Institute of

LV Rural Studies

Projects "Policy impact assessment and evaluation"

Ongoing Projects

5-Länder-Evaluation: What are the effects of financing rural development on agriculture, on environment and well-being in rural areas?

In cooperation with the Thünen-Institute of Farm Economics, the Thünen-Institue of International Forestry and Forest Economics and entera the Thünen-Institute of Rural Studies evaluates rural develpoment programmes and measures within a multi-disciplinary team and approach. The Institute of Rural Studies is the leading partner. Main tasks are analyses regarding programme delivery and implementation, enviromental issues, the support of human capital and cooperation activities as well as rural development including the LEADER approach.

AGRUM Germany

The objectives of the EU- Water Framework Directive have not yet been fully achieved in many regions of Germany. This is due in particular to diffuse nutrient inputs from agriculture. "AGRUM-DE", will therefore create a nationwide, consistent method to monitor nitrogen emissions to water bodies. Based on this, measures for better water quality are derived and their impacts will be assessed.

Baseline with market models

Many agri-food markets are hallmarked by dynamic expansions – some driven by changed demand concerning energy plants while others markets are withering. Will this development persist in future? Then we need to capture this developments for policy advisory work, to reflect its implications.

CatchHedge - Carbon sequestration of hedgerows and field copses

Hedgerows contribute to mitigating climate change - new plantings of hedgerows on arable land have great potential to contribute to climate protection. Hedgerows store nearly as much carbon per hectare as forests.

Common Agricultural Policy – Future developments of the 2. Pillar of CAP?

The 2. Pillar of CAP belongs to the Common Agricultural Policy, but simultaneously addresses the Cohesion Policy. It is situated between the poles of sector-related and regional policy. Furthermore, it must contribute to the overall climate and environmental EU-objectives. We analyse in our project current policy instruments and elaborate proposals for future adjustments.

Greenhouse Gas Neutral Germany: Effects on the Economy and Living Conditions in Rural Areas

The 2021 Federal Climate Change Act stipulates that Germany should become greenhouse gas neutral until 2045. The TREND:LR project analyses economic, social, and policy aspects of this transformation in rural areas.

Mapping regional agricultural nitrogen fluxes for water and climate protection policy (RELAS)

Numerous policy measures have already been implemented in the past with the aim of reducing nitrogen emissions. For the further development of water and climate protection measures, a cross-media consideration of agricultural nitrogen fluxes in soil, groundwater, surface waters and the atmosphere is essential.

Nature conservation value of low intensity hay meadows in Baden-Württemberg

With their high species diversity, low intensity hay meadows are particularly valuable in terms of nature conservation. We investigate where and under which conditions low intensity hay meadows can be better preserved and developed.

Roadmap for the rewetting of organic soils in Germany

How can the agreed German climate mitigation goals concerning peatland protection be achieved? Which options for using organic soils are economically viable for landowners and farmers in the long term? These are just two examples of the questions that are being addressed by four Thünen Institutes in the interdisciplinary project RoVer.

Social Security Systems in Agriculture

The agricultural social security system was subsidized with 3.7 billion Euros from the budget of the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture in 2014. That is 70 percent of the total budget of the ministry. We are studying the impact of the system as a central element of national agricultural policy and how it can be developed further.

What is the best way to evaluate Rural Development Programmes?

Since the early 1990s, evaluations have formed an important part of the profile of the Thuenen-Institute of Rural Studies, respectively, of its predecessors. We developed analysis and assessment methods in an on-going process. Better access to micro-data supports this process.

Finished Projects

7-state-evaluation

How much public money is spent for rural development? Are objectives and measures appropriate? Could they realise the intended impacts? What approaches exist for improvements? We are analysing these and further questions within other RDP-evaluation activities in seven German states.

7-State-Evaluation: environment, economic growth, employment and life-quality in rural areas

The evaluation at the Institute of Rural Studies covers most of the provided measures of the six rural development programmes. We examine the programme effects on water, soil and climate protection, on economic growth and employment as well as quality of life in rural areas. Furthermore we analyze the implementation procedures and the costs of implementation in order to assess the efficiency of funding.

Accompanying research of the pilot projekt LandZukunft

LandZukunft is a pilot project of the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL). Our accompanying research serves the aim of collecting, arranging and analysing the experiences from the four pilot regions, the districts of Dithmarschen, Holzminden, Uckermark and Birkenfeld. The aim is to reach generalisable conclusions that inform decision makers for the design of upcoming policies.

