DOI: https://doi.org/10.5513/JCEA01/25.4.4348
Preliminary communication
The impact of riparian zones along rivers under the new CAP in Slovenia
2024, 25 (4) p. 1185-1192
Tina LEŠNIK, Diana BOGOVIČ, David POKUPEC, Andreja BOREC
Abstract
This research primarily aims to investigate the implementation measures of the New Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) 2023-2027 in Slovenia, focusing on preserving and restoring riparian zones along rivers. Agricultural landholders near watercourses are obligated by the Water Act with the GAEC 4 standard to establish riparian areas as protective strips, with precise widths of 15 meters for first-order watercourses, 5 meters for second-order watercourses, and 3 meters for drainage ditches exceeding 2 meters in width. These protective strips are limited to vegetation comprising grass, clovers, alfalfa, indigenous plants, shrubs, or trees, with strict prohibitions on organic and mineral fertilizer use and plant protection products. Slovenia has approximately 13 471 hectares of riparian land, mainly with intensive agricultural use. The most extensive cultivatable riparian areas along primary and secondary watercourses are predominantly found in Slovenia's northeastern and northwestern regions. The case study focuses on a farmer cultivating land in the riparian areas adjacent to the Sotla River. The Sotla River, located at Croatia's border, is classified as a first-order watercourse. For the case study, main crop yield reduction and land area loss in the New Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) 2023-2027 were calculated. On protective strips, the analyzed farm, which cultivates 104 hectares of land, experienced a loss of 6.4 hectares, which accounts for 6.2% of cultivated land, and the total loss of income on first- and second-order areas in 2023 amounts to 7 448,0 €.
Keywords
agricultural policy, GAEC, agro-economy, agriculture land, width
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