Danube Watch 3/2019 - Nutrient Pollution from Agriculture
A griculture is an important component of the economy in many Danube countries since the geographic and climate conditions in large parts of the Danube River basin (DRB) are favourable for agriculture. More than 50% of the basin territory is being cultivated. Agriculture plays a key role as a local and regional supplier and is one of the most important employers in rural areas of the DRB.
Nutrient pollution in the Danube River Basin and the Black Sea is still one of the major water management issues. Nutrient pollution in the Danube River Basin is caused largely by agricultural activity, but also, to a considerable extent, by discharges of untreated wastewater. But how can the protection of DRB water bodies and Black Sea coastal waters be ensured? How can the efficient use of resources, fertilisers and manure for nutrition and water for irrigation be ensured?
Sustainable agriculture is the key to achieving a good status for rivers and a favourable socio-economic situation in rural areas. Prerequisites are the profitability of farmers, competitiveness of agriculture and vitality of rural areas. Economic growth and decrease of nutrient pollution are equally needed.
The ICPDR, within its task to reduce nutrient pollution from diffuse sources and to mitigate drought impacts in the Danube River Basin, has set up a Nutrients Task Group (NTG) to bridge the interests of the agriculture and the water management sectors. Last year, the NTG developed a guidance document on sustainable agriculture with recommendations on how to make use of sound policy instruments, financial programmes and targeted, cost-efficient agricultural measures.
The guidance document on sustainable agriculture points out how to decouple agricultural development from pollution. This guidance gives insight into the framework providing consistent strategic policy approaches into which the Danube countries are encouraged to integrate their individual national methods.
The new Common Agricultural Policy proposal (CAP post 2020) and the design and implementation of the national CAP strategic plans offer a specific chance to create win-win solutions by meeting local needs and objectives of farmers while improving the environment and to increase the resilience to climate change.
The Austrian perspective - as ICPDR contracting party and EU member state - on agriculture and water pollution stemming from agriculture in light of the new CAP and the agriculture guidance position paper
Contracting parties of the ICDPR, as well as EU member states, have already started the second update cycle of their River Basin Management Plans. On national levels, as well as on the Danube River Basin level, Significant Water Management Issues had to be updated and published in December 2019. What has changed since the first two management plans?
Although progress has been made in implementing measures to reduce the impacts of nutrient pollution from agricultural activity on groundwater and surface waters, it is still one of the Significant Water Management Issues at the Danube Basin level. Water scarcity and droughts have been progressively recognised as an additional challenge - not only for agriculture - in many different regions of the Danube River Basin, with differing intensity but also with higher frequency within the last years.
Diversity of existing instruments to address different pressures due to agricultural activity is needed in Austria. The nitrates action programme is applied throughout the whole territory and provides a basis, with more advanced measures in vulnerable zones for both the protection of groundwater against nitrates as well as protection against erosion and sediment discharge into surface waters. Targeted measures for regions with environmental challenges are provided by regional groundwater protection programmes for specific groundwater bodies.
Voluntary measures (Rural Development Programme) provide the basis for preserving and promoting environmental and climate friendly agricultural practices in less favourable areas and consist of broad measures (e.g organic farming) as well as specific measures for groundwater protection and biodiversity. However, education and awareness-raising initiatives are key for a successful implementation, participation and effectiveness of measures.
The new EU regulation on CAP strategic plans offers the possibility to better align agriculture policy with existing environmental policy instruments and with local conditions to improve environmental performance. Therefore, the timing of the ICPDR guidance document is right to support Danube countries in their ambitions and to make use of best practise examples from different regions of the DRB.
Development regarding communication with farmers and what the future may hold
Precision farming and digital transition is expected to become more important and can support farmers transitioning to more sustainable farming practises. The post 2020 national CAP plans must contain a Strategic AKIS Plan that outlines how advisors, researchers and networks will work together in future AKISs, how agricultural advice innovation support will be provided and as well as a strategy for development of digital technologies.
In order to get the information, advice and training needed for farmers, closer links between research and practice are needed. Researchers create new knowledge, specialists mould this knowledge into information for farmers, advisers work with farmers to implement the new technology and farmers participate in programme reviews.
Stronger advisory services are key to ensure the better use of resources and knowledge available. Innovation should be fostered and disseminated. The EIP AGRI (European Innovation Partnership for Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability) has a strong network and is already firmly embedded in the DRB. It should be made use of!
Advisory services can support digital transition in agriculture via smart devices, precision farming, digitised tools and easy-to-use apps. Thus, yield, income and environmental impact will be optimised in the long run. The CAP proposal introduces a new digital tool called Farm Sustainability Tool for Nutrients (FaST), with the aim of facilitating a more sustainable use of fertilisers according to morphology, yield, crop demand and the nitrogen content of the soil.
Conclusions
From day to day, the area used for agriculture tends to decrease along with the number of farms. The remaining farms tend to increase in size with an intensification of agricultural production likely to happen.
A sustainable intensification aims at an optimised use of resources without compromising environmental aspects. Striving for good cooperation between Agriculture and Water Management with mutual respect and understanding is key in this respect.
In less favourable areas (quite often with a considerable share of high-value nature farmland, threatened by depopulation and land abandonment) integrated rural development is important to keep up traditional agriculture and characteristic landscapes and to offer other income options, which is often only possible with appropriate financial support programmes.
Targeted approaches to address nutrient pollution effectively should provide a basic level of protection to the entire DRB (e.g. nitrates action programmes) and focus more ambitious provisions on large industrial holdings.
