Wind in the willows
Buffer zones along watercourses benefit both farmers and the environment.
Farmer Jouko Haasto strides through his fields in Vihti, about an hour’s drive northwest of Helsinki, and stops by a river bank beneath a gently sloping field.“I set up my second buffer zone here by the River Vihti in 2005,” he says, pointing to a strip of land about 15 metres wide.
A large stretch of land used to get flooded in spring and autumn, and its nutrients would be washed into the river. The buffer zone has helped to prevent soil loss, and the land has been easier to cultivate.
Haasto plants most of his 87 hectare farm with spring and autumn wheat and rapeseed. It is easy to see where the field ends and the buffer zone begins. Fertilisers or pesticides are not applied in the buffer zone, resulting in sparser vegetation growth. The buffer zone is planted with Timothy-grass, which is mown at the end of summer and sold to a neighbour as fodder for his horses.
Stop to erosion
The establishment of buffer zones is an important aim of Finland’s agri-environmental subsidy scheme. Buffer zones are not among the schemes compulsory measures, however. Instead they are set up through special subsidy agreements that guarantee farmers annual subsidies to cover management costs and compensate for lost income.
By the end of 2007 buffer zones with a total area of some 7,500 hectares had been set up around Finland – including about ten hectares of Jouko Haasto’s land.
“You can really see how eutrophication is affecting rivers and lakes. Buffer zones are designed to prevent this problem by curbing the leaching of nutrients into watercourses,” says Haasto.
“I feel close to the land as a person, and farming is my way of life. Nature is also important to me, so I also care about the state of the environment. I want to do everything I can to help the environment and our rivers and lakes.”
By Tuuli Virta
Photos Seppo Samuli
