HELSINKI COMMISSION HELCOM AGRI/ENV FORUM 3/2012 HELCOM Baltic Agricultural and Environmental Forum Third Meeting Warsaw, Poland, 7-8 May

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1 HELSINKI COMMISSION HELCOM AGRI/ENV FORUM 3/2012 HELCOM Baltic Agricultural and Environmental Forum Third Meeting Warsaw, Poland, 7-8 May Agenda Item 3 Document code: 3/7 Date: Submitted by: Implementation of agriculture-related actions in the HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan Germany RIPARIAN BUFFER STRIPS: CURRENT LEGISLATION AND IMPLEMENTATION IN GERMANY. A CHANCE FOR GROWING ENERGY WOOD IN THE FUTURE? The Meeting is invited to discuss the attached document on experience with riparian buffer strips in Germany. Note by Secretariat: FOR REASONS OF ECONOMY, THE DELEGATES ARE KINDLY REQUESTED TO BRING THEIR OWN COPIES OF THE DOCUMENTS TO THE MEETING Page 1 of 9

2 Riparian buffer strips Current legislation and implementation in Germany. A chance for growing energy wood in the future? 1 Frederike Balzer 2 and Dietrich Schulz, Federal Environment Agency, Germany Summary Buffer strips along surface water bodies were introduced into German statutory law, but the regulations mainly protect natural vegetation and grassland and are a rather weak tool to decrease nutrient inputs and combat eutrophication. Voluntary measures within the agrienvironment Programmes ( Second pillar of the Common Agricultural Policy) to establish buffer strips found little acceptance hitherto and should be improved within the river basin management plans driven by the water framework directive. Short rotation coppices (energy wood plantations) provide a number of ecosystem services and need fewer subsidies. Yet there are a number of legal and practical constraints for the time being which need further clearance by research and development projects. Also handbooks on good agricultural and best environmental practice on how to establish, maintain and re-converse short rotation energy wood plantations along water courses would be helpful for propagation and possibly turn them into a valuable tool to reach the targets of the Baltic Sea Action Plan. 1. Introduction In Germany nitrogen inputs into surface waters are still too high although they have declined by 45% compared to The main source of nitrogen emissions is agriculture. About 77% of the overall nitrogen emissions originate from there. The main pathways are leaching into the groundwater, soil erosion, surface runoff and drainage. During the last 25 years diffuse nitrogen inputs from agriculture could be reduced but not to the same extent as nitrogen emissions from municipal and industrial wastewater discharges or exhausts from power plants and road traffic. The decline of nitrogen surplus in agriculture on national level resulted mainly from the collapse of livestock farming in eastern Germany after reunification and as a result of the introduction and implementation of EU- and national environmental law in the new Federal States. Nitrogen inputs into surface waters in the German Baltic Sea catchment area decreased by about 50% from 63 kt to 31 kt between 1985 and 2005 with agriculture still being the main source of nitrogen input in the Baltic Sea catchment, responsible for 82% of total nitrogen (FEA 2011)input. The phosphorus inputs into surface waters decreased by 71% from 58 kt to 23 kt between 1985 and The main source is also agriculture followed by municipal and industrial wastewater discharges. The water pollution caused by the latter has declined significantly (86%) during the last few years, mainly by introducing modern wastewater treatment technology into former GDR and the introduction of phosphate free laundry detergents. Although phosphorus inputs from point sources have decreased, they are still relatively high, at 35% of total inputs. Inputs from agriculture declined only by 1% between 1985 and In 2005 phosphorus inputs into the Baltic Sea catchment area totaled to 0.86 kt. Agriculture contributes to this value by 0.54 kt (63% of total input) (FEA 2011). Nitrogen and phosphorus inputs from Germany into the Baltic Sea are still too high to reach the goals of the Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP) passed in Krakow in Especially the situation of coastal waters is still partly unsatisfactory. Therefore within the BSAP Germany has to reduce N-inputs by 5,620 t/a and P by 240 t/a respectively to diminish nutrient inputs 1 Presentation during the third meeting of the HELCOM Baltic Agricultural and Environmental Forum, Warsaw, Poland, 7-8 May Corresponding author (frederike.balzer@uba.de). Page 2 of 9

