Assessing impacts of the Agricultural Reform Programme measures on biodiversity

The Scottish Government is reforming the way that farming and food production is supported in Scotland. Financial support for farmers and crofters is to be partly based on enhanced conditionality, with farmers implementing measures targeted towards 'biodiversity gain and climate mitigation and adaption'. Evaluating how these measures could impact biodiversity should assist policymakers in allocating the measures to the most suitable payment tier and help maximise the impact of the new agriculture policy on improving biodiversity. This report is intended to aid understanding of how the proposed measures could impact biodiversity and how these potential impacts could be assessed. The first part of the report outlines the key considerations for assessing how agri-environmental policy measures could impact biodiversity, and discusses the ways in which agri-environmental policy measures could benefit biodiversity. The second part of the report evaluates the applicability of the 'Qualitative impact assessment of land management interventions on Ecosystem Services' (QEIA) report for use in Scotland.