Mierauskas, Pranas

The purpose of this review article is to consider the role of the European Union’s rural development financial instruments in preserving biodiversity in the agrarian landscape. This article is important in that there are not many works published on such a topic, and this problem is currently relevant. The main focus of the article is on analyzing and evaluating the impact of the European Union’s financial instruments on the conservation of biodiversity in the agrarian landscape. The article analyzes the application of the European Union’s financial mechanisms during three periods in Lithuania: 2000–2006, 2007–2013 and 2014–2020. Rural development had specific objectives, measures and activities during each period, with different impacts on biodiversity. In the absence of relevant legislation from the Lithuanian Ministry of Agriculture under SAPARD (the Special Accession Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development), biodiversity measures were not implemented in the first period (2000–2003), and this reduced the effectiveness of implementation in the second period. The second period included measures to protect biodiversity, but farmers and other land users chose measures and activities according to implementation options and compensation payments. In the third period, more measures and activities were implemented than in the second. There were also specific activities to preserve endangered bird species. It should be noted that more funds were allocated to the conservation of biological diversity. The activities of farmers and other land users were different during each period. It was found that the measures and activities were not only selected on the basis of the level of financial compensation, but also on the possibility of their implementation. This research is based on analysis and evaluation via methods such as descriptive and comparative data analysis in different periods. The article is relevant for agrarian researchers, agricultural specialists and scientists in the field of biodiversity conservation.

The purpose of this review paper is to analyse and evaluate the development of sustainable agriculture in Lithuania from 1990 to the present and to evaluate possibilities, willingness and motivation of farmers to participate in sustainable agriculture. It was established that sustainable agriculture developed from environmentally friendly agriculture and later from organic agriculture. Initially, organic agriculture prevailed and included compliance with environmental requirements; however, later it incorporated social and economic approaches as well. This paper analyses the organic farming practices that stimulated the development of sustainable agriculture. Agri-environmental agriculture has been found to be more popular with farmers as it provides compensatory payments and requires basic environmental knowledge. This work compares farmers’ motivation to participate not only in agri-environmental measures, but also in sustainable agriculture. Noteworthy, agri-environmental measures also have elements of sustainable development. The work compares the results of previous research on farmers’ motivation and willingness to participate in environmentally friendly farming measures. The research reveals that participation in voluntary programmes has to be economically encouraged. The main findings are as follows: sustainable agriculture developed from organic agriculture gradually by integrating principles of sustainable development; the results of comparative analysis discovered that farmers with deeper understanding of environmental protection are more motivated to implement farming that relies on sustainable agriculture approaches. The research is based on analysis and evaluation through such methods as descriptive and comparative data analysis in previous and recent periods and questionnaire based data collection in order to evaluate new types of farming.

Straipsnyje yra analizuojamos aplinkos apsaugos politikos ištakos ir jos raida įvairiais Lietuvos istoriniais laikotarpiais. Darbe yra aptariamos Pirmosios Lietuvos Respublikos aplinkos apsaugos politikos užuomazgos, diskutuojami įvairūs požiūriai ar tai buvo politikos pradžia, ar tik klasikinė aplinkosauga. Taip pat yra vertinamas sovietinio valdymo laikotarpis, kai buvo priimtas Gamtos apsaugos įstatymas, kuris pradėjo teisiškai reglamentuoti aplinkosaugą ir nustatė pirmus svarbiausius aplinkos apsaugos valdymo principus. Remiantis aplinkosaugos specialistų nuomone yra aptariami pirmieji atkurtos Lietuvos Respublikos nepriklausomybės metai, kai teisiškai buvo nustatyti svarbiausi aplinkos apsaugos valdymo politikos principai. Vėlesniais metais aplinkos apsaugos politika buvo formuojama ne tik teisės aktų pagalba, bet patvirtinus Valstybinę aplinkos apsaugos strategiją bei Nacionalinę aplinkos apsaugos strategiją. Šios strategijos suformavo svarbiausius Lietuvos aplinkos apsaugos politikos principus. Straipsnyje taip pat yra aptariama aplinkos apsaugos politikos samprata, pateikiami skirtingi į ją požiūriai.

