Assessing agro-ecological practices using a combination of three sustainability assessment tools

This paper is based on results from the research project UNISECO, which is funded by European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 773901.We would like to thank all the farmers, farm organisations and stakeholders of the multi-actor platforms of the UNISECO project who contributed to the data collection. We also like to thank Andreas Basler whose corrections improved the comprehensibility of the paper.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

From local measures to regional impacts : Modelling changes in nutrient loads to the Baltic Sea

Study Region: Our study region is the Baltic Sea Drainage Basin (BSDB), which covers an area of 1.8 Mio km2 distributed over 14 countries in northern Europe. Study Focus: We use a large-scale hydrological and nutrient transport model (E-HYPE) to model basin-wide impacts of measure scenarios on the Baltic Sea, where eutrophication is a critical issue for the marine ecosystem. We constructed measure scenarios based on stakeholder acceptance, established in workshops in different regions around the Baltic. These measures include local stream reach to catchment scale measures aiming to reduce nutrient transport into the stream network (buffer strips, stormwater ponds) and measures aiming to reduce regional nutrient source releases (fertiliser leaching rates, rural household emissions). New Hydrological Insights for the Region: Nutrient load reductions are often needed to reduce eutrophication and improve overall surface water quality in fresh-water and enclosed bays and seas, where dilution is limited and load emissions have long residence times. To reduce riverine nutrient loads, remediation measures are necessary, e.g. establishment of buffer strips or improved wastewater treatment. Such measures are, however, typically not designed to target nutrient load reductions at sea outlets, but rather focus on local improvements. Here, we show that measures, notwithstanding other meliorating ecosystem benefits, must include reductions in load emissions across large basin areas to impact integrated net loads into coastal sea basins, because reduction measures that only target nutrient delivery to the stream network typically cannot be implemented in a significant enough proportion of the total drainage area of large coastal river basins. Our impact scenarios show BSDB-wide nutrient reductions of up to 9 % for nitrogen and phosphorus compared to a reference scenario, if load emissions are reduced in the scenario assumptions

Exploring Sustainability Implications of Transitions to Agroecology: a Transdisciplinary Perspective

Successful transitions to agroecology require shared understanding of the sustainability implications of transitions for food systems. To gain such understanding, a transdisciplinary approach is increasingly called for by funders, end users of research and scientists. Transdisciplinary processes were used in the UNISECO project to develop strategic pathways that enable transitions to agroecology in case studies across Europe. These strategic pathways were combined with scenarios of EU food systems in 2050, in which combinations of agroecological farming and food consumption practices were assessed. These were then reviewed considering selected UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a reference for discussing the sustainability implications of transitions to agroecology. Sustainability implications were identified for several SDGs including Zero Hunger (SDG 2), Quality Education (SDG 4), Responsible Consumption and Production (SDG 12), Climate Action (SDG 13) and Life on Land (SDG 15). Key factors contributing to the sustainability of transitions to agroecology are: i) mature social capital and improved farmer knowledge of the benefits of agroecological practices; ii) strengthened collaborative actions and collective institutions to increase negotiating power within the value-chain; and, iii) changes in consumer behaviour and diets. These factors highlight the need for a food system perspective in transitions to agroecology and supporting policies. This in turn highlights the meaningful role of transdisciplinary research in strengthening the sustainability of European food systems