Nature and agriculture in the European union : new perspectives on policies that shape the European countryside Nature and agriculture both shape the European countryside and one of the main challenges for the years to come will be to strengthen their interaction for the future development of rural areas. In this valuable and highly topical book the authors demonstrate how economics and ecology can play a critical role in maintaining and sustaining this relationship. The book identifies the dilemmas facing European agriculture and explores their economic and ecological consequences. The authors believe a better understanding of these problems will be crucial in recognising the potential options for the future role of agriculture and nature policy and will guide the identification of suitable policy instruments pt. 1. Methodology pt. 2. Cases on the interaction between agriculture and nature pt. 3. Mitigation and regulation pt. 4. Outlook