Business and Biodiversity 2007
Micro-economic instruments for impact assessment of multifunctional agriculture to implement the Model of European Agriculture (MEA-Scope)
The MEA-Scope project aimed to define the impacts of future Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reforms at both the farm and landscape levels. Over the last three years MEA-Scope developed the MEA-Scope Tool. This tool is to assist policymakers in the European Commission in the ex-ante assessment of Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reform options, specifically, the impacts of CAP reform options on agricultural production and on non-commodity outputs.
ECNC’s contribution was the development of the indicators that were used to quantify the non-commodity outputs of multifunctional agricultural land use. Furthermore, ECNC reviewed the operability and performance of the MEA-Scope Tool with regard to key non-commodity outputs.
The MEA-Scope project ended on 31 October 2007.
Funding: Sixth EU Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (via Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape and Land Use Research - ZALF); Programme allocation Netherlands Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality; ECNC core funding.
Partners: Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Aarhus (Denmark); Centre for Agricultural Landscape and Land Use Research (ZALF; Germany); Institute of Environmental Management, Szent Istvan University of Gödöllö (Hungary); Department of Agricultural and Land Economy, Florence University (DEART-UNIFI; Italy); Research Centre for Agriculture and Forest Environment, Polish Academy of Sciences (RCAFE; Poland); Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL; Switzerland); Agricultural and Environmental Engineering Research Centre (Cemagref; France); Institute of Agricultural Development in Central and Eastern Europe (IAMO; Germany); Research Institute for Hydrogeological Protection, Consiglio Nationale delle Recerche (IRPI; Italy); Soil Science and Conservation Research Institute (SSCRI; Slovak Republic).
More details: www.mea-scope.org and www.mea-scope.eu for the MEA-Scope Tool
LIFESCAPE – YOUR LANDSCAPE: Landscape identity and economic development – INTERREG IIIB
LIFESCAPE – YOUR LANDSCAPE explores new ways to profit from the rural landscape while preserving its beauty and cultural and historical values. Fourteen partners in five European countries work together and share experiences to come to new approaches for long-term preservation of their landscapes. LIFESCAPE consists of 20 projects implemented within the following four themes:
- enjoyment and learning in landscapes;
- exploring business opportunities;
- financing rural areas;
- involving local people and communities.
ECNC is technical coordinator and an active partner in the project, which is led by the Province of Noord-Brabant.
Many outputs were delivered in 2007, as the project nears its end in early 2008. These outputs range from establishing innovative funding mechanisms for nature conservation and branding schemes for biodiversity, making inventories for ancient woodland protection and raising the awareness of children, adults and organizations on the values of their surrounding landscapes.
During the LIFESCAPE – YOUR LANDSCAPE Partner Forum held in June in Frankfurt, Germany, ECNC organized a seminar at the European Central Bank on ‘Banking and Sustainable Rural Landscapes’. The goal was to discuss and disseminate LIFESCAPE project results on economic and financial mechanisms to make sustainable business and policy decisions related to landscape management. The LIFESCAPE outputs show that investing in sustainability projects and nature and landscape is very profitable for the rural economy. Also, through an innovative financing instrument, funding streams can be made available for landscape conservation activities, while the scheme also benefits the participating bank and the supporting local authorities, companies and private persons.
On 29 November 2007, a large and diverse audience learned about the LIFESCAPE – YOUR LANDSCAPE project at the LIFESCAPE Final Event, which took place in Brussels. The LIFESCAPE book – LIFESCAPE – YOUR LANDSCAPE: A European journey of our experiences 2004-2008 – was launched by Noord-Brabant’s Regional Minister for Ecology, Mr Onno Hoes.
Funding: Co-financing from the EU INTERREG IIIB Programme for North-West Europe to match the contribution from the partners; Province of Noord-Brabant (the Netherlands); ECNC core funding.
More details: http://www.lifescapeyourlandscape.org
Biodiversity Technical Assistance Units (BTAU) in Poland, Hungary and Bulgaria
The aim of this pilot project is twofold:
- to facilitate the creation of a new pro-biodiversity investment market for the business and
banking sector; - to deliver a pipeline of bankable projects for future investment loans for the benefit of biodiversity.
During the first year, the implementation structure for the project was set up: three BTAUs were established in the project countries, the initial pipelines of bankable biodiversity projects were set up, a project website was launched and support documents were prepared. In the framework of BTAU during 2007, ECNC elaborated a company assessment toolkit, a project leaflet and a brochure for entrepreneurs, and a draft handbook for identifying, developing and implementing pro-biodiversity projects.
The projects identified as eligible pro-biodiversity businesses in the framework of this project mostly belong to following categories:
- sustainable agriculture;
- sustainable forestry/non-timber forest products;
- ecotourism;
- sustainable fisheries/aquaculture;
- water services;
- environmental services (consultancy, services to protected area management, etc.).
