Measure for taking greater account of the environment (water protection, etc) in agricultural practices, by encouraging: (i) farmers to limit the use of fertilizers and pesticides; (ii) the destocking of livestock to mitigate pollution by cattle effluent*; (iii) farmers to adopt practices that improve the environmental quality of rural areas or the maintenance of abandoned lands; (iv) setting aside farmlands over 20 years for ecological purposes; the launching of Sustainable Development Plans (SDPs) on an experimental basis in 1993, to globalize agri-environmental aid and other development assistance. Agri-environmental measures (AEMs) result in aid or compensation granted to farmers, using farming practices respectful of the environment, in the form of a contractual agreement between the State, the EEC and the farmers for a 5 to 10 year period (or 20 years even).