proceedings ifoam eu conference - organic days, cyprus

This conference is co-financed by the European Community, Directorate-General for the Environment. The sole responsibility for this communication lies with the IFOAM EU Group.The European Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information provided.

PROCEEDINGS

Future farming in times of climate change and water scarcity. Rural development and sustainable farming approaches for Mediterranean areas and beyond.

Larnaca, Cyprus. 2012

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IFOAM EU Conference · Organic Days Larnaca, September 26th 2012

Table of content

Welcome notes

Principles of Organic Agriculture

Organisers

Speaker’s proceedingsSession 1: Climate change and water supply as challenges for rural areas for today and tomorrow.

Sofoclis Aletraris, Cypriot Minister of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment.Vasilis Kyprinou, President of Pasybio, CyprusChristopher Stopes, President of the IFOAM EU Group

Charalampos Theopemptou. Commissioner for the Environment, Cyprus: Dealing with food production and climate change in Cyprus – a report from an extreme environment.

Michal Kravčík. Juraj Kohutiar, People and Water, NGO Slovakia : New Water Deal for European rural landscapes.

Andreas Gattinger. Subject Leader Climate at FiBL Switzerland; Chair of the Round Table on Organic Agriculture and Climate Change (RTOACC):The potential of organic farming practices for meeting the climate challenge in different regions of Europe – mitigation and adaptation.

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WORKSHOP I - Ecotourism and organic farming. Complementary strategies for sustanable rural development. Dimitris Skuras. Professor of Economics at the University of Patras, Greece: Ecotourism as a driver of sustainable rural development.

Bill Slee. Senior research scientist, former Leader of the Social Economic and Geographical Sciences Group at the James Hutton Institute, Scotland: Creating a platform for sustainable rural development by linking quality production with ecotourism.

Speaker’s proceedings Session 2: Ecotourism, adapted farming and quality produc-tion as drivers of sustainable rural development.


Table of content

Charikleia Minotou. General Manager of DIO, President of AgriBioMediterraneo-IFOAM: Agrotourism and organic hotels in Greece.

Alessandro Triantafyllidis. President of the AIAB: Organic Farm-ing and “agriturismo” the right choice.

WORKSHOP II - Climate change and water scarcity as a challenge in agricultural production – Ways ahead.

Yianna Economidou. Executive Engineer at the Water Develop-ment Department of Cyprus, Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment: Water resources management in a changing climate. The experiences of Cyprus.

Luis Lassaletta. UMR Sisyphe, CNRS/Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris. France. Eduardo Aguilera. Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Seville, Spain. Both are members of the Round Table on Organic Agriculture and Climate Change (RTOACC): Medi-terranean farming in times of climate change. Analysis of the challenges and opportunities.

Martin A. Hellicar. Campaigns manager at Birdlife Cyprus: A cool CAP post-2013: What measures could help to adapt Cyprus farm-ing and biodiversity to the consequences of climate change?

Mohamed Ben Kheder. Director of the Technical Center of Organ-ic Agriculture in Tunisia: Developing organic farming and food markets around the Mediterranean Sea. A strategy for climate-resilient food systems.

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Speaker’s proceedings Session 2: Ecotourism, adapted farming and quality produc-tion as drivers of sustainable rural development.

CV’s of speakers

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Welcome notes

Sofoclis Aletraris

Minister of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment, Cyprus

Dear Participants,

It is my pleasure, on behalf of the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU, to

welcome you to the IFOAM EU Group Conference to be held in Larnaca, Cyprus from

24th to 26th of September 2012. Cyprus Presidency looks forward to a productive

collaboration with institutions and organizations that are supporting sustainable

farming approaches in times of climate change and water scarcity. In this respect, we

strongly support your efforts.

A few days ago, during the Informal Agriculture Council which took place in Cyprus,

the EU Ministers of Agriculture confirmed their strong commitment to the neces-

sity for the promoting of measures through the new Common Agricultural Policy to

adapt to climate change. Water scarcity and land abandonment linked to adverse cli-

mate conditions were in the centre of our discussion and significant measures where

proposed by the Ministers. It seems that now is the right time for the European Union

to move forward to a «greener» and more sustainable agriculture.

I would like on this occasion, to assure you that the Cyprus Presidency will do its

best in the coming months to bring about a sound dialogue between all European

Union Institutions that shall lay the solid foundations for ambitious and well-bal-

anced agreements in the second half of 2012 and beyond, in view of the long-term

aim of a better targeted and more effective Common Agricultural Policy. Of course,

organic farming deserves our special attention and privileged treatment. It is a com-

mon effort and we have a common interest to develop this policy further.

In Cyprus organic agriculture is gradually and constantly developed, since its begin-

ning around the end of 1980’s. In January 2002, in the framework of harmonization

with the Acquis, relative national legislation was put into place and 45 producers

entered organic production with a small production of approximately 65 hectares,

representing 0.12% of the total cultivated area. Today, there are about 800 organic

producers with cultivated area exceeding 4000 hectares, representing 3.1% of the

total cultivated area. The most important crops are cereals, olives trees and vine-

yards. I strongly believe that one of the main reasons for this significant expansion of

the sector is the implementation of specific measures of the Cyprus Rural Develop-

ment Programmes targeting the producers of organic products.

Let me conclude by congratulating the organisers of the Congress, IFOAM EU Group

and Pasybio Cyprus, for their initiative to organise this Conference in Cyprus and for

the selection of those extremely interesting topics on which the debate will focus.

I would like to wish you all, a very fruitful Conference and a pleasant stay in Cyprus.

Sofoclis Aletraris,

Minister of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment , Cyprus

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Welcome notes IFOAM EU Conference · Organic Days Larnaca, September 26th 2012

Dear participants,

I am happy to welcome you to the organic days on Cyprus. The Pancyprian

Association of Organic Farmers (Pasybio) has organized today’s conference

together with the IFOAM EU Group and the Cypriot Presidency of the Council of

the European Union in order to enhance the visibility of the challenges farmers

are facing, particularly in Mediterranean areas, and to discuss solutions.

If you participated in the excursion on 24th September, you have got an impres-

sion of Cyprus as one of the European countries that are most vulnerable to the

negative impacts of climate change in particular to water scarcity. During the

hot summer in 2008 Cyprus ran completely out of water and received imported

water by more than 30 tankers from Greece. The Larnaca district, the place

which is hosting our Conference today, has the two major seawater desalina-

tion facilities in Cyprus, which are providing water to the agricultural sector by

using high amounts of energy - which indirectly again contributes to the cause

of climate change. With agriculture using 70 % of the total water that is available

on Cyprus, solutions to improve the water efficiency in farming must urgently

be found.

Organic farming is a comprehensive strategy to enhance the soil, water reten-

tion capacity and resilience of farms to the consequences of climate change.

