| Region | Other environmental policies potentially affecting agricultural GHG emissions | Impact on CO2 emissions | Impact on N2O emissions | Impact on CH4 emissions |
|---|
| North America | • Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) – cost-sharing and incentive payments for conservation practices on working farms (USA) | + | + | |
| | • Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) - environmentally sensitive land converted to native grasses, trees, etc. (USA) | + | + | |
| | • Conservation Security Program (CSP) – assistance promoting conservation on cropland, pasture and range land (and farm woodland) (USA) | + | + | |
| | • Green cover in Canada and provincial initiatives – encourages shift from annual to perennial crop production on poor quality soils (Canada) | + | + | |
| | • Agriculture Policy Framework (APF) programmes to reduce agriculture risks to the environment, including GHG emissions (Canada) | + | + | + |
| | • Nutrient Management programmes – introduced to improve water quality, may indirectly reduce N2O emissions (Canada) | + | + | + |
| Latin America | • Increasing adoption of environmental policies driven by globalization, consolidation of democratic regimes (Latin America & Caribbean) | +/- | +/- | +/- |
| | • 14 countries have introduced environmental regulations over the last 20 years – most have implemented measures to protect the environment | + | ? | |
| | • Promotion of no-till agriculture in the Mercosur area (Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay) | + | ? | |
| | • “Program Crop-Livestock Integration” promotes soil carbon, reduced erosion, reduced pathogens, fertility for pastures, no till cropping (Brazil) | + | | |
| Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia | • EU set aside programme - encouraged carbon sequestering practices, but now replaced by the single farm payment under the new CAP (EU) | + | | |
| | • EU/number of member states - soil action plans to promote soil quality/health/ sustainability, encourages soil carbon sequestration (EU) | + | | |
| | • Encouragement of composting in some EU member states (e.g., Belgium; Sleutel 2005), but policies are limited (Smith et al., 2005a) (EU) | + | | |
| | • EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) promotes careful use of N fertilizer. Impact of WFD on agricultural GHG emissions as yet unclear (EU) | ? | + | |
| | • The ban of burning of field residues in the 1980s (for air quality purposes) enhance soil carbon, reduce N2O and CH4 (Smith et al., 1997; 2000) (EU) | + | + | + |
| | • The dumping ban at sea of sewage sludge in Europe in 1998 - more sludge reached agricultural land (Smith et al., 2000; 2001) (EU) | + | | |
| | • "Vandmiljøplaner" (water environmental plans) for the agricultural sector with clear effect (decrease) of GHGs (Denmark) | + | | |
| | • Land Codes of the Russian Federation, Belarus and the Ukraine - land conservation for promoting soil quality restoration and protection | + | | |
| | • “Land Reform Development in Russian Federation” & “Fertility 2006-2010” - plans to promote soil conservation/fertility/sustainability (Russia) | + | | |
| | • Ukrainian law “Land protection” - action plans to promote soil conservation/increase commercial yields/fertility/sustainability (Ukraine) | + | | |
| | • Laws in Belarus such as “State Control of Land Use and Land Protection” encourages carbon sequestration (Belarus) | + | + | |
| | • Laws in the Ukraine to promote conversion of degraded lands to set-aside (Ukraine) | + | | + |
| | • Water quality initiatives, for example, Water Codes encourage reforestation and grassland riparian zones (Russia, Ukraine and Belarus) | + | ? | |
| | • The ban of fertilizer application in some areas - reduce N2O emissions (Russia, Belarus, Ukraine) & regional programmes for example, Revival of the Volga | + | + | |
| Africa | • The reduction of the area of rangelands burned - objective of both colonial and post-colonial administrations; renewed efforts (South Africa, 1998) | + | + | + |
| Asia | • Soil sustainability programmes - N fertilizer added to soils only after soil N testing (China) | | + | |
| | • Regional agricultural development programmes - enhance soil carbon storage (China) | + | | |
| | • Water quality programmes that control non-point source pollution (China) | | + | |
| | • Air quality legislation - bans straw burning, thus reducing CO2 (and CH4 and N2O) emissions (China) | + | + | + |
| | • “Township Enterprises” & “Ecological Municipality” - reduce waste disposal, chemical fertilizer and pesticides, and bans straw burning (China) | + | + | + |
| Oceania | • Wide range of policies to maintain function/conservation of agricultural landscapes, river systems and other ecosystems (Australia and New Zealand) | + | - | - |
| | • Industry changes leading to rapid increase in N fertilizer use over the past decade (250% and 500% increases in Australia and New Zealand, respectively) | + | + | |
| | • Increases in intensive livestock production; raised concerns about water quality and the health of riverine/offshore ecosystems (Australia and New Zealand) | + | + | |
| | • Policy responses are being developed that include monitoring, regulatory, research and extension components (Australia and New Zealand) | + | + | + |