3 to the maximum allowable level. Germany thus has to lower its N-inputs into the Baltic Sea by ca. 33% and its P-inputs by ca. 50% (German BSAP status report 2011). 1.1 Ecological water body status today While the current chemical status of surface water bodies in Germany assessed in 2010 is fairly satisfactory (almost 90% of all surface water bodies reached a good chemical status according to the WFD), the overall ecological water body status is anything but good. The assessment in 2010 revealed that about 85% of all German surface water bodies would fail the high or good ecological status stipulated by the WFD to be reached in The overall ecological-status results are for the most part consistent with the characterization of German rivers, because they comprise the lion`s share of our surface water bodies. Around 30% have a moderate, 34% a poor and 24% a bad ecological status. The results for lakes are more positive. 39% of the water bodies have achieved high or good ecological status, whereas the situation is worse for coastal and notably transitional waters, most of which still fail good ecological status. The evaluation results show that German surface waters are rather low affected by hazardous substances and pollutants but the biota and the ecosystem in general suffer a lot from the negative effects of nutrient inputs as well as morphological and structural changes of water bodies. Thus habitat functions and biodiversity of surface waters are unsatisfactory or poor. In order to reduce the nutrient inputs and to prevent the terrestrial, aquatic and marine ecosystems from negative consequences of nutrient overload, agriculture still has a high mitigation potential. Efficient, integrated and tailored measures in agriculture can contribute to achieve the targets of the WFD, the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) and the targets of the Helsinki Convention. One of these measures could be the establishment and the maintenance of riparian buffer strips along water courses to improve both chemical and ecological status. Picture 1: Ecological status of rivers, lakes, transitional and coastal waters (Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety 2010: Water Framework Directive - The way towards healthy waters) Page 3 of 9

4 2. Implementation in Germany 2.1 Federal Water Act The EU Framework directives have been transposed into German Federal framework laws, while the federal states implemented the general requirements into specific federal state law. In Germany, the requirements of the Water Framework Directive were transposed into the Federal Water Act in 2002, and incorporated into the updated Federal Water Act in The federal water act sets out management objectives for all waters (i.e. surface waters, coastal waters and groundwater). These objectives comply with the provisions of the EU Water Framework Directive and should be met by The new Federal water act also contains licence restrictions for certain water uses, including the discharge of substances and formulates requirements on waterbody maintenance. It also makes provision for usage restrictions in water protection areas, e.g. with regard to the application of fertilisers and pesticides. In March 2010, the creation of riparian buffer strips in areas outside of agglomerations became compulsory across Germany. The definition and requirements are laid down in article 38: Riparian buffer strips attend to preserve and improve the ecological functions of surface water bodies, the water retention capacity, to safeguard water run-off and to reduce nutrient discharges from diffuse sources The minimum width of a buffer zone amounts to 5 metres shore side from the mean water level line. Agriculture according to good agricultural practice is still allowed, which means that the specific legal principles of the agricultural legislation are compulsory. Following requirements and principles are mandatory in the buffer zones: Conversion of permanent grassland, if still existent, into arable land is not allowed; The removal of trees, shrubs and new plantings of none site-indigenous trees and bushes is prohibited; The handling of substances hazardous to water is prohibited, except the application of fertilizers and pesticides, unless otherwise specified by federal state`s law; Permanent deposition of items that may hinder water runoff or which may be carried away by the water is not allowed. From environmental point of view the legal requirements for buffer zones in Germany are rather weak and had been watered down considerably until the new water act was finally passed. Furthermore the federal states can pass own ordinances concerning the restrictions regarding the width and the use of fertilizers and pesticides as well as exceptional rules for the implementation of riparian buffer zones. Unfortunately from environmental point of view these federal states regulations can both be more or less strict than the federal water act 4. This leads to rather low requirements in some federal states. In Schleswig-Holstein for example the designation of buffer strips is subject to local requirements, in many other federal states the designation of width is up to an administrative decision of the local water authorities and can deviate from 5 metres in both directions. According to an estimation of the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation the total area of buffer zones in Germany would be 1,270 km² ( ha). The estimation based on the theoretical assumption that all German surface water bodies with a catchment area larger 3 It is possible to extend this period to 2021 or even Derogations upwards and downwards are possible in some aspects. Page 4 of 9

