How to Realize Multifunctional Land Use as a Contribution to Sustainable Development

Bouma, J.

doi:10.3389/fenvs.2021.620285

Cited by 14 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Healthy and functional soil can be regarded as a structural environmental outcome (Bouma 2021); healthy soil promotes biodiversity, retains water, maintains water quality, and prevents erosion. One of the major problems in the Montado is soil degradation (Guerra et al 2014).…”

Section: The Environmental Outcomesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, this constitutes a formidable challenge. The call is for a new agricultural paradigm, with renewed and diverse market integration, a lower ecological footprint in Europe and elsewhere and new practices and business models that allow for the preservation or even regeneration of natural resources, biodiversity, and landscapes (Bouma 2021, Schröder et al 2020.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Result-based payments as a tool to preserve the High Nature Value of complex silvo-pastoral systems: progress toward farm-based indicators

Pinto‐Correia¹,

Ferraz-de-Oliveira²,

Guimarães³

et al. 2022

E&S

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As shown by the Green Deal's ambition, the European Commission is progressively pushing for an environmental shift and climate action in Europe. For the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), this involves a stronger focus on greening policy objectives. For agri-environmental schemes, this entails changes toward performance-based payments, partially replacing traditional activity-based payments. The CAP foresees greater flexibility in national programs and tailor-made solutions centered on results (i.e. environmental outcomes), benefiting farmers who go beyond the minimum environmental performance required. The environmental outcomes of farm practices must be assessed so that changes can be monitored over time and linked to payment delivery. This requires stakeholders to collaborate with researchers to identify farm-based indicators that are easily applicable, to achieve environmental results that are dependent on farm practices, and to assess and monitor changes in outcomes over time. The analysis in this paper is based on a transdisciplinary process that began in 2017 in a Natura 2000 site and its surroundings in Southern Portugal, to identify result-based measures for the Montado silvo-pastoral system. Farmers' understanding of how to adapt their practices to reach better environmental results was combined with scientific knowledge of the relevant environmental outcomes and how these can be assessed with indicators. Ten field-based visual indicators were defined, which farmers applied in the field, and validated by technical staff. These indicators are related to several aspects of the silvo-pastoral system: soil quality, pasture diversity, tree renewal, tree health, singular landscape elements, and biodiversity. The approach used in this process was innovative. We describe each step and present its advantages and drawbacks for designing and implementing result-based payments. Ultimately, their implementation is expected to lead to higher sustainability in the Montado.

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Section: The Environmental Outcomesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Result-based payments as a tool to preserve the High Nature Value of complex silvo-pastoral systems: progress toward farm-based indicators

Pinto‐Correia¹,

Ferraz-de-Oliveira²,

Guimarães³

et al. 2022

E&S

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“…However, if this would be true, how realistic is it to aim for multifunctional management to reach the lofty goals of the SDGs and the Green Deal? But we do not have the luxury to stop attempts to realize multifunctional management, which is crucial for sustainable development [14]. When exploring possibilities for multifunctional land use, we should therefore interact more closely with farmers internalizing their concerns and starting from there.…”

Section: The Farmer Perspective As a Guiding Principlementioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the Role of Soils When Developing Sustainable Agricultural Production Systems Focused on Achieving the UN-SDGs and the EU Green Deal

2021

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The general concept of sustainable development has been specified in terms of goals, targets, and indicators by the UN Sustainable Development Goals, adopted in 2015, followed by the Green Deal of the European Union in 2019. The focus on targets and indicators does, however, not address the issue as to how these goals can be achieved for land-related SDGs in the real world, and attention in this paper is therefore focused on how land management can contribute to providing ecosystem services in line with the aims of the SDGs and the Green Deal. Agricultural production systems should at least produce healthy food (SDG2 and 3), protect ground- and surface water quality (SDG6), mitigate climate change (SDG13), avoid soil degradation, and support biodiversity (SDG15). The corresponding ecosystem services are discussed with particular emphasis on the role of soils, which are characterized in terms of soil health, defined as: contributing to ecosystem services in line with the SDGs and the Green Deal. Appropriate management, as developed and proposed by researchers working jointly with farmers in living labs, can only be realized when it is part of sound long-term business plans, supported by independent advice that is focused on farmers’ concerns based on the requirements for adaptive management. The research effort in living labs, addressing “wicked” problems, needs to be judged differently from classical linear research. As the development of successful ecosystem services requires an interdisciplinary research effort based on a systems analysis, SDG-oriented soil research in the future should be focused on: (i) presenting suitable data to the interdisciplinary effort beyond standard data to be found in existing databases; (ii) using soil types as “carriers of information” to allow extrapolation of results; (iii) providing data with a comparable degree of detail when analyzing the various ecosystem services, and (iv) revisit past experiences in soil survey and soil fertility research when contact with farmers was intense, as is again needed in future to realize ecosystem services in line with the SDGs and the Green Deal.

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“…Farmers have been interviewed many times and their questions, concerns and demands need particular attention before new activities are started. Their major concerns are about unsure economic prospects and unclear and dysfunctional environmental rules and regulations in their perception, as well as about not receiving independent advice [5][6][7]. These economic prospects are significantly affected by the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) of the European Union, supporting farmers with EUR 350 billion for the period 2021-2027, including a provision now that 25% of the funds, and perhaps more in future, will be allocated to support the realization of ecosystem services.…”

Section: Introduction 1sustainable Development Goalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring Operational Procedures to Assess Ecosystem Services at Farm Level, including the Role of Soil Health

2022

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Reaching the land-related UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and similar goals articulated by the EU Green Deal (GD) by 2030 presents a major challenge and requires a pragmatic approach focused on joint learning by land users (mostly farmers), researchers and other stakeholders in “Living Labs” and system experiments at experimental farms of research organizations. Defining specific indicators and thresholds for ecosystem services in line with land-related SDGs is crucial to establish “Lighthouses” that can act as inspiring examples if they meet the various thresholds. This exploratory paper discusses indicators and thresholds for an arable farm operating on marine, calcareous light clay soils in the Netherlands. Studies of a system experiment are used to discuss and test operational methodology to be widely applied when characterizing many “Living Labs” in future, as planned by the European Union. The important role of soils in contributing to ecosystem services is discussed in terms of soil health. Recommendations are made for innovative methodology to be associated with all land-related SDGs. Satisfying the thresholds of ecosystem services, which will vary by soil type, region and farm type, can be the basis for farm subsidies, such as the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Research on Living Labs and in system experiments has to be judged by different criteria than those associated with traditional linear research. The important contributions of soils to achieve ecosystem services are framed in terms of soil health and are the most effective way to promote soil science in a by now widely desired inter- and transdisciplinary context.

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How to Realize Multifunctional Land Use as a Contribution to Sustainable Development

Cited by 14 publications

References 21 publications

Result-based payments as a tool to preserve the High Nature Value of complex silvo-pastoral systems: progress toward farm-based indicators

Result-based payments as a tool to preserve the High Nature Value of complex silvo-pastoral systems: progress toward farm-based indicators

Assessing the Role of Soils When Developing Sustainable Agricultural Production Systems Focused on Achieving the UN-SDGs and the EU Green Deal

Exploring Operational Procedures to Assess Ecosystem Services at Farm Level, including the Role of Soil Health

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