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Good practice Imported

Slovenia's Agri-Environmental Payments for Corncrake & Wet-Grassland Habitats (VTR Scheme)

Slovenia · Ig · See the Slovenia profile

Evidence: Descriptive / self-reported Top 33% 53/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

An EU LIFE project (2004–2007, €809,024) in Slovenia's Ljubljansko barje and Cerkniško wetlands produced a national Corncrake Action Plan and, crucially, a new Natura 2000 payment scheme (VTR) that has paid farmers roughly €109–336 per hectare per year ever since to manage wet gr

809,024 EUR
EU LIFE project total budget (2004–2007)
606,768 EUR
EU contribution to LIFE project (2004–2007)
109–121 EUR/ha/year
VTR payment rate — conventional hay meadow (current)
336 EUR/ha/year
VTR payment rate — organic wet-meadow management (current)
Slovenia's Agri-Environmental Payments for Corncrake & Wet-Grassland Habitats (VTR Scheme)

Details

Maturity
Established
Promoter
DOPPS–BirdLife Slovenia, with the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food of Slovenia
Period
2004–2007 (LIFE project); payment scheme continuous 2007–present
Keywords
agri-environment, wetland biodiversity, species-linked payments, Natura 2000

Context

Between 2004 and 2007, DOPPS–BirdLife Slovenia led an EU LIFE Nature project to protect the corncrake (Crex crex) across three of Slovenia's most important wet-grassland landscapes: the Ljubljansko barje marshland near Ljubljana, Lake Cerknica, and the Nanoščica River valley.

Activities

The project combined land purchase and lease agreements, a 'bird-friendly mowing' technique that delays cutting until after the corncrake breeding season, Slovenia's first Action Plan for Corncrake (2005–2015) and a National Monitoring Scheme. It worked with the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food to introduce a new Natura 2000 Agri-Environmental Scheme ('Bird habitats of extensive wet grasslands', VTR) within the national Rural Development Programme, so the payment mechanism would outlast the EU grant.

Results

Under the VTR measure, farmers are paid to manage unfertilised, late-cut meadows in priority sites, with documented payment rates from roughly €109–121/ha for conventional hay meadows up to around €336/ha for organic wet-meadow management. The project was recognised by the European Commission as one of the 26 'Best' LIFE Nature projects of 2007–2008, and its bird-friendly mowing technique was widely adopted by participating farmers.

Conclusions

A rare case of a time-limited EU LIFE pilot converting cleanly into a standing national payment scheme.

Implementation
Indicative cost
Medium (€50k–€500k) — €809,024 total LIFE budget (€606,768 EU-funded), 2004–2007; ongoing VTR payments of roughly €109–336/ha/year funded via the CAP Rural Development Programme.
Time to results
Long (> 3 years) — LIFE project ran 2004–2007; VTR agri-environment payments have continued under the Rural Development Programme (2007–2013 and successors) ever since.
Staffing & skills
DOPPS–BirdLife Slovenia (NGO) implemented the original LIFE project, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food of Slovenia administers the ongoing VTR payment scheme

Conditions for success

  • Securing land via purchase/lease to protect core breeding habitat
  • Farmer buy-in for delayed 'bird-friendly' mowing
  • Embedding the payment mechanism into the national Rural Development Programme so it outlived the EU LIFE grant

Where it fits

Governance type
EU LIFE project transitioned into a national Natura 2000 agri-environment scheme
Scale
regional (three wetland landscapes), payment scheme now national
Income level
high-income EU member state

Commonly funded by

LIFE Programme National / regional programmes

Indicative funding routes for practices of this type — always check each programme's current calls and eligibility rules.

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Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

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