5 than 10 km² and which are therefore subject to report to the WFD, have a compulsory 5 meter buffer strip on both sides of their river banks. This corresponds to a share of around 0.7% of the total agricultural land in Germany (roughly 18 Mio ha). 2.2 Fertilizer Law and Ordinance on Fertilizer Application Whereas the water law prescribes a minimum width of 5 m for compulsory buffer zones, agriculture and the application of fertilizers is still allowed in these zones. In Germany the Nitrates Directive has been implemented into national law by the Fertilizer Law and the Ordinance on Fertilizer Application (Düngeverordnung in German), which sets detailed and precise legal requirements for good agricultural practice as regards the application of fertilizers. Whole Germany is regarded as a vulnerable zone in the sense of the Nitrates Directive, which means that good agricultural practice is compulsory over the whole territory. Main reason for this strict interpretation of the Nitrates Directive are not nutrient inputs into the Baltic Sea but into the Wadden Sea in the North Sea, which is a world nature heritage site and very sensitive to nutrient overload. Fortunately Denmark and the Netherlands have a similar approach towards the Wadden Sea. The ordinance on fertilizer application (Düngeverordnung) establishes general buffer zones of 3 m along surface waters, where fertilizer application is generally forbidden, unless certain precision technique is used for spreading, a one meter distance to the slope edge of the water course is tolerable. For slopes (more than 10%) buffer zones are up to 10 m, and fertilizers have to be directly incorporated into the soil to prevent water pollution via surface runoff. In the case of the application of pesticides, farmers have to ensure that pesticides do not pollute surface waters. Therefore they have to comply with the substance specific distance rules that are determined in the frame of the authorization process (and indicated on the package). These distances can vary depending on the aquatic toxicity, the application technique that is used to reduce spray drift of pesticides and the slope. Moreover the federal states can define specific distance rules in their laws, defining areas where the application of pesticides is generally forbidden. The protection zone for the surface water approximately accounts for 1 to 10 m; but most of the federal state do not have specific obligation in their federal state laws. In case of differences between the distances stipulated in the authorization process or in federal state law, the farmer has to comply with the maximum distance in any case Agri-environmental measures Another possible way to improve the water quality is the establishment of buffer zones as an agri-environmental measure within the framework of rural development ( second pillar of the Common Agricultural Policy). Agri-environmental measures are more popular among farmers because they include compensation payments for restrictions in agricultural practice. On the other hand they need a 50% Co-financing in Germany, which mostly goes at the expense of the federal states budgets. Poorer federal states find it more and more difficult to provide money for co-financing, thus agri-environmental measures as a whole become difficult to achieve due to budget restrictions. Agri-environmental measures are key elements for the integration of environmental concerns into the Common Agricultural Policy. They are designed to encourage farmers to protect and 5 To be honest it should be stated that a research project financed by FEA some years ago revealed that farmers quite often make mistakes in the application of pesticides. Another relevant pathway for pesticide input into surface waters is cleaning the apparatuses on the farm, from where pesticide leftovers reach the sewer system and are incompletely degraded in the MWWTP. FEA therefore strongly recommends to clean apparatus in the field, where soil bacteria can break down pesticide leftovers in the washing water. Page 5 of 9