Therewith, it offers solid solutions to the problems discussed today. This and

the outstanding quality of organic food are the reasons why Pasybio promotes

organic farming on Cyprus since 2001. We are proud that today, more than 800

farmers have already embraced the organic approach on Cyprus and we are

working hard to convince much more. With its work, Pasybio is proud to be part

of IFOAM EU group and to stand in the context of promoting the organic farm-

ing system approach throughout Europe.

I believe that this conference contributes to a constructive dialogue amongst

organic farmers and policy makers, and such conferences we hope will take

place again and not because we are a small island on the edge of Europe we

will be forgotten.

We wish you a fruitful debate and once again we welcome you to the sunny

island of Cyprus.

With kind regards,

Vasilis, Kyprinou, President of Pasybio, Cyprus.

Vasilis Kyprinou

President of Pasybio

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Welcome notes

Dear Participants,

A warm welcome to the European Conference “Future farming in times of water

scarcity and climate change: rural development and sustainable farming approaches

for Mediterranean areas and beyond”. IFOAM EU Group is honoured to organize this

high level event as part of the “Organic Days Cyprus” in close collaboration with the

Cypriot Presidency of the Council of the European Union and the Pancyprian Asso-

ciation of Organic farmers (Pasybio), to enhance the dialogue about strategies and

appropriate policy instruments to tackle environmental challenges to farming and

rural economies such as climate change and pressure on water resources.

Climate change already significantly affects European agriculture and rural land-

scapes: in recent years extreme weather events such as floods, droughts and heat

waves are becoming more frequent, costing the agricultural sector and society as

a whole a huge amount of money. Mediterranean regions are particularly affected:

Cyprus suffered from a prolonged period of drought in 2008. This damaged Cypriot

farmers, financial assistance paid to farmers amounted to 67.50 Mio Euro with a

further 287 Mio Euro paid for restoring the domestic water supply1. Agriculture also

contributes to the cause of climate change: greenhouse gas emissions from agri-

culture in the European Union accounted for 10.3 % of total emissions in 2009.

With the challenges ahead, this conference comes at a crucial point in time. At the

same time the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is at a turning point: The current

CAP reform will shape the future of European agriculture. The reform, in particu-

lar the formulation of the new rural development programme, will be central to

discussions at this conference. Other policies, such as the Water framework direc-

tive and the strategy for Europe’s Waters as well as the EU strategies on climate

change mitigation and adaptation, are also important in framing the debate. The

role that organic food and farming can play in the sustainable management of

natural resources, for example by increasing the water retention capacity of soils

and by reducing the chemical input, will be explored during the conference.

I wish you all a lively debate and would like to thank all those who helped us

make this European Conference possible, especially the Cypriot Presidency of

the Council of the European Union and Pasybio as co-organisers, as well as the

conference partners and supporters, the speakers and moderators. I would like to

thank all the participants and hope you will return home from today’s conference

with new ideas and useful knowledge.

With kind regards,

Christopher Stopes,

President of the IFOAM EU Group

Christopher Stopes


1 Kossida, M.; Kakava, A.; Koutiva, I. and Tekidou, A.

(2012): Thematic Assessment on Vulnerability to Water

Scarcity and Drought; Report for EEA.

These Principles are the roots from which organic agriculture

grows and develops. They express the contribution that organic

agriculture can make to the world, and a vision to improve all

agriculture in a global context.

Agriculture is one of humankind’s most basic activities because

all people need to nourish themselves daily. History , culture and

community values are embedded in agriculture. The Principles

apply to agriculture in the broadest sense, including the way

people tend soils, water, plants and animals in order to produce,

prepare and distribute food and other goods. They concern the

way people interact with living landscapes, relate to one another

and shape the legacy of future generations.

The Principles of Organic Agriculture serve to inspire the organic

movement in its full diversity. They guide IFOAM ’s development of

positions, programs and standards. Furthermore, they are

presented with a vision of their world-wide adoption.

Each principle is articulated through a statement followed

by an explanation. The principles are to be used as a whole.

They are composed as ethical principles to inspire action.

Organic Agriculture should be based

on living ecological systems and cycles,

work with them, emulate them and

help sustain them.

This principle roots organic agriculture within living

ecological systems. It states that production is to be based

on ecological processes, and recycling. Nourishment and

production environment. For example, in the case of crops

this is the living soil; for animals it is the farm ecosystem;

Organic farming, pastoral and wild harvest systems should

management must be adapted to local conditions, ecology ,

culture and scale. Inputs should be reduced by reuse, recycling

maintain and improve environmental quality and conserve

resources.

Organic agriculture should attain ecological balance through

the design of farming systems, establishment of habitats and

maintenance of genetic and agricultural diversity . Those who

produce, process, trade, or consume organic products should

landscapes, climate, habitats, biodiversity, air and water.

Organic Agriculture should

sustain and enhance the health of soil,

plant , animal, human and planet as

one and indivisible.

This principle points out that the health of individuals and

communities cannot be separated from the health of

ecosystems - healthy soils produce healthy crops

that foster the health of animals and people.

Health is the wholeness and integrity of living systems. It is

not simply the absence of illness, but the maintenance of

physical, mental, social and ecological well-being. Immunity,

resilience and regeneration are key characteristics of health.

The role of organic agriculture, whether in farming, processing,

distribution, or consumption, is to sustain and enhance the

health of ecosystems and organisms from the smallest in the

soil to human beings. In particular, organic agriculture is

intended to produce high quality, nutritious food that

contributes to preventive health care and well-being. In view

of this it should avoid the use of fertilizers, pesticides, animal

Organic Agriculture should be managed

in a precautionary and responsible

manner to protect the health and

well-being of current and future

generations and the environment.

Organic agriculture is a living and dynamic system that

responds to internal and external demands and conditions.

increase productivity , but this should not be at the risk of

jeopardizing health and well-being. Consequently, new

technologies need to be assessed and existing methods

reviewed. Given the incomplete understanding of

ecosystems and agriculture, care must be taken.

This principle states that precaution and responsibility are the

key concerns in management, development and technology

choices in organic agriculture. Science is necessary to ensure

that organic agriculture is healthy, safe and ecologically sound.

experience, accumulated wisdom and tr aditional and

adopting appropriate technologies and rejecting unpredictable

h

transparent and participatory processes.

Organic Agriculture should build on

relationships that ensure fairness with

regard to the common environment

and life opportunities.

Fairness is characterized by equity , respect , justice and

stewardship of the shared world, both among people

and in their relations to other living beings.

This principle emphasizes that those involved in organic

agriculture should conduct human relationships in a manner

that ensures fairness at all levels and to all parties – farmers,

workers, processors, distributors, traders and consumers.

