Criteria for an efficient enforcement of standards in relation to cross compliance

Cross compliance has been introduced in the EU partly to improve compliance with pre-existing EU legislation in the Member States. Considerable effort has been put into implementing this instrument and the corresponding control systems. This presents an opportunity to assess factors for an efficient enforcement of standards and discuss these with regard to cross compliance. The paper characterizes the enforcement system connected with cross compliance in the EU and implications of interactions with the national control systems for specialized legislation. Economic theories on mechanisms and the behavior, which form the basis of controls, are applied to cross compliance in order to draw conclusions on the implementation of controls and sanctions. The potential contribution of cross compliance to an efficient enforcement of mandatory standards is critically discussed. In view of the insecure future of direct payments any further development of cross compliance within the EU should aim at increasing the effectiveness of the enforcement of legal standards and strengthen national specialized control systems in the long term.Cross compliance, control theory, efficiency, Farm Management,

A Capacity Supply Model for Virtualized Servers

This paper deals with determining the capacity supply for virtualized servers. First, a server is modeled as a queue based on a Markov chain. Then, the effect of server virtualization on the capacity supply will be analyzed with the distribution function of the server load.Markov chain, Weibull distribution, server, capacity supply

Reducing GHG Emissions by Abandoning Agricultural Land use on Organic Soils - A Cost Assessment

Roughly 6.5% of the German utilized agricultural area is located on organic soils (fens and bogs). Nevertheless, the drainage of these areas in order to allow their agricultural utilization causes roughly a third of the greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) of the German agricultural sector, being equivalent to 4% of the total German GHG emissions. Obviously, German policies trying to reduce the GHG emissions successfully must tackle this issue. The abandonment of the cultivation of organic soils would be an effective policy to reduce the GHG emissions however the question remains whether it is an efficient measure compared with the other options? In the paper we assess the mitigation costs on the basis of the standard gross margin and tenure of the agriculturally used peatlands and with the results obtained from sector model RAUMIS. Without engineering and transaction costs the mitigation costs are in the magnitude of 10 to 45 € per to of CO2eq. This makes rewetting of peatlands at least in the medium and long run a fairly efficient options for reducing GHG emissions, especially as the implications on the sector due to reallocation affects are fairly small.GHG-Mitigation, Landuse, peatland, Environmental Economics and Policy, Land Economics/Use,

REDUCING GHG EMISSIONS BY ABANDONING AGRICULTURAL LAND USE ON ORGANIC SOILS

6.5% of the German UAA is located on organic soils (fens and bogs). Nevertheless, the drainage of these areas in order to allow their agricultural utilization causes roughly a third of the greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) of the German agricultural sector, being equivalent to 4% of the total German GHG emissions. Obviously, German policies trying to reduce the GHG emissions successfully must tackle this issue. The abandonment of the cultivation of organic soils would be an effective policy to reduce the GHG emissions however the question remains whether it is an efficient measure compared with the other options? In the paper we compare the land use on mineral and organic soils using the data of the farm structure survey. We assess the mitigation costs on the basis of the standard gross margin of the agriculturally used peatlands and with the sector model RAUMIS. Without engineering and transaction costs the mitigation costs are in the magnitude of 10 to 45 € per to of CO2eq.. This makes rewetting of peatlands at least in the medium and long run a fairly efficient options for reducing GHG emissions, especially as the implications on the sector are fairly small due to reallocation affects.Agricultural and Food Policy, Environmental Economics and Policy, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECONOMIC ACCOUNTING FOR THE GERMAN AGRICULTURAL SECTOR

How can we estimate the negative externalities of agriculture at the national level, and attribute these to specific production activities and outputs? The paper presents a method that calculates the mass flow in the whole agricultural sector including inputs from other sectors, and that allows to analyse resource use and emissions, e.g. of greenhouse gases. Data inputs are the German economic accounts for agriculture, farm structural survey and market statistics, as well as environmental statistics. In the framework of the German agricultural sector model RAUMIS, material flows within the agricultural sector are described, as well as inputs from other German sectors and imports. Through a processanalytical approach, all information is integrated and matrices of resource use and emissions for all agricultural production activities are generated. A monetary allocation is used to identify the respective activities that are responsible for emissions, including indirect emissions in upstream sectors. Related to the market output, cumulative emissions per unit of output can be computed. Results for the period from 1995 to 2007 show the trend of resource uses and emissions for the national average values of important commodities such as milk and meat.SEEA, Input-Output Analysis, agriculture, resource use, trade, emissions, carbon footprint, Livestock Production/Industries, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Environmental Standards and Their Linkage to Support Instruments of the EU Common Agricultural Policy

Agricultural support payments in the EU are increasingly connected to compliance with environmental standards, through cross-compliance and "Good Farming Practice"-conditions. In this paper, this relatively new approach is analysed regarding targeting, compatibility with legal procedures, and effects on income and production. Compliance with standards is reinforced by more systematic controls and reductions of support payments. As farms are affected by such sanctions to a different extent, risk-analysis for selection of farms to be controlled is a crucial element of implementation. The real environmental impacts have to be considered, especially if indirect control indicators are applied. Furthermore, technical assistance and audits have to be promoted for the implementation of environmental standards.Good Farming Practice, cross-compliance, environmental standards, Agricultural and Food Policy, K32, Q28,