Large-scale extensive grazing systems in Europe: advancing knowledge to improve policy

The intention of this 3-day workshop is to improve the state of knowledge on European High Nature Value pastoral systems from various perspectives. The speakers and participants are a mix of ‘knowledge builders’ – people working on the ecology, sociology and economics of HNV systems – and ‘knowledge users’ – administrators who convert facts into policy and NGOs who try to influence them.
In the four sessions the following topics will be introduced with invited lectures from various European regions. The workshop is accompanied by a full day field trip to visit large-scale extensive farming systems in the area.
• The ecological complexity of European pastoral systems: what does this mean for achieving EU
biodiversity goals, including Natura 2000?
• The social context of European pastoral systems: what features are central and how can social
change embrace them?
• The key importance of identifying and monitoring HNV farming systems – how can best practice
overcome the technical issues?
• What guidelines can be drawn up for European agricultural policy following 2010 which take into
account the needs of HNV pastoral systems?