70
I
mplementationchallenges
Implementation of flood-breaking hedgerows requires the involvement of farmers and land owners, since hedges are planted
on private land. Thus, it faces several challenges: addressing land property and attachment to land, dealing with farming
constraints such as locations of irrigation and drainage equipment,mitigating the impacts of the measure on the organisation
of the farm, providing a sufficient level of compensation to raise the interest of concerned farmers and owners. Regarding
technical issues, the location and design of hedgerows requires hydrological studies.
Other case studies involving buffer strips and hedges are often primarily implemented to target
diffusepollution
, particularly
on agricultural land. The most common types of buffer strips are grass strips along the sides of the fields, which appear to
have a positive impact on nutrients concentration reduction. In this case however, the primary target is flood risk. In fact,
buffer strips are good examples of multi-benefits measure since they generally have an impact on both water quality and
runoff. Habitat restoration and biodiversity preservation are also usually addressed by such measures.
Other examples of implementation also show that the involvement of
farmers and land owners
in the process is a key
success factor for implementation of buffer strips and shelter belts. In Heilbronn (Germany), farmers have been involved from
the design stage, which has helped them to make the project their own. Establishing a trusting relationship between farmers
and local authorities is essential. In all cases,
compensation
arrangements for farmers are needed to raise their interest
and make the project economically acceptable for them. Sustainability of compensation is a main issue, since financing often
relies on multi-annual programs. Another success factor demonstrated by Orség National Park case study, in Hungary, is
the ability of the measures to address several pressures and of the local authorities to make their impacts visible; raising
people’s awareness about their environment and the provision of aesthetic or recreational amenities contributes greatly to
making the measures acceptable.
F
oradditional
information
Contact:
Thomas BREINIG, Director of the SMIVAL,
Full case study factsheet:
© SMIVAL
L
essons learntfromothercase
studies
Plantation of hedges
