FINAL REPORT ANALYSIS OF ACTUAL LAND AVAILABILITY IN THE EU; TRENDS IN UNUSED, ABANDONED AND DEGRADED (NON-)AGRICULTURAL LAND AND USE FOR ENERGY AND OTHER NON-FOOD CROPS REFERENCE: ENER/C2/2018-440 ANALYSIS OF ACTUAL LAND AVAILABILITY IN THE EU; TRENDS IN UNUSED, ABANDONED AND DEGRADED (NON-)AGRICULTURAL LAND AND USE FOR ENERGY AND OTHER NON-FOOD CROPS Reference: ENER/C2/2018-440 Final report Final Report: ANALYSIS OF ACTUAL LAND AVAILABILITY IN THE EU; TRENDS IN UNUSED, ABANDONED AND DEGRADED (NON-)AGRICULTURAL LAND AND USE FOR ENERGY AND OTHER NON-FOOD CROPS ANALYSE DE LA DISPONIBILITÉ RÉELLE DES TERRES DANS L'UE ; TENDANCES DES TERRES ABANDONNÉES OU DÉGRADÉES ET OPTIONS POUR L'UTILISATION DES CULTURES À FINS ÉNERGÉTIQUES ET AUTRES FINS NON- ALIMENTAIRES Reference: ENER/C2/2018-440 ‘The information and views set out in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of the Commission. The Commission does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this study. Neither the Commission nor any person acting on the Commission’s behalf may be held responsible for the use which may be made of the information contained therein.’ 16 October 2020 Wageningen Environmental Research Droevendaalsesteeg 3 P.O. Box 47 6700 AA Wageningen The Netherlands Phone: +31 317 48 07 00 Fax: +31 317 41 90 00 IEEP (BE), ECOFYS (NL), CIEMAT (ES) and EIHP (HR) 2 CONTENTS CONTENTS ........................................................................................................ 3 LIST OF REGIONAL CASE STUDY REPORTS .............................................. 8 LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................... 9 LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................ 11 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ............................................................................. 14 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ENGLISH ............................................................... 17 RÉSUMÉ FRANCAIS ........................................................................................ 24 1 INTRODUCTION, SCOPE AND PURPOSE OF THE STUDY ........... 32 1.1 Study scope and objectives ....................................................................... 32 1.2 Study background .................................................................................... 36 1.3 Selection of case studies ............................................................................ 39 1.4 Overview of this report ............................................................................. 40 2 DEFINING AND QUANTIFYING THE ACTUAL UAA AND CHANGES IN UAA SINCE 1975 IN EU COUNTRIES AND REGIONS .......... 42 2.1 Introduction and approach ....................................................................... 42 2.2 Definitions of utilised agricultural area (UAA) ......................................... 42 2.2.1 UAA and eligible farmland for CAP Pillar I payments ............................. 44 2.2.2 UAA definition and registration in FSS differs per country and over time .................................................................................................................................. 48 2.2.3 Definitions of UAA in other EU and international data sources .............. 51 2.3 Overview of EU-wide data sources used in this study to determine actual UAA 51 2.3.1 Statistical data .......................................................................................... 51 2.3.2 Spatial data ............................................................................................... 53 2.4 Results: actual UAA ................................................................................. 54 2.4.1 Approach to detecting actual UAA .............................................................. 54 2.4.2 Actual UAA .................................................................................................... 54 2.4.3 Evidence of changes in UAA in national data compared to FSS .............. 59 ANALYSIS OF ACTUAL LAND AVAILABILITY IN THE EU; TRENDS IN UNUSED, ABANDONED AND DEGRADED (NON-)AGRICULTURAL LAND AND USE FOR ENERGY AND OTHER NON-FOOD CROPS Reference: ENER/C2/2018-440 Final report 2.4.4 Results from agricultural land use flows based on Corine Land Cover .. 60 2.5 Results: changes in UAA since 1975 ......................................................... 61 2.5.1 National overview .......................................................................................... 61 2.5.2 Regional overview: hotspot regions of declines in UAA ............................ 63 2.6 Data on unused, abandoned and degraded lands in data sources ............. 65 2.7 Conclusions .............................................................................................. 67 3 FACTORS THAT LEAD TO AN INCREASE OF AGRICULTURAL LANDS BECOMING UNUSED, ABANDONED AND DEGRADED ................ 70 3.1 Introduction and approach ....................................................................... 70 3.1.1 Identifying types of unused, abandoned and degraded lands ................... 70 3.1.2 Historical context and abandonment.......................................................... 75 3.2 Main drivers of land becoming unused, abandoned and degraded in the EU 76 3.2.1 Drivers from policy ....................................................................................... 80 3.2.3 Combinations of drivers ............................................................................... 81 3.3 Evidence from the case studies for drivers of land becoming unused, abandoned and degraded in the case study regions ............................................ 83 3.3.1 Scale, type and location of land abandoned ................................................ 83 3.3.2 Main drivers for agricultural land abandonment ...................................... 86 3.4 Conclusions: classification of hotspot regions according to main drivers that lead to lands becoming unused, abandoned and degraded .......................... 92 4 OPTIONS AND IMPEDIMENTS FOR USE OF UNUSED, ABANDONED AND DEGRADED LANDS FOR BIOMASS CROPPING FOR BIOFUELS AND OTHER USES ........................................................................ 94 4.1 Introduction and approach ....................................................................... 94 4.2 Bringing unused, abandoned and degraded lands back into agricultural production – opportunities and barriers ............................................................. 94 4.3 Sustainable cropping for biofuels and other non-food uses on unused, abandoned and degraded lands .......................................................................... 95 4.3.1 Agronomic suitability of potential crops for biofuels and other non-food uses in EU-28 ................................................................................................................... 95 4.3.2 Sustainability and co-benefits of potential crops for biofuels and other non- food uses ................................................................................................................... 96 4 ANALYSIS OF ACTUAL LAND AVAILABILITY IN THE EU; TRENDS IN UNUSED, ABANDONED AND DEGRADED (NON-)AGRICULTURAL LAND AND USE FOR ENERGY AND OTHER NON-FOOD CROPS Reference: ENER/C2/2018-440 Final report 4.4 Opportunities and barriers for crops for energy and other non-food uses on unused, abandoned and degraded lands ...................................................... 102 4.4.1 Socio-economic barriers and opportunities .............................................. 102 4.4.2 Factors that enable or hamper the use of agricultural land for biomass production ............................................................................................................. 104 4.4.3 Evidence from the case studies on barriers and opportunities ............... 105 4.4.4 Shifts to non-agricultural land uses ........................................................... 108 4.4.6 Interest in introduction of crops for energy and non-food uses on unused, abandoned and degraded lands .......................................................................... 116 4.5 Conclusions ............................................................................................ 117 5 ROLE OF POLICY IN MAINTAINING LAND UNDER AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION, BRINGING IT BACK INTO ACTIVE USE AND STIMULATING BIOMASS CROPPING FOR NON-FOOD PURPOSES 119 5.1 Introduction ........................................................................................... 119 5.2 Role of EU and national policies in countering land degradation and land abandonment .................................................................................................... 120 5.3 Role of policy in maintaining land under agricultural use ...................... 121 5.3.1 The Common Agricultural Policy .............................................................. 122 5.3.2 National policy measures ............................................................................ 129 5.4 Role of policy in stimulating land to be brought back into agricultural production ........................................................................................................ 133 5.4.1 The Common Agricultural Policy .............................................................. 134 5.4.2 National policies........................................................................................... 135 5.5 Role of policy in incentivising