Organic agriculture should provide everyone involved

with a good quality of life, and contribute to food

sovereignty and reduction of pover ty. It aims to produce a

This principle insists that animals should be provided with the

conditions and opportunities of life that accord with their

physiology , natural behavior and well-being.

Natural and environmental resources that are used for

production and consumption should be managed in a way

that is socially and ecologically just and should be held in

trust for future generations. F airness requires systems of

production, distribution and trade that are open and equitable

and account for real environmental and social costs.

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Organisers

The IFOAM EU Group is the European working level of IFOAM, the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements. It repre-sents more than 300 member organisations in the EU, EU candidate - and EFTA countries.

The members of the IFOAM EU Group work in the entire organic pro-duction chain and thereby cover the whole organic food and farming sector of Europe – be it production, processing, trade, research, certifi-cation, inspection or advising. In addition, the IFOAM EU Group repre-sents environmental and consumer NGOs.

The IFOAM EU Group contributes to shaping and implementing Com-munity agricultural, environmental, health and consumer policies and regulation in a number of ways:

• Participation in seven of the EU Commission’s Advisory Groups, and involvement with the Commission’s ongoing regulatory work relating to organic farming. Advocacy work with the European Com-mission, the European Parliament, the Standing Committee on Or-ganic Farming and nthe European Economic and Social Committee to explain the organic movement’s positions, concerns and views.

• Expert meetings with DG Agriculture’s Organic Unit, and with Commission officials in other relevant DGs, to share expertise and express standpoints on current and potential legislative provisions which affect or might affect the organic food and farming sector.

• Communicating EU positions to members, enabling them to lobby and build coalitions at the national level on environmental and ag-ricultural issues.

• Production of position papers and responses to proposals and drafts of Community legislation and regular correspondence with Commission officials on a range of regulatory and policy matters relating to organic agriculture and the environment.

• Promoting the role of organic farming in policy solutions to major challenges like climate change and biodiversity loss.

• Organisation of workshops, seminars and conferences.

IFOAM EU Group activities

IFOAM EU Group

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Organisers

The IFOAM EU Group announces the “Organic Days in Cyprus” dur-ing the Cypriot EU Council Presidency which encloses three individual events that will take on 24, 25 and 26 of September at the Sun Hall Ho-tel, Larnaca, Cyprus. The Organic days includes cooperation between IFOAM EU Group the Cyprus EU presidency, Pasybio, the European Commission, The Cyprus Ministry of Agriculture and TP Organics.

Monday, 24 September: Pre-conference Excursion – Rural economy and society in Cyprus – challenges and opportunities. Organisers: Cyprus EU Council Presidency, IFOAM EU Group, Euro-pean Commission, Pasybio.Tuesday, 25 September: Organic and Low Input Agriculture - Imple-menting Innovation to respond to EU Challenges. Organisers: European Commission, Cyprus EU Council Presidency in cooperation with IFOAM EU Group & TP Organics.Wednesday, 26 September: Future farming in times of climate change - Rural development and sustainable farming approaches for Mediterra-nean areas and beyond. Organisers: Cyprus EU Council Presidency, IFOAM EU Group, Pasybio and The Cyprus Ministry of Agriculture.

Marco Schlüter, Director, IFOAM EU Group.

Angela Morell Perez, Office and Events Coordinator, IFOAM EU Group Conference Management and venue. Savvas Mouzakis, Director, Pasybio Conference and excursion coordination, venue and catering.Vasilis Kyprianou, President, Pasybio Excursion coordination.Silvia Schiavon, Office and Research Assistant, IFOAM EU Group Logistics and participants registration. Stalo Mela, Pasybio Logistics.Antje Kölling, Policy Manager, IFOAM EU Group Programme development.Teresa Elola-Calderón, Policy Assistant, IFOAM EU Group Programme and speakers coordination.Lena Wietheger, Head of Communication, IFOAM EU Group Promotion.

General Conceptionand Supervision

The ConferenceOrganising Team

Organic Days in Cyprus and the IFOAM EU Group

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Organisers

Pancyprian Association of Organic Farmers was founded in 2001. It is member of the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Move-ments (IFOAM). The association is a charitable, no-profit organization with the vision to help the development of organic farming in Cyprus. Also promote healthy nutrition with organic products and to deliver the knowledge & educate consumers and organic farmers.

Also organizes various seminars in corporation with the Cyprus Dietetic Association & Cyprus Chefs Association. It participates/attends at seminars concern organic farming. Representative of the associa-tion takes part within the meetings of IFOAM. Member of National Net-work for Rural Development. Member of Friends of the Earth Cyprus. Member of the Federation of environmental and ecological organisa-tions of Cyprus.

Contact: P.O.BOX 27429, 1645, Nicosia Cyprus. Tel: 00357-22028498. Fax: 00357-22621264.

Mail: [email protected]. Web: http://pasybio.blogspot.com/

PASYBIO

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Speaker’s proceedings - Session 1

Session 1. Climate change and water supply as challenges for rural areas for today and tomorrow.

Dealing with food production and climate change in Cyprus – a report from an extreme environment.Charalampos TheopemptouCommissioner for the Environment, Cyprus

Summary

Keywords

All the climate change studies indicate that the southern Mediterra-nean area should expect higher temperatures and reduced rainfall. This has a number of implications and difficulties with regards to ag-riculture, based also on the way that this will manifest in our end of the world. The longer summer period, higher extreme temperatures and reduced rainfall will all have a serious effect on farmers and on the natural environment in general. This will also affect the allocation of water from government reservoirs for farming as demand will rise. Crop yield as well as the type of crops is for years now under discus-sion on the island as some of these demand huge amounts of water but are easily marketed.

Climate change, southern Mediterranean, Cyprus, agriculture, water.

Agriculture in the Mediterranean countries will in the coming years pose many difficulties for farmers.The issues often raised in Cyprus about the future of agriculture in rela-tion to climate change are:

• Some crops require a lot of water, but result in a more marketable product, while crops that need less water are not as easy to sell. This is a major issue when it comes to selecting the right crops to grow.

Can agriculture provide family income in this climate?

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• Farmers are increasingly reliant on water from government res-ervoirs and dams. However, not all farming land is located near to these. A debate has been going on for years regarding the percent-age of water from the reservoirs that should be allocated to farming.

• Water from treated effluent is now used extensively in agriculture. In some areas, however, this is so saline that a problem arises when there is not enough additional rain.

• Certain areas developed a heavy dependency on agriculture dur-ing the good years. With the decline in rainfall they started using more water from boreholes instead. Now the heavy dependency on the aquifer has destroyed it completely. There is constant pres-sure on the government to provide the farmers with water to sus-tain their livelihoods. Some are even pressing for the construction of small desalination plants on the island.

