grasslands are available on the website of Soil Protection Institute responsible for LPIS maintenance in Slovakia : DAPHNE responsible for certification (later State Nature Conservancy) Grassland certification AE Scheme implemented only on semi-natural (HNV) grasslands Achievements and gaps in AE scheme High participation of farmers in scheme Conservation of semi-natural grasslands key agri-environmental scheme Management practices defined for each habitat type (e.g. grazing regime, mowing frequency, etc.) More than 120,000 hectares of semi-natural grasslands were certified More than 102,000 ha are subsided by MoA (17 million EUR per year) Gaps: management practices defined on national level, lack of territorial approach insufficient control some areas were not properly managed inappropriate design of scheme rules in some cases (rotation grazing) insufficient payment for some types of special management Hedgerow management for butterflies Problems in NATURA 2000 site management Strenghtening the focus on valuable areas under the AE scheme implemented only for semi-natural grasslands in NATURA 2000 sites more specific management practices per polygon based on existing data from National Inventory and local research well adapted payments (more attractive to small scale farmers) monitoring Wishes for future design of the AE scheme Implementation of farm plans Effective advisory system Increase of budget Diversity is important!