Common agricultural policy (CAP) and measures for environment protection and conservation: Contrasts, balances and new methods of development for the future

In the European Union, the problem of the relationship between agriculture and environment has been dealt with following two policies: one aimed at defining a system of rules to limit the risk of environment pollution and decay; the other, mainly aimed at accompanying CAP's reform process. This evolution has concurred to strengthen the idea that agriculture as a means of ensuring environment protection is not the kind of agriculture that carries out production activities, but one that carries out conservation tasks. In this frame, the interventions to support agriculture's environmental role should no longer be considered a sort of compensation aid to be given to as many beneficiaries possible, but should more clearly and selectively be aimed at promoting agricultural production models oriented to environmental sustainability