Digital biodiversity monitoring for next generation agri-environment schemes

Biodiversity loss driven by agricultural expansion and intensification is well documented, and the Global Biodiversity Framework calls for transforming agroecosystems toward sustainable management. Yet, cultivated land remains a major blind spot in global, open-access biodiversity data, leading to persistent knowledge gaps and reporting biases. At the same time, rapid advances in sensor technologies, digital tools, and artificial intelligence are reshaping how biodiversity and ecosystems are monitored, while novel farming technologies are transforming food production, with significant implications for agrobiodiversity. Despite these developments, little research has examined how such technologies can support agri-environment schemes, the primary policy instrument for biodiversity conservation in agricultural landscapes. Most existing agri-environment schemes are action-based, rewarding farmers for implementing specific practices or management rather than for achieving ecological outcomes. Result-based payments offer an alternative by linking rewards directly to biodiversity results, but their application has been limited – particularly for mobile species – due to monitoring challenges. This presentation explores how technologies can enhance agri-environment schemes by expanding conservation targets in result-based payments, improving the targeting and effectiveness of existing action-based schemes, enabling novel state-dependent designs, and strengthening monitoring of both outcomes and compliance. It also outlines key challenges, including high monitoring costs, remaining uncertainty in biodiversity assessments, data-privacy concerns, and farmers’ skepticism toward new technologies. Additional risks which as discussed in the presentation include technology-driven conservation goal setting, profit-oriented innovation that overlooks impacts on agrobiodiversity, and the marginalization of farmers lacking access to advanced tools. A particular focus in the presentation is placed on Passive Acoustic Monitoring as a promising approach for novel agri-environment schemes that is low-cost, scalable, and capable of detecting the presence, activity, and diversity of sound-producing animals. The presentation demonstrates how Passive Acoustic Monitoring can be integrated into result-based payment frameworks, from identifying suitable biodiversity targets and indicators to evaluating cost implications and understanding farmers’ perspectives.