| The role of traditional agriculture in maintaining cultural landscapes is especially relevant at the present time, because of the widely reported decline in biodiversity on farmland and the current crisis in agriculture. The conference held in Spain, reported in this volume, is therefore significant, in that it provides guidelines to the way the Common Agricultural Policy could be redirected to maintain and enhance biodiversity. European agri-environment schemes and their links to livestock systems are summarised , with especial relevance to Spanish landscapes. Two keynote papers are of particular importance, because they present knowledge that has previously only been mainly available in Spanish. Although the agri-environment schemes are diverse and are primarily related to national priorities, the presentations nevertheless stimulated conclusions that provide a valuable starting point for the development of appropriate policy instruments. The many different initiatives need to be integrated and monitored so that their effectiveness can be assessed. |
