§ Mr. Gordon PrenticeTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what considerations led him to draw a distinction between nitrate vulnerable zones and nitrate sensitive areas and to compensate farmers and landowners only in the case of the latter. [38330]
§ Mr. BoswellNitrate vulnerable zones have been introduced under Council directive 91/676/EEC. This requires the designation, as vulnerable zones, of land which drains into waters which are, or are expected to be, polluted by nitrate from agriculture. Mandatory measures to reduce and prevent further such pollution will be introduced before the end of 1999. As these measures will be based on good agricultural practice, the question of compensation does not arise.
In contrast, the present nitrate sensitive areas scheme was introduced in 1994 under the terms of Council regulation 2078/92/EEC, the Agri-Environment Regulation. The scheme is designed to provide a quicker and more efficient way of stabilising and reducing rising nitrate levels in key groundwater sources, thereby helping to ensure their future viability. Under the scheme, farmers undertake voluntarily to make substantial changes to their farming practices, going significantly beyond good agricultural practice, in return for compensation. All 32 NSAs are located within designated nitrate vulnerable zones.