Intensive farming is increasingly threatening protected areas and rural communities across Europe, with significant environmental and social repercussions. Since the 1960s, the Common Agricultural Policy has promoted a model of intensive farming that has led to the depletion of ecosystems, erosion of biodiversity, and destabilization of rural livelihoods. The impacts are particularly stark in countries like Portugal, Spain, and France, where intensive agriculture, including monoculture plantations and large-scale irrigation, has caused considerable damage to protected landscapes.
In Portugal, the proliferation of eucalyptus plantations, which cover more than a quarter of the country’s forests, has contributed to devastating wildfires. These fires have repeatedly ravaged areas like Figueiro da Serra, a small village in the Serra da Estrela National Park. Despite the efforts of local residents, who have had to take matters into their own hands to protect their farms, the fires continue to threaten their way of life. The eucalyptus trees, which make up a small fraction of the forested area, are disproportionately responsible for igniting the largest fires. A study found that between 2015 and 2018, eucalyptus plantations accounted for nearly half of the areas burned by wildfires.
The pressure on protected areas is not only a result of agriculture within those areas but also from agricultural activities around them. In Spain’s Doñana Natural Park, intensive water extraction for berry cultivation and other agricultural practices is draining the aquifers that sustain the park’s wetlands. As a result, lagoons and marshes are drying up, threatening bird species that rely on the wetlands as a migration stopover. The decline of these bird populations highlights the impact of agricultural practices on biodiversity in and around protected areas.
While intensive farming has had detrimental effects on Europe’s protected areas, there are some instances where farming practices can contribute positively to conservation. In central France, for example, certain agricultural landscapes, such as those in the Loire-Anjou-Touraine Natural Park, have provided an ideal habitat for the Montagu’s harrier, a coastal bird species. Farmers in the region are working alongside conservation organizations to protect bird nests by marking them before harvest to avoid accidental destruction by machinery. This collaboration has helped maintain both the local farming economy and the bird population, demonstrating the potential for sustainable farming practices that benefit both the environment and local communities.
Despite these positive examples, the future of agriculture in protected areas remains uncertain. The European Union’s Nature Restoration Law, which came into effect in 2024, requires member states to restore at least 20 percent of habitats by 2030, with a focus on the Natura 2000 network. However, there are concerns that this initiative may be undermined by the interests of big business, especially following farmers’ protests that have impacted the European Green Deal. The deal, which included measures to reduce the environmental impact of agriculture, has faced resistance from the agricultural sector, and many fear it will be shaped to serve the interests of large agribusinesses rather than promoting a more sustainable, agroecological transition.
As European agricultural policies continue to evolve, the challenge lies in finding a balance between agricultural production and environmental conservation. There are growing calls to return to traditional, sustainable farming models that respect the environment while supporting rural communities. In places like Serra da Lousa, there is a push to demonstrate that such models can help protect the land from disasters like wildfires and provide a more viable future for farmers. Reverting to agricultural practices that align with the natural environment could serve as a model for future agricultural policy in Europe, ensuring the survival of both local communities and the ecosystems they depend on.