New Water Deal for European rural landscapes.Michal KravčíkJuraj Kohutiar, People and Water, NGO Slovakia

Summary

Keywords

The New Water Deal creates conditions for implementation of relatively simple and undemanding rainwater harvesting, anti-flood and anti-drought measures on unprecedented scale. It involves works aimed at conservation of soil, water resources and ecosystems. The area rich in water, soil and vegetation has a growing value, just like area with lesser risk of floods. The inhabitants on local level would easily iden-tify themselves with the project goals. Preparation, implementation and maintenance of erosion-prevention and water-holding measures would create useful jobs. The increase of retention capacity of land is a part of internationally promoted principles of good management of natural resources as well as the condition for the environmental and economic safety. The current economic situation only creates more favorable conditions for what has to be done anyway and to what the responsible institutions are bound to act.

Small water cycles, desertification, drought, floods, climate change, biodiversity, waterholdings, jobs.

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Introduction All the continents of the world have been suffering from floods and droughts, fires, lack of water and climatic changes. The damages caused by water all over the world exceed hundreds of billions EUR annually and tend to rise. To this, the economic crisis has been added bringing also unemployment with it. Nevertheless, it also brings opportunity to transfer and shift loosen work power to solve the above mentioned problems – just like it was successfully done during the Great Depression in the 30-ties of the 20th century in the USA, in framework of the New Deal program.

The American New Deal consisted of large number of programs and initiatives at federal, national and local levels, with various durations, costs and number of stakeholders. President Roosevelt preferred the job creation, as he regarded the direct financial help to individuals during the time of unemployment as the “drug unnoticeably destroy-ing the human spirit“. With the benefit of hindsight we can say that the programs not only gave jobs to millions of people, but they also left a healthier land behind, with planted trees and forests, ponds, dams or terraces – these are the benefits that we feel even today.

UN Secretary-General Pan Ki-Moon during Davos´ World Economic Forum in January 2009 called on the world’s business and other lead-ers to use the current economic crisis to launch a “Green New Deal” that creates jobs and fights climate change. Ban Ki-moon called for “a new constellation of international cooperation – governments, civil society and the private sector, working together for a collective global good,“ as well as for a “breaking the tyranny of short-term thinking in favour of long-term solutions.”

According to the publicized sources (UN, World Bank, EU, UNDP, MDG), the current state of majority of river basins can be characterized as follows :

• A vast desertification process has been occurring currently at all continents, resulting in decrease of natural water retaining capac-ity of watersheds, and in increase of rainwater surface run-off.

• Risk and frequency of floods, droughts and fires and climate change have increased.

• Deterioration of drinking water resources and decrease of their abundance has been occurring.

• Erosion has been accelerating resulting in decrease of soil fertility.

In addressing the current situation, the Millennium Development Goals define the integrated water resources management in terms of holistic approach to river basins: “to promote the principle of water manage-

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ment throughout the catchments areas completely, i.e. also in areas other than river beds and water reservoirs, thus to create conditions for wider use of biotechnical, agrotechnical and forestry measures... in order to improve the retaining capacity”. Common practice is that water after utilization becomes waste water disposed as quickly as pos-sible. About 700 billion m3 are splashed from continents annually – of rainwater that in the past seeped into the soil, enriched groundwater, evaporated, stabilized the temperature regimes and partially precipi-tated back through small water cycle.

According to the European experts, the best international flood-preven-tion experience dwells in three-level approach : a) rainwater harvesting on the spot, where it falls; b) retention of rainwater; and only finally, when first two steps were insufficient, c) its discharge through the river bed.1 The present New Water Deal mainly deals with the first two steps of rainwater harvesting and rainwater retention that have been overlooked and neglected until now. That means a shift of measures that are cur-rently isolated from the causes of floods – to their prevention.

While the erosion and transport of soil are very quick processes, soil creation is a process that is so slow that we can say that soil is a non-renewable source. Our ancestors protected soil against water erosion by all kinds of means: they built various terraces in the landscape, strips of grass, shrubs or trees surrounding the fields. Potential tech-nical measures nowadays include saturation ditches digged along contour lines in slopes, depressions, saturation holes, water-holdings, limans, small dams, or weirs at rivers or creeks, in gorges or in gul-lies, polders and small outflow dams, fire-prevention water reservoirs, ponds, etc., that may accumulate rainwater.

The mentioned measures – do not require qualified work in most cases, and are very close to the rural people, who usually suffer from unemployment more that people in cities. In this program proposal we consider creation of water-holding measures with the target retaining capacity of ca 1,000 billion m3 rainwater annually collected on all conti-nents of the Earth, which according to some evaluations responds to the amount by which the volume of water is decreased in hydrological sys-tems of continents per year. Such a volume could be created in approxi-mately 10 years. We estimate that one worker can create about 1,000 m3 water-holdings a year. Creation of water-holding elements capable to collect 1,000 km3 rainwater a year would have positive impact on achiev-ing MDG-s. By estimates, the cost of such a program may amount to 250-350 billion EUR annually, and 2.500-3.500 billion EUR in total.

1 See e.g. document “Best practices on flood prevention,

protection and mitigation,“ by EU Water Directors Core Group on Flood Protection,

2003.

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Keywords

Summary Agriculture, currently responsible for 20-30% of global greenhouse gas emissions (counting direct and indirect agricultural emissions), can contribute to both climate change mitigation and adaptation. The main mitigation potential lies in the capacity of agricultural soils to seques-ter CO2 through building organic matter. This potential can be realized by employing sustainable agricultural practices, such as those com-monly found within organic farming systems. Examples of these prac-tices are the use of organic fertilizers, crop rotations including legume leys and cover crops, the avoidance of open biomass burning, and the avoidance of synthetic fertilizers. These assumptions are supported by meta-analysis of published studies reporting measured data on soil carbon development and greenhouse gas fluxes under organic and non-organic management.Common organic practices also contribute to adaptation. Building soil organic matter increases water retention capacity, and creates more stabile, fertile soils, thus reducing vulnerability to drought, extreme precipitation events, floods and water logging. The high diversity together with the lower input costs of organic agriculture is key to reducing production risks associated with extreme weather events.

Organic farming, greenhouse gas emissions, soil carbon, adaptation.