The BTAU pilot project started in February 2007 and will run until 2010.
Funding: EU DG Environment.
Partners: Royal Society for Protection of Birds (UK; project leader), BirdLife partners in Poland (OTOP), Hungary (MME) and Bulgaria (BSPB).
More details: http://www.smeforbiodiversity.eu
European Biodiversity Finance Compendium and Clearing House Mechanism
During 2007 the Biodiversity Finance Clearing House Mechanism (CHM) was developed on ECNC’s website. The CHM serves as a reference for all aspects of biodiversity financing. The volume of material was structured thematically and put into a user-friendly format, and now enables a wide range of users to choose the resource most pertinent to their interests.
In addition, the European Biodiversity Finance Compendium was prepared. The Compendium contains an overview of main policy initiatives and approaches towards biodiversity finance, and a broad overview of different financial instruments and mechanisms developed with the purpose of financing nature conservation activities, as well as an overview of the main institutions and initiatives involved in biodiversity finance.
Funding: Swiss Federal Office for the Environment.
Establishing pro-biodiversity business opportunities in Bulgaria and Croatia
The aim of this project was to create appropriate financing opportunities for companies so that they can benefit from positive financial gains while ensuring biodiversity conservation and sustainable use of natural resources.
The project started in October 2006. A general review of knowledge and interviews with entrepreneurs already carrying out pro-biodiversity oriented businesses and bank managers in Bulgaria and Croatia were carried out, in order to gain a comprehensive understanding of, on the one hand, challenges facing enterprises and, on the other hand, potential support from investors. The results of the interview process are described in detail in country reports, which formed an integral part of the Project Interim Report (submitted at the end of June 2007).
Following the investigations and interviews, the synthesis of knowledge from literature, interviews and seminars, workshops were held in both countries. During the workshops SWOT (Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-Threats) analysis was carried out, in order to reveal the true potential for encouraging PBB activities and to identify potential bottlenecks for the successful implementation of PBB financing schemes. Based on the results of the SWOT analysis, a discussion paper was prepared and reviewed with selected stakeholders from both countries. The final version of the report was distributed to attendees of a European seminar held in Zagreb, Croatia, in November 2007 and other relevant stakeholders.
The final outcome of the project was the design of a finance facility, which was reviewed at the seminar in Zagreb by national and European policy officials and international bankers, as well as selected entrepreneurs and NGO representatives.
It is also expected that the governmental stakeholders will use the results of the project as an appealing pilot scheme for promoting the integration of biodiversity into other sectors. The enterprises and financial sector involved gained experience and expertise in promoting biodiversity in their daily activities, and will be stimulated further to integrate biodiversity as a business case.
This project was completed in March 2007.
Funding: Netherlands Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality and Ministry of Foreign Affairs (BBI-Matra).
The impacts of biofuel production on biodiversity in Europe
The aim of the project was to contribute to the discussion on the impacts of the production of bioenergy crops on biodiversity, highlighting the positive and negative impacts on biodiversity. These impacts were assessed through a literature survey and the elaboration of case studies on site-specific impacts in the Netherlands, Poland and FinIand. The main focus is the impacts on biodiversity of crops produced for second-generation biofuel; when available, the impacts of crops produced for first-generation biofuels were also taken into account.
The project drew conclusions based on the literature review and case studies, and formulated recommendations for future research and policy development.
The three-month project started in February 2007; the main findings were available by mid-May. The findings were presented during the CBD COP9 meeting in Bonn in 2008, and disseminated to the EU and other policymakers.
Funding: Manfred Hermsen Stiftung.
Scenar 2020: Scenario study on agriculture and the rural world
Scenar 2020 was a 12-month study that focused on understanding change for the period until 2020.
The study Scenar 2020 – Scenario study on agriculture and the rural world was published in January 2007. The study identifies the impact of the main driving forces on agriculture and rural regions, and draws far-reaching and differentiated conclusions on the challenges for European agriculture and rural areas. Scenar 2020 provides a thorough basis for discussions on the future of agriculture and rural regions in the EU for the coming years. The study identifies major opportunities and challenges for agriculture and rural areas, including the impact of new products such as renewable energy, new opportunities on world markets as well as structural change and changing environmental conditions in parts of the EU. The evolving situation in the labour and land markets will play a major role in agricultural change and its regional dimension.
Funding: European Commission, Directorate-General Agriculture and Rural Development.
Partners: Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape and Land Use Research (ZALF; Germany); Landbouw-Economisch Instituut (the Netherlands); Leibnitz Institut für Länderkunde (Germany); Central European University (Hungary); European Landowners’ Organization (Belgium).
