Agriculture, countryside and conservation

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The interrelationship between agriculture, conservation and the natural environment is complex. Agricultural land management has contributed to the diversity of landscapes and habitats. However, inappropriate agricultural practices have also had adverse impacts on the environment through, eg direct and indirect water pollution, land contamination, soil compaction and erosion, fragmentation of habitats and loss of wildlife.

Agriculture

The Agriculture Act 2020 underpins an agricultural system based on public money for public good. It authorises expenditure for certain agricultural and other purposes and makes provision for direct payments. The government’s roadmap ‘The Path to Sustainable Farming’ and sustainable farming plans were published in 2021. The Catchment Sensitive Farming programme was also announced in 2021.

This subtopic considers key policy and legislation in relation to agriculture and the environment, the development of agricultural policy in the UK, nitrate pollution and diffuse pollution, the use of agricultural land to provide biodiversity net gain, ecosystem services and the development of natural capital. Protection of species and habitats and the countryside environment is also covered, including conservation covenants, tree preservation orders (TPO) and protections for trees and hedgerows.

Farming and agriculture also

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FoE files ECtHR challenge against UK National Adaptation Programme 3

Friends of the Earth (FoE), along with co-claimants, Doug Paulley and Kevin Jordan, have filed a legal challenge in the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) on 1 July 2025 against the UK government's National Adaptation Programme 3 (NAP3). The action follows an unsuccessful challenge in the High Court. The claimants argue that NAP3 breaches human rights by failing to set specific and measurable objectives and assert that the government's obligations under the Climate Change Act 2008 (CCA 2008) should be interpreted in line with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). They further contend that in developing the plan, the government should have considered the perspectives of those most vulnerable to climate impacts, such as older and disabled people, as well as people living in geographically vulnerable areas.

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Commission launches consultation on New Legislative Framework revision for product rules

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