The global population growth increases the demand for food. Not only agricultural productivity, but also the agricultural areas have globally increased in the last three decades, but often at the expense of tropical rainforests, peatlands, and other susceptible ecosystems. Conversely, in industrial countries the agricultural areas decrease due to urban and infrastructure development and land abandonment. This report explores the protection of agricultural areas against urban development in selected European countries. It shows different approaches and policy instruments to protect agricultural areas and examines their effects and effectiveness. It applies a combination of literature research and expert interviews.
The results point out that many European countries face similar challenges in relation to urban sprawl and loss of agricultural land. But the examined countries’ policy instruments to address these challenges differ considerably. The instruments are strongly connected to the national spatial planning systems and the distribution of competences among the administrative levels. The research shows that most countries try to achieve the protection of agricultural areas with a set of different instruments. Five types of instruments were found. First, there are government strategies and guidelines that refer to the protection of agricultural areas. Second, there are countries such as Germany or Austria that set a maximum for land consumption caused by urban development. Third, in some countries (for example France or England) advisory expert groups support the public authorities. Fourth, in most examined countries exist either on national or regional level some type of protected areas for agriculture. Fifth, some of the German and Austrian regions evaluate soil functions and include the results in planning decisions.
Altogether, the results suggest that a combination of well-coordinated, binding instruments that rely on a nationwide approach is most successful to protect agricultural areas. Instruments to steer urban development are as important as instruments of agricultural policy. Nationwide soil data with high resolution allow qualified spatial decisions. But nonetheless, the implementation of the instruments remains challenging. Hence the instruments to protect agricultural areas need clear goals and binding rules. The rules need to be monitored and actively supported by the responsible authorities.