Einzelbetriebliche Naturschutzberatung bundesweit – Erfolgsrezept für mehr Naturschutz im Ökologischen Landbau

Summary

Since November 2001 an advisory service to improve landscape development on farm level was implemented. Farmers are supported to put more means of nature protec-tion into practice. The advisory service is an “all-round service” and is based upon the needs and the interests of the farmers. They are supported in realizing their own ideas of nature conservation. Many farmers have taken advice and a lot of measures by taking the ideas of the farmers as a starting point have been implemented success-fully. The first visit of the advisor is free for the farmer; for the next steps individual contracts are made. The interest shows the good will of farmers to integrate aims of nature conservation. On the other hand qualified support is needed to find the right means for each farm and for the special landscape concerned. It helps a lot that the advisory service is linked to an agricultural advisory institution. The service supports the development of organic farming towards a farming system that also develops nature. Besides implementing such advisory services all over the country it is needed to improve its concept, especially by developing model farms by using participatory concepts to develop nature and landscapes on farm level as good examples. A project tries to support these aims and to build up a network for nature conservation advisory services at farm level in Germany.