Area of land in agri-environment schemes

Figure 1: Area of land covered by higher-level or targeted agri-environment schemes, 1992 to 2022

Figure 2: Area of land covered by entry-level type, whole-farm agri-environment schemes, 2003 to 2022

Relevance

Agriculture is a major land use in the UK and rapid changes to agricultural practice in the past have been linked to declines in wildlife, such as farmland birds. Since 1987, several voluntary agri-environment schemes have been introduced that provide payments to farmers to protect and enhance biodiversity, landscapes and historic features, and to promote public access.

International/domestic reporting

The UK Biodiversity Indicators have been reviewed in response to the latest goals and targets agreed under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). The indicators are being adapted, with some new indicators being developed, to better align them with the monitoring framework for the GBF. The suite of biodiversity indicators is therefore expected to change ready for forthcoming UK national reports to CBD in 2026 and 2029.

The intention is for this indicator to be modified to better align it with the requirements of the GBF monitoring framework, specifically to align with headline indicator 10.1: Proportion of agricultural area under productive and sustainable agriculture.

Web links for further information

• Natural England: Environmental Stewardship; New Countryside Stewardship
• Welsh Government: Farming and Scheme information
• Scottish Government: Agri-environment Schemes
• Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, Northern Ireland: Agri-environment Schemes
• Defra Statistics: Agriculture in the UK

Background

The agri-environment schemes included in this indicator have been categorised into two groups:

• Entry-level schemes have a simple set of prescriptions providing basic environmental protection and enhancement, where the whole farm area may contribute to the indicator.
• Higher-level or targeted schemes protect or restore land, focusing on parts of the farm or land-holding that are of high environmental/biodiversity value or potential.

It is possible for land to be in both an entry-level type and a higher-level scheme. For example, the majority of HLS agreements in England are underpinned by an ELS agreement, therefore the areas of land in higher-level and entry-level schemes cannot be summed to produce a figure for total area under all schemes. Since the mid-1990s there has been a steady increase in UK land under agri-environment scheme management.

In 1992, there were 0.3 million hectares of land in the UK in higher-level agreements or targeted schemes, and by 2022 this had risen to just under 3.7 million hectares. The higher-level scheme measure is assessed as increasing in the long term, since 1992. The area of land covered by higher-level schemes fluctuates between years as a result of changes to schemes: expiry of agreements and uptake of new ones; and amendments to existing agreements or land transferring from one farmer to another. In the shorter term, schemes that started under the previous Rural Development Programs closed to new applicants in 2013 to 2014. New schemes have subsequently been implemented but at different times in the different countries. This has influenced uptake – for example, Northern Ireland’s most recent agri-environment scheme did not start until July 2017.

In 2022, farms with higher-level or targeted agri-environment agreements accounted for: 26% of area on agricultural holdings in England; 22% in Wales; 17% in Scotland; and 6% in Northern Ireland (based on total area on agricultural holdings, Agricultural Land Use in the United Kingdom.

The United Kingdom was one of the first countries in the European Union to introduce agri-environment schemes: Environmentally Sensitive Areas (ESA) in the UK; Countryside Stewardship Scheme (CSS) in England; Tir Cymen (which became Tir Gofal) in Wales; Countryside Premium Scheme in Scotland (CPS) (becoming the Rural Stewardship Scheme (RSS) in 2001); and the Countryside Management Scheme in Northern Ireland.

England: Scheme Context

In England, Environmental Stewardship (ES) closed to new applicants in December 2014 and was replaced by a new agri-environment scheme, Countryside Stewardship (CS), for which agreements started in January 2016. Existing higher-level and entry-level agreements will continue until they expire, and extensions are being offered until land managers can transition to Environmental Land Management schemes. HLS agreements will continue, with the majority of agreements expiring by 2024. The new Countryside Stewardship scheme brings together many schemes including catchment-sensitive farming and woodland grant schemes. Both Mid-Tier and Higher-Tier CS schemes are more targeted; the applicant is expected to ensure the options they take address the priorities for their land. Differences in scheme reporting need to be considered when interpreting the transition years, for example, where ELS and HLS have stopped and CS schemes are starting, there may be a dip in Figure 1.

SFI was piloted in 2021 before launching fully in 2022. Due to changes in eligibility requirements for SFI since the pilot stage, as well as the options available for farmers to take up, the categorisation of SFI as an entry-level scheme is under review.