The potential of organic farming practices for meeting the climate challenge in different regions of Europe – mitigation and adaptation.Andreas GattingerSubject Leader Climate at FiBL Switzerland; Chair of the Round Table on Organic Agriculture and Climate Change (RTOACC)

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It has been suggested that conversion to organic farming contributes to soil carbon sequestration but until now a comprehensive quantita-tive assessment is lacking. Therefore, datasets from 74 studies from pair wise comparisons of organic versus non-organic farming systems were subjected to meta-analysis to identify differences in soil organic carbon (SOC). We found significant differences and higher values for organically farmed soils of 0.18±0.06 % points (mean±95% confidence interval) for SOC concentrations, 3.50±1.08 Mg C ha-1 for stocks, and 0.45±0.21 Mg C ha-1 y-1 for sequestration rates compared to non-organic management. Meta-regression did not deliver clear results on drivers, but differences in external C inputs and crop rotations seemed important. Restricting the analysis to zero net input organic systems, i.e. without nutrient inputs from outside the system, and retaining only the datasets with highest data quality (measured soil bulk densities and external C and N inputs), the mean difference in SOC stocks between the farming systems was still significant (1.98±1.50 Mg C ha-1), while the difference in seques-tration rates became insignificant. Analyzing zero net input systems for all data without this quality requirement revealed significant, positive differences in SOC concentrations and stocks (0.13±0.09 % points, resp. 2.16±1.65 Mg C ha-1) and insignificant differences for sequestration rates (0.27±0.37 Mg C ha-1 y-1). The data mainly covers top soil and temper-ate zones, while only few data from tropical regions and sub soil hori-zons exist. Summarizing, this study shows that organic farming has the potential to accumulate soil carbon.

Based on 19 studies (101 comparisons) it appeared with a high signifi-cance (p<0.001) that nitrous oxide emissions from organically managed soils are 444±60 kg CO2 eq. ha-1 y-1 (mean±95% confidence interval) lower than emissions from non-organically managed soils. Consider-ing the values of specific types of agricultural land use, the difference is most pronounced for arable soils with 505±79 kg CO2 eq. ha-1 y-1 (15 studies, 78 comparisons; p<0.001). However, nitrous oxide emissions per yield are 35±29 kg CO2 eq. t-1 dry matter (7 studies, 27 compari-sons; p=0.02) higher under organic management covering only arable land-use. This is due to 26% lower crop yields under organic manage-ment. For equalizing the mean differences in nitrous emission per yield between both farming systems included in our database, the yield gap has to be less than 17%. For arable soils alone, the mean difference of methane uptake also sums up to 1.4±0.8 kg CO2 eq. ha-1 y-1 in favour of organic management (4 studies, 16 comparisons; p=0.09; not signifi-cant). Until now, there is only one comparative study on rice paddies which shows 949.5 kg±212 CO2 eq. ha-1 y-1 higher methane emission under organic management (p<0.001). All 19 studies reporting GHG

Greenhouse gas mitigation: Carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas fluxes in soil ecosystems as influenced by organic farming management. Results of two global meta-analyses.

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flux data from soils under organic and non-organic management were conducted in the Northern hemisphere under temperate climate. Further GHG flux measurements in farming system comparisons from hitherto uncovered pseudo-climatic situations are required to confirm the results obtained so far and to enable a global coverage of the database in future.

Farm practices commonly used within organic agriculture increase and stabilize soil organic matter. Organic production is thus less prone than conventional cultivation to extreme weather conditions, such as drought, flooding, and water-logging, which are expected to become much more frequent under climate change. Organic farming practices have also been shown to reduce soil erosion, increase aggregate sta-bility and stimulate soil biological activity. As already mentioned, these benefits do not depend on the implementation of OA as a whole sys-tem, but on implementation of certain key practices such as recycling of manures and crop residues through organic fertilizers, which can also be implemented in conventional agriculture.

Organic agriculture uses a greater level of diversity among crops, crop rotations and production practices than commonly employed in conventional, industrialized agriculture, which often is based on monocultures. An example of OA benefits is the enhanced biodiver-sity, which reduces pest outbreaks and severity of plant and animal diseases, while also improving utilization of soil nutrients and water. For improving resilience to a higher occurrence of heat waves under climate change, the use of agro-forestry and shade trees can be a very efficient mechanism for lowering critical temperatures. These diverse systems may also enhance carbon sequestration.

Organic agriculture is a low-risk farming strategy based on lowering external inputs and optimizing biological functions. Besides lowering toxicity, reduced inputs lower costs and thus con-tribute to the com-petitiveness of organic agriculture economically. In addition, organic price premiums may be realized. These factors working together can lower the financial risks and improve the rewards.

They provide a type of low cost but effective insurance against crop reduction or failure. Due to this increased coping capacity of the farms, the risk of indebtedness in general is lowered. Organic agriculture is thus most often a viable alternative for poor farmers. Risk manage-ment, risk-reduction strategies, and economic diversification to build resilience are also prominent aspects of adaptation to climate change.

Adaptation to climate change

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Organic agriculture provides a good opportunity to utilize local and indigenous farmer knowledge, adaptive learning and crop develop-ment, which are seen as important sources for adaptation to climate change and variability in farming communities. However, it is impor-tant to stress that existing local knowledge, in the front of climate change, needs to be updated by more intensive observations and their interpretation, as well as with the assistance of research, experimenta-tion and innovation.

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Session 2: Ecotourism, adapted farming and quality production as drivers of sustainable rural development.

Summary

Keywords

The many facets of rural tourism offer the opportunity for the formula-tion of agglomeration economies that may develop to strong tourism clusters. Rural tourism is a composite good or service, in the sense that the visitor consumes an experience consisting of many different ingredients, including food, landscape, physical and environmental resources, heritage, craftsmanship, etc. Firms and institutions from practically all sectors of the local economy are involved in the pro-duction of this composite good. This process supports agglomeration forces, both in the sense of traditional Marshalian clustering based on specialization, and in the sense of Jacobian clustering based on diver-sification. Empirical results from rural tourism sites in mountainous areas of Greece show that rural tourism is an asset for successful rural development, not only because it brings prosperity, but also because it enhances agglomeration economies and strengthens bridging and bonding social and entrepreneurial networks.

Rural tourism, agglomeration economies, bridging and bonding net-works.

Ecotourism as a driver of sustainable rural development.Dimitris SkurasProfessor of Economics at the University of Patras, Greece.

Workshop I - Ecotourism and organic farming. Complementary strategies for sustanable rural development.

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Introduction

Producingquality

Rural tourism (i.e. low intensity tourism taking place in rural areas) is not a conventional service. The term can includes many different forms of tourism, such as agro-tourism, where the experience is connected to ag-riculture and the farm, eco-tourism, where the experience is connected to the physical environment, physical resources and monuments of nature, heritage, culinary and wine tourism, religious tourism, etc. Rural tourism is therefore a complex experience of a combination of services, including, for example, bed-and-breakfast and local amenities, and local products like food and handmade crafts. All of these are consumed simultaneously, forming what is called a composite good or service. The visitor consumes an “experience” composed of the landscape, physical resources, raw and cooked foods, culinary heritage, amenities and hospitality services. The production of all these components demands the close cooperation of firms and institutions in the primary (e.g. local plant production, local milk, etc.), secondary (e.g. cheese makers, local pasta, etc.) and tertiary sectors (the whole hospitality industry).

