SAC Rural Policy Centre

Hot Topics

Greening of the CAP beneficial for biodiversity?

Published: 11 Nov 2011

In August 2011, PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, working in collaboration with Wageningen University & Research centre, released a report (see link to the right) which shows regional impacts of greening the CAP (based on the European Commission’s November 2010 proposals).

What does the Spending Review mean for rural communities and the environment?

Published: 28 Sep 2011

Last week the Scottish Government published its 2011 Spending Review which targets overall investment towards increasing sustainable economic growth and transforming public services.

CAP Reform and Scotland

Published: 04 Aug 2011

Debate about the future of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) continues apace.

Community Land Ownership and Community Resilience

Published: 29 Jun 2011

This report discusses the main findings from a study of seventeen community land trusts in Scotland carried out in May 2011. The research set out to examine the links between community ownership of land and development of its assets, and the resilience of those communities.

Putting a value on nature

Published: 20 Jun 2011

The UK National Ecosystem Assessment (NEA) is the first ever nationwide assessment of the state and value of the UK’s natural environment. The assessment involved over 500 experts in ecology, economics and social science (including SAC environment experts Davy McCracken and Dominic Moran).

Why is CAP Reform so important to Scottish farmers?

Published: 20 Jun 2011

According to Scottish Government figures just published (in the Economic Report on Scottish Agriculture 2011 Edition), the average Farm Business Income (FBI) across all farm types for 2009/10 was £34,366, a 12% reduction on the previous year.