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Tackling nutrient pollution

Action on nutrient pollution has a long history in Europe, starting in the 1970s with several major international conventions tackling the issue of air pollution and eutrophication of freshwater and marine waters. Nutrient diffuse pollution is the most extensively covered agricultural pressure in the RBMPs since many water bodies across Europe do not meet nutrient conditions consistent with good status. The main instrument to tackle agricultural nutrient diffuse pollution in the EU is the Nitrates Directive (EU, 1991), although Member States and river basin authorities have also adopted their own national and river basin measures to meet good status.

Under the Nitrates Directive, Member states must establish codes of good agricultural practices, which specify periods when the application of fertilizers and animal manure is prohibited and the conditions for fertiliser application, minimum storage capacity for animal manure, and beneficial crop management practices (rotations, soil winter cover, catch crops). Member States must also monitor water quality, identify waters polluted by nitrates, designate nitrate vulnerable zones (NVZs) and develop action programs which outline compulsory measures in NVZs. In NVZs, the codes of good agricultural practices become compulsory together with additional measures relating to limitations on fertilizer application (mineral and organic) and all nitrogen inputs onto soils, and maximum amount of livestock manure.  

There has been a net improvement in the EU towards reduced nitrogen surplus on farmland (Chapter 3.1), which is usually attributed the adoption of the Nitrates Directive. Restrictions on fertiliser application and stricter application standards have contributed significantly to these improvements, together with improved manure application and storage (Webb et al., 2010; van Grinsven et al., 2012). Landscape features such as buffer strips, constructed wetlands and sediment ponds, have also helped reduced the risk of leaching and runoff. Manure surplus management has been used to export excess nitrogen and phosphorous to areas with manure deficits and where they can work as a substitute from mineral fertiliser. Increased use of manure can be supported with adequate definition of nitrogen fertiliser equivalencies (van Grinsven et al., 2012).

More could be done to improve efficient nutrient use. The New Circular Economy Action Plan (EC, 2020b) and the Farm to Fork Strategy (EC, 2020c) call for integrated nutrient management action plan to tackle nutrient pollution at source, in particular in the livestock sector. The Farm-To-Fork Strategy (EC, 2020c) sets an ambitious target of reducing nutrient losses by at least 50%, without deterioration to soil fertility. It calls for better implementation of existing legislation, but also the identification of nutrient load reduction needed, wider application of balanced fertilisation and sustainable nutrient management ,and better management of nitrogen and phosphorus throughout their lifecycle.

Full implementation of the ND is certainly needed in the future to support the achievement of WFD objectives (EC, 2019b). Up to 30% of infringements have been observed following site controls, in particular regarding manure storage and fertilisation near rivers. Derogations have been applied to the ND requirements on maximum manure application at farm level (170kg/ha) in six countries (EC, 2018). Furthermore, not all measures have been used fully. For example, to date, only half Member States apply nutrient balance assessments under the RBMP planning process (EC, 2019a), despite evidence of their effective contribution in optimising nutrient use (Cherry et al., 2012; Wu and Ma, 2015).

NVZs now cover 61% of the EU’s agricultural area (EC, 2018). Some MS (i.e. Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Luxemburg, the Netherlands, and Slovenia) have opted to designate their whole territories as vulnerable zones, thereby opting for the same approach to all their farmers. Other Member States have opted for designating particular areas, which may, in some cases, not include sufficiently all the area draining into waters where they cause pollution to ensure effective action programmes (EC, 2018). With some regions in Europe reporting 1% uptake of good agricultural practices amongst farmers outside NVZs (EC, 2018), environmental gains may be possible if their uptake were generalised.

Precision farming has a major role in balanced nutrient management, as well as uptake of innovative solutions, such as improved feeding through more balanced nitrogen and phosphorus levels in livestock diet to decrease total phosphorus emission in manure (Klootwijk et al., 2016b) and slurry injection to improve the assimilation of nutrients in soils, as required in The Netherlands.

Despite improvements, fertilization rates in Europe remain high in global perspective (Erisman et al., 2011) and fertiliser use has remained generally stable at European level in recent years (see Chapter 2). Additional policy instruments may be designed into policy mixes that combine incentives together with regulatory and voluntary schemes, as implemented in Baden-Wüttemberg (Germany) (Möller-Gulland et al., 2015).

Stricter restrictions on the use of fertilisers and manure may be required to achieve environmental objectives, for instance as a total cap on fertiliser and manure use, or livestock density, on hydrologically relevant scales. However, to be effective, the cap should be assessed against transparent and measurable nutrient load reduction targets (Box 4.3). As restrictions become more costly and may affect yield, more targeted approaches may be needed to reduce total cost of reaching nutrient reduction goals.