Dry grasslands management in Greece. Crucial points and proposals for a new sustainable policy: a case study of Epirus

Greece has a rich heritage in grasslands which significantly contribute to the national economy. This paper examines the necessity of developing a new land use policy, under the CAP framework, focusing on the sustainable dry grasslands management. We studied the national and European legal frame concerning grasslands management, the current grasslands management and the main points of agricultural subsidies system relating with grassland management in five representative areas of Epirus, northwestern Greece. The results pointed out the complexity of the law in grasslands management providing evidence that more importance has been given to the economic management, in terms of tax payment (grazing right) and agricultural subsidies payment rather than to the proper application of critical factors such as grazing capacity and stocking rate. Finally, a conceptual framework, in very broad lines, for a new grasslands agreement addressing grasslands sustainability is presented. The agreement will be applied by “managers of grasslands” and can be financed by the Green Fund or even from a new agri-environmental measure within the CAP framework.