Agricultural Extreme Weather and Risk Management Possibilities

Heavy rain, heat, storm or frost threatens agriculture and forestry. We analyse if such extreme weather events occur more frequently und become more severe (intensive), and we investigate, how they impact important crops und forest species. If we can foresee good options to reduce the damage potential of extreme weather events we prepare strategies and suggestion for practice und policy.

Concomitant research model-project chance.natur

Model-project aims at joining Rural Development and Nature Conservation. What are the chances of linking Nature Conservation and Rural Development? What are the problems? This is the central question of the concomitant research on the model-project chance.natur

Development of an instrument for river basin wide nutrient mangement in Lower Saxony

Nitrogen and phosphorous inputs from agriculture have a high impact on water quality in Lower Saxony. Regions with intensive livestock production often produce high amounts of manure and nutrient surpluses. We analyze the impacts for the implementation of the Water Framework Directive.

Effects of the Common Agricultural Policy of the EU on the conversion of biodiversity of grassland

Starting with the agricultural reform of 2013 new instruments for grassland conservation and protection have been adopted. They have been implemented with the intention to stop the strong decline of biodiversity in agricultural landscapes. One of the crucial factors is the ongoing reduction of species-rich grassland.

Environmental impacts of the agricultural reform CAP of 2013 (GAPEval2)

The EU Commission decided in 2013/2014 to reform the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The aim is a better distribution of the agricultural funds and a more environmentally friendly, „greener“, first pillar of the CAP. The reasons for the reform were the observation of dramatic declines in number of species in the agricultural landscape and persistently high inputs of nutrients and plant protection products (PPPs) into the soil and water. In addition, in regions with intensively used agricultural land, voluntary agri-environmental measures have rarely been implemented. The aim of this research ...

Environmental impacts of the agricultural reform of 2013 (GAPEval)

Agriculture is the largest user of land in Germany and due to agriculture many different positive and negative effects on abiotic environmental goods, like soil, water, air and climate arise. In addition of agri-environmental measures the Common Agricultural Practice of the EU (CAP) uses the instrument of the Greening to implement environmental protection targets for agricultural areas. Within the GAPEVAL project we estimate the effects of the CAP reform on the protection of abiotic resources in Germany. We focus especially on the form of promotion and the implementation of the guidelines and ...

Evaluation 'Land(auf)Schwung'

Many peripheral rural regions are affected by unemployment, low wages, sparse infrastructure, out-migration and population ageing. The federal ministry of agriculture searches for new approaches for developing such regions. We research these new pilot programs concerning their feasibility and transferability.

Ex ante evaluation of Germany’s CAP Strategic Plan

For the next period of the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy after 2020 the member states have to draw up national strategic plans. This project, designed as a formative evaluation, supports the drafting process in Germany.

Ex-ante-Evaluation CAP Strategic Plan Austria

The objective of the project is to elaborate significant parts of the Ex-ante-Evaluation for the CAP Strategic Part Austria 2021-2027.

Impact of Ecological Focus Areas on achieving biodiversity goals in arable landscapes (OEVForsch2)

Biodiversity in agricultural landscapes is experiencing significant decline. To counteract this, since 2015 some of the direct payments under EU agricultural policy have been subject to “Greening requirements”. Most farms with more than 15 hectares of arable land must use 5% of their arable land for environmental conservation and dedicate it as an Ecological Focus Area. Based on the results of the first OEVForsch project (2015-2016), this project will investigate the implementation and effectiveness of Ecological Focus Areas in the German agricultural landscape.

Innovative contract solutions for the delivery of agri-environmental benefits (CONSOLE)

The society requires intensified efforts from farming and forestry in order to better protect nature, environment and climate. We investigate what could be the contribution of novel voluntary measures.

Model-project: income maintenance through village tourism

Can village tourism help to develop rural areas? This was the question of a model project that was initiated by the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture in the new member states between 1993 and 1995. Based on village tourism sustainable concepts of rural development should be tested. Approximately ten years after the model project, sustainability has been evaluated.

Nature conservation in ecological focus areas

Within the framework of the Common Agricultural Policy farms with more than 15ha arable land must manage 5% of their area as an ecological focus area. How were these areas used previously? How valuable are they for nature protection?

Spatially differentiated analyses of the agricultural water conservation in the Weser river basin

The AGRUM-Weser project is one of several projects that deal with the question of how agriculture contributes to water protection. (See also the umbrella project „AGRUM“). In this project, the study area is the river basin of the Weser.

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