Despite long debates regarding the need to focus on quality certified production, producers remain confused about the advantages of quality production. Today, when incomes are falling and households are spend-ing less on quality products and tourism, a regression can be observed. Quality certification is sometimes viewed as just a marketing ploy; it is often seen as a protection mechanism and only rarely as a quality-assured method of production. This is due to the fact that the producers’ view of quality is limited to the physical characteristics of the product where food production is concerned, or with amenities and services in the hospitality industry. Producers rarely pay attention to issues such as a product’s trace-ability, or its associations with the place, heritage, tradition, craftsmanship, etc. Thus, valorisation – the process of exploiting local potential – has been highly confined in the utilisation of local quality added value by using local breeds or varieties, local materials or special environmental conditions, or even human input and know-how. One potential development strategy for marginal rural areas lies in the arena of quality food and tourism markets. Along this line, one possible strategy within the broader market of quality foods would be to promote specialty food products, which would have a distinct territorial, local and/or regional, identity. In this way, the promotion of regional food can be achieved through the commodification of local culture and the promotion of regional images.

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Empirical evidence in Greece shows that linking products to ‘cultural markers’ or local images, such as cultural traditions and heritage, en-hances the product’s value. This is because consumers come to identify certain regions with certain products. Product differentiation allows firms to minimise competition and earn higher profits, which is a strategy pur-sued by firms which establish branding and labelling schemes. Especially in the light of declining agricultural incomes across the EU, an alternative production strategy promoting product differentiation and specialisation is particularly significant for rural development. Another very promising arena lies in the connection between tourism and local food. Visitor sur-veys have revealed that: (i) purchases of local food account for a signifi-cant part of the money spent on rural tourism, (ii) visitors who choose to purchase local food products share distinct characteristics that differenti-ate them from those who usually do not consume local foods, and (iii) the amount those visitors spend on such products depends to greatly on their preconceptions about the local foods and on whether or not they are already familiar with the products.

Integrated rural tourism recognizes the importance of complementari-ly – as opposed to substitution – of all kinds of resources and activities that are potentially useful for the development of tourism. Empirical research has shown that the formation of business networks and the nature of the contacts made (informal or formal) are important aspects in the differentiation of types of tourism development. Policymakers face two challenges. The first is to increase the number of businesses that join networks because of the benefits these can bring, particu-larly for small firms in rural areas –benefits seen in the study areas. The second challenge is to establish formal networks by gradually de-veloping informal groupings into more organised structures. There is evidence that relatively small, tight-knit and active networks of busi-nesses exist. The main goal for institutions and agencies is therefore to include these networks in the policymaking process, using a coordi-nated approach. However, the gradual evolution of informal networks into more formal structures may be associated with the loss of critical features of the network, such as trust, reciprocity, cost-effectiveness and a common vision. In areas with a long tradition of serious insti-tutional interventions, both formal and informal networking has been facilitated highlighting the importance of institutional agents as actors and gatekeepers.

Sustainability beyond production and consumption: Actors and gatekeepers

Imagery, information and consumption

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The sustainable development of rural tourism creates agglomeration and strong clusters of producers, business and institutional actors. These form networks that bridge with the non-local and bond with the local. Bridging networks are undervalued and local communities fail to recognize the need to understand the role of the non-local beyond being a supplier of visitors. However, it is only outside the local con-text that local firms can tap into different technical and institutional re-sources, to promote economic interaction and local economic growth and development. Human, social and institutional capital are prereq-uisites of sustainable development which means that efforts have to be long-term.

Concluding remarks

Creating a platform for sustainable rural development by linking quality production with ecotourism.Bill SleeSenior research scientist, former Leader of the Social Economic and Geographical Sciences Group at the James Hutton Institute, Scotland

Summary European agriculture faces a major adjustment challenge in try-ing to reconcile the growing demand for food with the maintenance of vibrant rural communities in areas away from the agro-industrial heartlands. The limits to the productivist solution have been recog-nised and there is also general recognition that in more agriculturally disadvantaged parts of Europe different adjustment strategies may be needed, founded more on local territorial distinctiveness and less on mainstream agricultural solutions. Local, low input and organic food presents one adjustment option. Where this can be combined with agro-tourism, local markets can be extended and the rural areas ben-efit from additional injections of wealth due to the financial flows from tourism. Climate change has been flagged as a major policy challenge in Europe and needs to be factored into the local development strate-gies linking food and tourism. Low input, organic and traditional farm-ing systems linked to tourism may offer a resilient, low-GHG-emitting development platform for many parts of Europe.

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Introduction

Rural development, sustainability, diversification.

European agriculture is at something of a crossroads. A raw materi-als crisis and impending food crisis have arisen from the combined impacts of many factors: growing demand, arising especially from affluence rather than numbers; anthropogenic climate change which, especially with the impact of extreme events, is compromising food production; political uncertainty and conflict; and perhaps the weaken-ing of protectionist policies which lead to further volatility in food mar-kets. The advocates of sustainable intensification are pushing for GMO and a high-tech industrialised farming solution. Others argue convinc-ingly for a more nuanced regionalised approach, building on product distinctiveness. Furthermore, in the fall out of the financial crisis, and paralleling the collapse of Eastern European socialist regimes in the early 1990s, a retreat to the land and semi-subsistence is taking place, which offers some a degree of shelter from the storm.

Organic agriculture often has a place among the coping and adaptive strategies of farming households. Although the motives of the organic pioneers were distinctly non-commercial, the organic niche has proved a commercial successful and, for a long time, has been an expand-ing niche. The organics sector has grown very substantially in the last two decades, but there has always been a dualistic element to its func-tioning. The ‘purist’ organic farmers and their customers tended to be driven less by markets and more by ecological morality, whereas the ‘pragmatist’ farmers sought early engagement with the supermarkets to extend their organic marketing channels. Here again, hybridity exists in the diverse range of organic systems which can provide a develop-ment opportunity.

Two of the most commonly practiced adaptive strategies relate to tour-ism and value adding enterprises. Where these two can be combined there is a significant potential synergy. The tourism product can be augmented and made more distinctive by the use of locally produced products such as food and drink. Further, the tourism product can in effect be an additional retail outlet which captures a price premium, or at least something approaching a retail price, to form an integrated business. The benefits of the combined model of linking tourism to food include enhanced incomes for farming households, the retention of family farms and the maintenance of the cultural landscapes associ-ated with agriculture.

