(High Nature Value farmland): The concept of high nature value farmland refers to the causality between certain types of farming activity and corresponding environmental outcomes, including high levels of biodiversity and the presence of environmentally valuable habitats and species. High nature value farmland is therefore a key indicator for the assessment of the impact of policy interventions with respect to the preservation and enhancement of biodiversity, habitats and ecosystems dependent on agriculture and of traditional rural landscapes.

 The Renewable Energy Directive (Directive 2009/28/EC) (RED) of the European Parliament and of the Council on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources, establishes the goal of reaching a minimum share of 10 % in every Member State in 2020 from renewable energy. Regarding the expand of biofuels use in the EU, the Directive aims to ensure the use of sustainable biofuels only which generate a clear and net greenhouse gas saving without negative impact on biodiversity and land use. In its articles 17, 18 and 19 the RED includes a set of mandatory sustainability criteria as part of an EU sustainability scheme and also monitoring and reporting requirements for biofuels and bioliquids. These criteria are related to greenhouse gas savings, land with high biodiversity value, land with high carbon stock and agro-environmental practices. 

Source: EUROSTAT

More specifically, to be considered as renewable, agriculture biomass shall not be made from raw material obtained from land with has, in or after January 2008, i) a status of land with high biodiversity value (primary forest or human-undisturbed forests, highly biodiverse forest, nationally and internationally protected areas, highly biodiverse grassland), or ii) a status of land with high-carbon stock (wetlands, continuously forested areas, some other forests), or iii) peatland (except without drainage).

Source: EURO-Lex

Biofuels taken into account for the purposes referred to in paragraph 1 shall not be made from raw material obtained from land with high biodiversity value, namely, land that had one of the following statuses in or after January 2008, whether or not the land continues to have such a status:
(a) primary forest and other wooded land, that is forest and other wooded land of native species, where there is no clearly visible indication of human activity and the ecological processes are not significantly disturbed;
(b) areas designated:
   (i) by law or by the relevant competent authority for nature protection purposes; or
   (ii) for the protection of rare, threatened or endangered ecosystems or species recognised by international agreements or included in lists drawn up by intergovernmental organisations or the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, subject to their recognition in accordance with the second subparagraph of Article 7c(4); unless evidence is provided that the production of that raw material did not interfere with those nature protection purposes;
(c) highly biodiverse grassland that is:
   (i) natural, namely, grassland that would remain grassland in the absence of human intervention and which maintains the natural species composition and ecological characteristics and processes; or
   (ii) non-natural, namely, grassland that would cease to be grassland in the absence of human intervention and which is species-rich and not degraded, unless evidence is provided that the harvesting of the raw material is necessary to preserve its grassland status.

Source: EURO-Lex

(high nature value farmland): High nature value farmland comprises the 'hot spots' of biodiversity in rural areas and is usually characterised by extensive farming practices.

Source: EEA Glossary