The joint project “Living Agricultural Landscapes - Farmers Create Diversity!”, coordinated by the German Farmers' Association (DBV), held its final conference on November 5th, 2020 after almost six years of project. The more than 70 participants in the video conference from agriculture, nature conservation, science and politics were presented with the results and experiences from all five sub-projects of the joint project as well as the resulting recommendations to political decision-makers, the agricultural profession and society. In addition, the practical handbook was presented, in which the nature conservation measures from the project are systematically prepared and described as profiles with practical instructions and which will be published shortly.

In three model regions in the Rhineland, Münsterland and on the Moselle, several nature conservation measures were developed and tested that have a positive effect on the biodiversity of animal and plant species in the agricultural landscape.

During the conference, Jochen Flasbarth, State Secretary in the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU), honored the DBV umbrella project “Nature Management - From Farmers for Farmers” as an official project of the UN Decade of Biological Diversity, as it is in a special way contributes to promoting biodiversity in the agricultural landscape in cooperation with farmers.

Furthermore, one winegrower and two farmers were honored as "ambassadors for biodiversity" on behalf of all farmers and winegrowers participating in the project, honored by the Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Environment Minister, Rita Schwarzelühr-Sutter, together with the Secretary General of the DBV, Bernhard Krüsken.

In the panel discussion, Ursula Heinen-Esser, Minister for the Environment, Agriculture, Nature and Consumer Protection of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, Rita Schwarzelühr-Sutter, and Uwe Feiler, Parliamentary State Secretary of the Federal Minister for Food and Agriculture, discussed the continuation of the project measures, especially before Background to the redesign of the CAP. Peter Hoffmann, President of the Saar Farmers 'Association, presented the "Saarten Diversity" initiative of the Saar Farmers' Association, which takes up the social desire for more biodiversity and offers actors outside of agriculture an uncomplicated opportunity to take responsibility themselves by means of flower sponsorships. Bernhard Krüsken again called for nationwide monitoring as a basis for effective biodiversity strategies. "The best decisions are made on site, including the acceptance of nature conservation measures through comprehensive monitoring of all animal and plant species as well as cooperative approaches such as in the Netherlands, where regional targets significantly improve the management of the implementation of measures," said the DBV Secretary General . There was a lot of encouragement from the politicians present at the federal and state level for the success factors of the project for practical nature conservation measures, e.g. B. Flexibility in the implementation of measures, economically viable design of nature conservation measures, individual company advice on site and support with bureaucratic hurdles. On the other hand, the extent to which these success factors can be taken into account in the implementation of the insect protection action program was controversial.

The joint project is carried out as part of the federal program for biological diversity. It is funded by the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation with funds from the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety and funds from the Landwirtschaftliche Rentenbank.