Keywords

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Compared to industrial farming, organic and distinctive local produc-tion systems are usually less reliant on purchased inputs. When input prices are volatile and rising, the relative advantage of endogenous sys-tems tends to reassert itself. The challenge remains to strengthen these endogenous systems still further in ways that meet wider policy objec-tives, such as reduced greenhouse gas emissions and reduced environ-mental damage. Agro-tourism extends the market for many of these endogenous products but the Achilles heel of tourism is the carbon footprint associated with long-distance travel. Tourism is so important to the European rural economy that it needs help in developing emis-sions-reducing strategies and recognition that the local materials used in construction and the local foods used in providing for the guests in the small-scale agro-tourism model carry a much smaller carbon burden than the equivalent products used in large-scale tourism enterprises.

The European Union has supported this diversity of European agricul-ture, particularly since the early 1990s, though the interest and engage-ment in traditional, endogenous and alternative production and marketing systems goes back to an earlier date. Three important means by which the EU has recently promoted regionally diverse agricultures have been its support for distinctive products through schemes such as the Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) and Protected Geographical Indication (PGI), its measures intended to encourage Organic conver-sion, and the support provided in the Structural Funds, LEADER and other Rural Development Policy (RDP) grants for value addition and diversification of farm enterprises. In the debate on the desired charac-ter of the post 2013 RDP, the need to reduce carbon emissions has been a major discussion point, so this additional demand must be grafted onto the existing policy structures.

Strengthening synergies between local food and low environmental impact local food and tourism offers an important adjustment strategy to increase resilience at household and regional levels, and to build more sustainable development outcomes. The OECD has long argued for cross-sectoral, place-specific territorial development strategies. By combining tourism opportunity and local food and linking this to the diverse cultural landscapes of low input agriculture, there is real scope for the development of resilient adaptation strategies for farm-ing households. The building blocks of European policy are largely in place. Vibrant and dynamic local partnerships are needed to take for-ward the challenge.

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Agrotourism and organic hotels in GreeceCharikleia MinotouGeneral Manager of DIO, President of AgriBioMediterraneo-IFOAM

Summary

Introduction

Organic Agriculture (OA) covers approximately 4% of cultivated land in Greece, comprises of many different Mediterranean cultivations and offers organic Mediterranean products. As Greece is a well known touris-tic destination, the touristic sector is strongly connected with rural devel-opment and the promotion of the typical Mediterranean landscape.During the last decade both Agro tourism and Eco tourism presented an increase in Greece. The landscape, biodiversity, Protected areas, and rural development constitute some of the main reasons of this notable change and increase.

Organic Agriculture, Greece, Agrotourism, Ecotourism.

Greece is now a popular destination for holidays of all kinds, including alternative types of tourism, offering visitors an opportunity to com-bine relaxation and rest with a unique experience from Greek nature and agriculture, usually in certified organic farms. Visitors can become acquainted with a variety of agricultural areas and activities, local products, traditional cuisine, and the everyday life and culture of local inhabitants. They can enjoy nature and rural life, with respect to the environment and local traditions.The opportunity for sustainable development of rural areas has been a priority for many different Regions in Greece. Many successful examples have been implemented, constructed, and organized and are related with the country’s culture, history, tradition, gastronomy, local mental-ity, agricultural profile, eco characteristics, agricultural production, rich biodiversity, interesting geological phenomena, customs and traditions.Some specific examples in Greece include:

• A large organic farm, in Mitilini, which features a romantic 19th century tower, animal farming, olive trees, and a variety of spe-cialised agricultural facilities and equipment. The agrotouristic activity of this organic farm focuses almost exclusively on educa-tion, with beginner and specialised courses throughout the year.

Keywords

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• An organic vineyard and winery in Spata, Attiki, which offers small groups the opportunity to visit the winery and vineyard, and or-ganizes many interesting events throughout the year (such as the Open Gates Vineyard Fest, in May).

• An agrotourism village, in Crete, which offers high quality hotel services for tourists who want to enjoy nature, farming and Cretan diet all year round.

• A Traditional hostel, in Chios, which combines the nobility of an old mansion with the beautiful environment of certified organic farming. It features citrus and olive trees, animal farming, and a small handicraft unit (marmalades and sweets).

• An organic ecological park, between Thiva and Chalkida, which offers hospitality to both people and animals who want to enjoy an alternative way of life. It features animal farming, a modest zoo, extensive sports facilities (swimming pool, soccer, basketball, volleyball, table tennis, paintball, trekking, mountain bike), play-ground, a heliport, etc.

• Finally, the Viokouzina standard applies to a series of enterprises (including restaurants, hotels, catering, etc) that offer cooked food with organic ingredients.

In conclusion, the connection of OA and tourism presents a dynamic model which supports a healthy and innovative proposal for promot-ing farm activities and the organic products of the area and at the same time for highlighting the benefits of sustainable management of eco-systems by the combination of biodiversity conservation and public participation.

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Organic Farming and “agriturismo” the right choiceAlessandro TriantafyllidisPresident of the AIAB

Introduction Over the last 25 years, agro-tourism has provided a real boost to rural areas in Italy, and running agro-tourism facilities has proved to be an important choice for farms in remote areas that have survived by diver-sifying their incomes. By 2010, nearly 20,000 farms had opened such on-site services. In terms of both quantity and tradition, Tuscany and Trentino-Alto Adige have long been the leading regions for agro-tourism, with 4,000 and 3,000 units respectively. A few interesting statistics demonstrate the importance of agro-tourism for rural development: one in three facilities are managed by women, 85% of the agriturismi are located in Italy’s highland regions.Food and lodging are not the only services you can find in an agritu-rismo, as they often provide plenty of sporting and cultural activities as well. More recently, two other approaches have also become more common in Italian agro-tourism: educational farms, of which there are around 800, and social agriculture, which are fewer in number but more important in terms of their impact on rural society.

On the counterpart organic farming is very important in Italy, with over one million hectares (8.7% of the total utilised agricultural area) and 48,000 farms certified (3.5% of all farms). A large number of organic farms also run agro-tourism facilities. These have become particularly successful due to the fact that organic farmers are often younger and open to innovation; they work to develop multifunctional farms and take care of the agro-ecosystem. Moreover, they are also keen to share the quality of their work with other people. All these things are useful if you want to start an agriturismo.

A rough calculation suggests that between seven and eight per cent of Italian agriturismi are found on organically certified farms. The long history of the agriturismi in Italy makes it easier to evaluate the system, with its threats and the opportunities. While the benefits of agro-tour-ism are easy to see, a number of threats are also emerging: • Agriturismi with not much “Agri” but a lot of “turismo”; • The effects of the long financial crisis;

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• The competition between agriturismi; • The competition with other accommodation providers, such as

B&B and rooms to let, in the so called Less Favourite Areas (LFAs) is giving hard times to farmers;

• The danger of the cliché: good food, green surroundings, a few animals and a swimming pool.