6 enhance the environment on their farmland by paying them for the provision of ecosystem services. The measures are voluntary but normally farmers commit themselves to apply the measure for the following 5 years. Especially in the course of the success of the WFD, agrienvironmental measures are key instruments and actions that help to reach the WFD goals and play an important role in the river basin management plans. Germanys Water Framework Directive programmes of measures contain numerous actions aimed at substantially reducing agricultural pressures. One of these is the establishment of buffer zones. These buffer zones are normally set-aside, which means that there is no agricultural use any longer and the provision of ecological services in the sense of improving biodiversity, enhancing water quality and landscape aesthetics is much higher. Farmers receive a financial support to compensate them for their loss of income. The majority of the measures have been incorporated into rural development subsidies 6. In the period from 2007 to 2013 a total amount of 16.4 billion Euro (8.1 billion from EAFRD; 3.1 billion national budget; 3.2 billion federal state budget) is available within the second pillar to subsidize supplementary agricultural measures and projects for all aspects of rural development that are voluntary and exceed the legal requirements (good agricultural practice). About one fifth to one third of these funds is used for water protection measures. The compensation payment for the establishment of buffer strips range from 55 to 740 /ha, depending on the federal state concerned and the extent of measures (Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (2010). Nevertheless it seems obvious that to establish buffer strips via long term ecological set-aside within the framework of agri-environmental measures (second pillar of the CAP) would be rather costly. In practice supply and demand as well as the readiness of farmers to implement this measure (even with compensation via agri-environmental schemes driven by the second pillar of the CAP) unfortunately are very low. The main reason is a lack of money. The federal states have to co-finance agri-environmental measures (50%) with money from the respective federal state s budget. Many federal states cannot afford appropriate compensation for the set-aside of agricultural land and accordingly the attractiveness for farmers is rather low. In the federal state of Thuringia in 2008 the demand for the establishment of buffer zones was for example less than 1% of the total money spent in agrienvironmental measures, and it can be assumed that this corresponds to the national level as well. Thus agri-environmental schemes have not yet been successful in establishing buffer strips along surface waters. Therefore FEA together with colleagues from Thuringian federal states agencies brought up the idea whether the plantation of short rotation coppices (energy wood) along water courses could be an alternative. On one hand the buffer strip area would not be set-aside but stay in agricultural use, also create some sort of income which would reduce the need (and amount) of compensation. On the other hand ecosystem services originating from short rotation coppices might be comparable to set- aside, which is already being tested by research projects, as will be outlined in the following chapter. 3. Short rotation plantation woods as buffer strips economy and ecology in unison? As both the legal situation and the implementation of buffer strips via agri-environmental programmes seem unsatisfying FEA currently tries to find a third possibility. The basic idea is to use buffer strips to grow short rotation energy wood. Thus it might hopefully be possible to combine both economy (yields, marketable products) with ecology (regenerative energy, extensification). Federal Environment Agency actually proofs the legal basis and practical restrictions of this possibility and funded an expertise carried out by the Regional Agricultural Agency of Thuringia. The final report will be published this year. 6 Within the current CAP-framework they belong to the second axis (land management) of the consolidated EAFRD-Directive (74/2009/EC). Page 6 of 9

7 3.1 Definition and ecosystem services Short rotation coppices are integrated agro forestry land-use systems 7, combining agricultural and forestry practice on the same site. Fast growing tree species such as willow or poplar are managed in short coppicing cycles (between 2-8 years), planted in stripes on arable land. The rotation period normally varies between 3 and 5 years, but can also be more than 10 years and longer. In conventional short rotation plantations the density of trees is of around trees/ha. The lifecycle of a short rotation plantation comprises three stages and last around years. During the planting phase the soil is cultivated and prepared for the planting (comparable to agriculture). The utilization phase hold up for years (comparable to forestry) and includes rotational growth and harvest of the trees. After years the plantation is converted into arable land again. It is possible to harvest the trees at this stage using a modified corn harvester. The woody solid biomass or the pellets and woodchips can be used in applications such as district heating or electric power generating stations. Short rotation plantations provide a lot of ecological services. Fertilization is not necessary, as there are enough nutrients left from former agricultural use of the soil. Herbicides are only necessary during the initial stage when the trees are small. Similar to buffer zones, they connect habitats and are valuable for the biodiversity, as they are more or less undisturbed for several years after the initial phase. They improve the protection and control of water and wind erosion. They enhance the structural diversity of the landscape and planted along water courses they should hold back particulate matter and nutrient discharges. The long resting of the soil improves the soil pore structure which has positive effects on the infiltration capacity. Moreover the understory vegetation enhances the surface roughness and develops a strong and deep root system. Due to the deep root system of the trees they absorb water and nutrient also from deeper soil layers and the regularly harvest removes nutrients from the system. All in all the nutrient balance may be negative, which benefits the water quality. At the same time they provide biomass for energy production 8. This win-win situation (fewer subsidies, same ecosystem services) could be used to enhance the protection of surface water bodies, to improve the water quality and achieve the targets of the WFD. At the same time the agricultural and economical usability of the areas would be completely preserved and the required compensation rate is much lower than for the agricultural set-aside necessary for the agri-environmental measure, as compensation must only be paid for the difference between ordinary agriculture and growing energy wood. The expertise pointed out that compared with the conventional use of arable land and the mandatory buffer zones where an agricultural use and the application of fertilizers and pesticides are still allowed, the establishment of short rotation plantations along surface water courses would deliver many advantages as indicated above. The need for economic compensation would figure up to 227 /ha annually or respectively /ha one-time, which is considerably lower than conventional agri-environmental schemes. Yet there are some legal constraints and difficulties pointed out by water authorities which must be solved still and need further clarification by research activities. 3.2 Current status of implementation and legal constraints Even though short rotation coppices can provide many ecological benefits and may be selfsupporting in economic terms, their establishment is quite uncommon in Germany and have been mainly introduced within research and development projects. The total area planted with short rotation coppices in agro-forestry systems is around ha (to compare: bioenergy resources like maize for biogas and rape for biofuels and lubricants are cultivated 7 Sometimes also called silvoarable forest ecosystems (SAFE). 8 Regenerative energy is subsidized in Germany by law (EEG), as the government decided to phase out nuclear power plants. Details might be explained during the meeting. Thus the German results may not be comparable to other countries in every aspect. Page 7 of 9

