ÖPUL nature conservation Manual 2015

The manual contains all nature conservation requirements of the current Austrian Agri-Environmental Programme (ÖPUL 2015-20). It was conceived specifically for nature conservation consultants and representatives of public authorities for easy on-site handling.

The manual supports nature conservation advisors during their consultations with farmers who intend to participate in the ÖPUL nature conservation measure. With the aid of color and number codes, individual requirements are easily located in the manual. Selecting the appropriate management requirements is further facilitated by information on the correct application and on possible combinations.

We assessed the necessity for interpretation aid for all nature conservation measures contained in the programme and, wherever necessary, included specific and concise  explanations in the manual. Our decisions on the necessity of interpretation aid was based on the experiences accumulated by nature conservation authorities, agricultural chambers, Agrarmarkt Austria Marketing (AMA) and the Austrian Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management (BMLFUW) during the previous commitment period. We shared and discussed this empirical knowledge over the course of three workshops. To integrate this combinational rationale into the nature conservation layer of AMA, we created a combination matrix in agreement with the BMLFUW, nature conservation departments, AMA and the Austrian Council for Agricultural Engineering and Rural Development (ÖKL), which was assigned with the task of calculating the nature conservation bonuses.

The project was completed in 2014.