Wales: Scheme Context

In Wales, the Welsh Government introduced an entry-level agri-environment scheme known as Tir Cynnal in 2005. Tir Cynnal supplemented Tir Gofal, a higher-level agri-environment scheme which had been available throughout Wales since April 1999. Tir Gofal aimed to encourage agricultural practices which protect and enhance the landscapes of Wales, their cultural features and associated wildlife, and replaced the previous Environmentally Sensitive Areas and Tir Cymen schemes. A new sustainable land management scheme, Glastir, was introduced in 2012 which replaces five existing agri-environment schemes; Tir Cynnal, Tir Gofal, Tir Mynydd, the Organic Farming Scheme/Organic Farming Conversion Scheme, and Better Woodland for Wales. The scheme has an entry-level component – Glastir Entry (previously the All Wales Element) – and a higher-level component – Glastir Advanced (previously the Targeted Element). The first agreements for the entry-level components commenced on 1 January 2012; the first higher-level scheme agreements began on 1 January 2013. In addition, there is a component specifically for common land, Glastir Commons. However, this is not included in this indicator; in 2020 Glastir Commons covered 114,000 hectares, a small decrease from 2019.

Scotland: Scheme Context

In Scotland, schemes are designed to encourage farmers, crofters and common grazing committees to adopt environmentally friendly practices and to maintain and enhance particular habitats and landscape features. The Land Management Contract Menu Scheme was introduced as an entry-level scheme under which land managers chose from a menu of options to put together a package for their farm. With the introduction of the Scotland Rural Development Programme (2007 to 2013), this became Rural Development Contracts (RDC) – Land Managers Options, sitting alongside RDC – Rural Priorities. They provide contracts between land managers and the government to implement measures designed to deliver environmental, social and economic benefits from farming and crofting. Since 2009, Figure 1 includes the area under RDC – Rural Priorities Options. Rural Priorities and Land Managers Options closed to new applicants in 2013 and 2014, respectively. In 2015, a new Agri-environment Climate Scheme was launched with the first agreements going live in 2016.

Northern Ireland: Scheme Context

In Northern Ireland, the Countryside Management Scheme closed to new applicants in 2013 although a small number of agreements commenced on 1 January 2013, resulting from applications made prior to 2013. All agreements in the Environmentally Sensitive Areas Scheme expired in 2016. As a result, the area under agri-environment schemes has declined since 2013 due to agreements ending. A new Environmental Farming Scheme was launched in 2017; existing agreements in closed schemes continue to be honoured until they expire.

Caveats and limitations

Total area covered by agri-environment schemes is lower than the sum of the areas for each scheme as land can be covered by multiple schemes concurrently. In 2022, in England, under the current categorisation of schemes, for higher-level schemes the proportion of land under both CS and HLS (including ELS linked to HLS) was around 0.4% of the total area covered. The proportion of land under multiple schemes increases dramatically from 2023 data onwards, resulting in the decision to review the existing methodology for future updates of this indicator.

The figures for land under agri-environment schemes are based on the total area per land parcel for each scheme option. However, agri-environment scheme options may not cover the total area of the land parcel, therefore the figures included in this indicator are likely to be an overestimate of actual land covered by agri-environment schemes. Adaptation to this limitation is also being considered in the ongoing review of this indicator’s methodology.

In addition, due to the evolving eligibility requirements for schemes included in this indicator, the current categorisation of schemes into higher-level/targeted and entry-level is also being considered in the methodology review.

Recent developments

Due to changes in eligibility requirements for agri-environment schemes included in this indicator and increased instances of land falling under multiple schemes simultaneously from 2023 data onwards, this indicator has not been updated to include 2023 data. To respond to these developments, the methodology for this indicator is under review. We aim to publish the updated indicator incorporating the revised methodology in the 2025 update of the UK Biodiversity Indicators publication.

Development plan

Since our previous publication we have adapted the language and visualisations used in this indicator. We are keen to hear from our users about these changes, as well as our published development plan, please email us.

By the 2025 publication of this indicator, we intend to:

• Review the methodology to better account of overlapping scheme coverage.
• Review the methodology to better account for discrepancies between whole land parcel estimates and option area estimates.
• Review the alignment of this indicator with the Global Biodiversity Framework headline indicator 10.1: Proportion of agricultural area under productive and sustainable agriculture