As part of the reform of its Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), in 1992 the European Community adopted a regulation of Accompanying Measures aimed at supporting farmers in conserving the European environment. This book explores the implementation of the regulation throughout Europe and examines its genesis, delivery and prospects. Individual chapters explore the politics of the regulation and the ecological resources on which it has to work. Eight further chapters examine its implementation in individual member states, highlighting the remarkable diversity both of the ecosystems being conserved and the ways in which the regulation is being implemented. The area covered by its country chapters amounts to more than eighty percent of the European Union of fifteen states. The volume concludes with two speculative chapters, one on the extent and measurement of potential economic benefits from these measures and another offerings some broad conclusions on the potential impact of the regulation and its possible evolution. The volume is multidisciplinary, including political scientists, economists, sociologists, geographers and civil servants amongst its authors. It is aimed at senior students, research workers and professional policy makers concerned with conservation, agriculture and the rural environment.

Martin Whitby is Professor of Countryside Management at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, and is the author of Incentives for Countryside Management: the Case of ESAs and The European Environment and CAP Reform, among other titles.