Darbe yra analizuojamos ir lyginamos aplinkos apsaugos valdymo sistemos Pirmosios Lietuvos Respublikos, sovietinio valdymo ir nepriklausomybės laikotarpiais. Pirmosios Lietuvos Respublikos laikotarpyje specializuotų aplinkos apsaugos institucijų nebuvo įkurta. Aplinkosaugos institucijos pradėtos steigti sovietiniu laikotarpiu, tačiau nebuvo vieningos aplinkosaugos valdymo institucijos. Gamtos apsaugos komitetas pagrindinį dėmesį skyrė gyvosios gamtos ir kraštovaizdžio išsaugojimui, o kitų aplinkos komponentų apsaugą vykdė įvairios institucijos. Kompleksinė aplinkos apsaugos valdymo sistema sukurta pirmaisiais Lietuvos nepriklausomybės metais. Straipsnyje taip pat yra aptariami gamtosaugos ir aplinkosaugos valdymo aspektai, diskutuojama apie aplinkosaugos politikos įtaką aplinkosaugos valdymui. Yra kritiškai vertinami per dažni dabartiniai aplinkosaugos administracinių struktūrų pokyčiai ir jų poveikis aplinkosaugos valdymui šalies mastu. Lietuvoje per dažnai yra vykdomos aplinkosaugos institucijų struktūrinės reformos. Tų reformų problema yra ta, kad reformų būtinybė nėra vertinama, dažnai tai priklauso nuo politikų nuomonių, kurios gali būti ir nepagrįstos. Aplinkosaugos valdymo sistemų dažnos pertvarkos mažina valdymo efektyvumą.

Abstract. Development of renewable energy sources together with sustainable development covers a complicated range of issues which require complex assessment in the context of Lithuania’s energy independence. Hydropower is an integral part of renewable energy resources and affects both the natural environment and human society. Although negative impact of hydropower on the environment is acknowledged, advances in modern technology can reduce the potential damage, especially when developing a network of small hydropower plants in Lithuania. Moreover, implementation and continuity of this kind of projects enables to improve the economic and social situation, e.g. by creating new jobs. Construction of small hydropower plants in combination with a sustainable development strategy would help to avoid the possible damage to the natural environment and would contribute to improvement of the country’s economic and social landscape. Limitation of the negative impact on the environment is primarily based on technological solutions – the appropriate construction of fish ladders or other passes at dams enables fish migration. Meanwhile, contribution to improvement of the economic and social situation in the case of small hydropower plants depends on political decisions and activity of lobby groups.

Abstract Animals normally respond to stressful environmental stimuli by releasing glucocorticoid hormones. We investigated whether baseline corticosterone (CORT), handlinginduced corticosterone concentration(s), and body condition indices of members of willow tit (Poecile montanus) groups differed while wintering in old growth forests and managed young forests in mild weather conditions and during cold spells. Willow tits spend the winter season in non-kin groups in which dominant individuals typically claim their priority to access resources, while subordinate individuals may experience greater levels of stress and higher mortality, especially during cold spells. We captured birds to measure baseline CORT and levels of handling-induced CORT secretion after 20 min of capture. Willow tits in the young forests had higher baseline CORT and a smaller increase in CORT in response to capture than individuals in the old forests. Baseline CORTwas higher in females and juvenile birds compared to adult males, whereas handling-induced CORT secretion did not differ between birds of different ages. During cold spells, baseline CORT of willow tits increased and handling-induced CORT secretion decreased, especially in birds in young forests. Willow tits’ survival was higher in the old forests, with dominant individuals surviving better than subordinates. Our results show that changes in CORT secretion reflect responses to habitat quality and climate harshness, indicating young managed coniferous forests as a suboptimal habitat for the willow tit.

The aim of this work is to study Lithuanian stakeholders’ perceptions of fire impacts in protected areas. For this study, the stakeholders consisted of foresters, ecologists and farmers. A clear understanding of the opinions of stakeholders about fire effects on environmental, social and economic aspects of Lithuanian protected areas will allow an assessment of the stakeholders’ reaction to fire policy, including government measures towards fire prevention, suppression and application of prescribed fire to landscape management. The results showed that stakeholders in general think that fire is not a threat to Lithuania and to the ecological processes in the protected areas. However, they agree that fires have negative impacts on soil properties and fertility but are not to an irremediable or irrecoverable extent. Stakeholders disagree that fire has positive consequences for agricultural and cattle activities but agreed that vegetation recovers quickly. They do not see fire as a social and economic problem, do not agree that prescribed fire could be used to landscape management, and believe that mechanical thinning is a better management tool than prescribed fire. Stakeholders agree that fire does not have negative impacts on the biodiversity. These opinions depended on the age group of the respondent but especially on the respondent’s professional occupation.