8 on more than 2 million hectares). The main reason is that the changing from conventional (annual) farming to a (semi-perennial) short rotation plantation system necessitates high investment costs and gives no yields during the first years. Even though farmers grant subsidies for the production of woody biomass in short rotation coppices according to the federal renewable energy act, they commit themselves to a cultivation method which is quite inflexible and cannot response to the market situation (especially not in a situation of rising commodity prices) as the cultivation of conventional (annual) field crops. Moreover the further development of wood demand and prices are rather uncertain and insecure. Despite subsidies and financial support in the course of the bioenergy production, short rotation plantations provide a rather low contribution to farm income and are economically not competitive without subsidies. To foster the cultivation the federal ministry of food, agriculture and consumer protection actually discusses the introduction of an investment-related support of /ha for the establishment of short rotation plantations. The positive ecosystem services should underline the need to introduce this support. In addition the legal situation for short rotation plantations along water courses are quite complicated and need a single case decision. One of the reasons is that there is no general statutory definition of short rotation plantations in the German legislation. According to the federal forest act short rotation coppices are still in agricultural use provided that the rotation period doesn t exceed 20 years. Due to the agricultural use the plantations are eligible and entitled to grant subsidies and direct payments, provided they have a minimum size of 0.3 hectare. Given a width of 5 m as pointed out above this means a minimum length of 600 m, a serious restriction especially in hilly and mountainous landscapes, where buffer strips would be especially valuable to prevent discharges into water bodies via soil erosion. The main legal obstacle to establish them along water courses is Article 38 in the Federal Water Act (WHG). In the buffer zone or the area located next to the water course, the removal of trees, shrubs and new plantings of none site-indigenous trees and the conversion of grassland is prohibited. This hampers the establishment, because the trees would at least be harvested after some years. At the moment an implementation of short rotation plantations along water courses would only be possible with complex single case authorizations. It must be clarified legally that trees planted within short rotation coppices do not fall under the general restriction of Article 38 WHG but can be harvested according to good agricultural practice, which also has to be extended and specified for such cases. The expertise funded by Federal Environment Agency recommends to develop a general handbook for short rotation coppices along water courses, including also best environmental practice in re-changing the areas back to normal agriculture, which means to remove the roots of the trees. There are special precautions necessary to prevent increased input of soil particles as areas being conversed back may be especially prone to soil erosion for some while. There are more legal constraints complicating the establishment along surface water bodies as for example the articles stipulating the requirements for the water stream maintenance and flood areas. It is forbidden to introduce any sort of possible obstacle to water flow or to increase the risk of floods. Wood plantations may be regarded as such obstacles due to the local situation. A close cooperation with water authorities is therefore essential, and short rotation energy wood plantations along watercourses need single case permits (which means bureaucracy) unless the water act will be adjusted accordingly. 4. Conclusions Research and development projects investigating the advantages and limitations of short rotation coppices along water courses can help to pave the way to overcome legal obstacles. Planting short rotation coppices along water courses could be a sustainable way of combining economic yields and water protection targets as well as improvements of landscape structure and biodiversity. They should therefore be part of energy and environmental policy concerns. More long term studies and manuals about good agricultural Page 8 of 9

9 and best ecological practice are needed to turn short rotation coppices into a valuable instrument to meet the objectives of the Baltic Sea Action Plan. 5. References Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (2010): Water Framework Directive - The way towards healthy waters. Berlin. Germany. See: Federal Environment Agency (2011): Data on the environment 2011 edition - Environment and agriculture. Bonn. Germany. See: Federal Environment Agency (2010): Water Protection in Cooperation with Agriculture. Dessau-Roßlau. Germany. See: Page 9 of 9