There is an urgent need to distinguish the agriturismo from others, and for the public to recognise them for their eco-services. There is also a need for Organic-Eco Agriturismi. But what is “an Organic-Eco agritu-rismo?” Tourism services are obviously not part of the EU Regulation 834/2007, nor are catering. Is organic farming enough?

More than a decade ago, the Italian Association for Organic Farming, AIAB, developed a set of standards for organic agriturismi. There are now nearly 250 certified farms, although interestingly the standard is more “fashionable” now than it was in the end of the 1990s.

The AIAB standards address different areas, from farming to multi-functional aspects of the farm and its management. As a first step, the farm has to be fully organically certified. No mixed farms are allowed. The other aspects identified by the standard are: • Natural resources management: from landscaping to biodiversity

preservation. • Educational services: educational farm, kid’s corner. • Quality of lodging facilities: from the standard of materials used to

restore buildings, to recycling and energy saving. • Minimal facilities and equipment. • Tourism services. • Food and direct selling. • Other ecological criteria proposed by the farm.

The standards include a number of mandatory minimum requirements as well as some voluntary measures, for each of which the candidate is awarded up to three points. The final result becomes the classification of between one and five “margaritas” or daisies.

While tourism services are already certified according to ecological standards, such as eco-labels and eco-tourism, we think there is a need for a specific, Europe-wide certification standard for agritu-rismi, which takes into consideration both farming and tourist ser-vices, in order to harmonise, protect and promote organic agriturismi throughout rural Europe.

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Water resources management in a changing climate. The experiences of Cyprus.Yianna EconomidouExecutive Engineer at the Water Development Department of Cyprus, Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment.

Summary Over the coming decades, climate change will have a significant impact on the quality and availability of water resources, both within Europe and globally. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, between 1.1 and 3.2 billion people would be affected by water scarcity if temperatures were to rise by between 2° and 3° C. Drought affected areas are likely to grow. The increase in mean annual tempera-tures in the Mediterranean region is greater than the global average, and this is expected to have an adverse impact on agricultural and low-lying coastal areas, which will also be affected by rising sea levels.

Water scarcity has always been a serious problem for Cyprus. Accord-ing to the European Commission’s in-depth assessment on water scar-city and drought (First Interim Report), Cyprus and Malta are the “water poor” countries of Europe with the lowest water availability per capita. Like other Mediterranean countries, Cyprus has a semi-arid climate and its limited water resources are mainly dependent on rainfall. How-ever, the rain in Cyprus is unevenly distributed leading to considerable regional variations. Other water sources are scarce and expensive to exploit, and droughts occur frequently.

Workshop II - Climate change and water scarcity as a challenge in agricultural production – Ways ahead.

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Climate change is already affecting Cyprus in a number of ways. Statis-tical analysis reveals a steep drop in precipitation in Cyprus since the early 70’s, which persists until today. Climate models predict a general rise in temperature for this region and an increase in the intensity and frequency of extreme drought events.

To tackle these challenges, the Government of Cyprus has adopted an integrated and sustainable approach to water management, based on water demand management and the sustainable use of conventional and non-conventional supply-side measures.

The purpose of the presentation is to give a brief overview of the water scarcity and drought problems in Cyprus, and to illustrate how water has been managed over the years to ensure water security now and in

Mediterranean farming in times of climate change. Analysis of the challenges and opportunitiesLuis LassalettaUMR Sisyphe, CNRS/Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris. France. Eduardo AguileraUniversidad Pablo de Olavide, Seville, Spain. Both are members of the Round Table on Organic Agriculture and Climate Change (RTOACC).

Summary Current agricultural systems in Mediterranean areas are characterized by a high dependence on energy inputs and feed products produced outside the region. On the other hand, particular characteristics of these areas make them especially vulnerable to water pollution and soil ero-sion related to agricultural activities. Several climate models predict an increase in temperatures together with a fall in precipitation for areas with a Mediterranean climate. This situation, together with the upward trend in energy prices, shows there is a clear need for a new agricul-tural model that is much less dependent on external energy and mate-rial inputs, and which is adapted to a new situation of water scarcity, higher temperatures and higher erosion potential. Recent studies in Mediterranean areas have demonstrated the potential benefits, in terms

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Changes, challenges and opportunities

of reduced N2O emissions and increased carbon sequestration, of apply-ing organic matter to soil. The proper management of organic matter in agro-ecosystems appears as a promising strategy for both mitigation and adaptation, although it might lead together with climate changes to a partial reduction of the agricultural production in the area. A more sus-tainable food production and consumption would be possible if dietary patterns returned to the so-called Mediterranean diet, which involves a ca. 35% intake of animal protein rather than the 65% consumed today.

Mediterranean agriculture, peak oil, Mediterranean diet, water quality, organic matter.

In regions with a Mediterranean climate, agro-ecological processes are affected in different ways to those in other climatic zones. The Mediter-ranean climate is characterized by periods of high solar irradiation and high rates of evaporation. Water is the biggest limiting factor, and the scarce resources mostly used for irrigation. Mediterranean soils com-monly show low organic matter content and low levels of mineral nutri-ents. These factors make the region particularly susceptible to land degradation, salinization, water pollution and soil erosion. Agricultural management practices can worsen these problems. For example, the retention of nitrogen in agricultural catchments is very high, due to the extensive water regulation in Mediterranean catchments (Lassaletta et al. 2012). On the other hand yields are generally lower than those obtained in temperate ecosystems. For instance, the average wheat yield in France is 7,500 kg/ha, compared to 2,600 in Cyprus or Greece. In terms of energy use some agro-food systems, such as that in Spain, are characterized by considerable inefficiency and a high consumption of fossil fuels (Infante-Amate & González de Molina, 2011). The Mediter-ranean agro-food system is largely influenced by consumption patterns. Over the last 50 years, the so-called Mediterranean diet has evolved into a diet rich in animal protein, similar to that of northern Europeans (65% animal protein). This entails importing a huge amount of feed produced outside Europe, mostly in Argentina and Brazil. In Spain, for instance, feed imports nowadays equal the domestic crop production (Lassaletta et al., submitted). Therefore, Mediterranean agriculture is now heavily dependent on several forms of external input.

Different climate models predict different increases in temperature, dry-ness and climatic variability in Mediterranean areas, which could all lead to a reduction in productivity (Trnka et al. 2011). Water availability for

Mediterranean agro-food system

Keywords

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(García-Ruiz, 2011). At the same time, increasing energy scarcity due to peak oil and the shortage of other non-renewable fuels calls into ques-tion the sustainability of a high input agricultural model.

The challenge for the future in Mediterranean areas is clear: to pro-vide enough food and clean water to the population in a situation of heightened water scarcity, with uncertain yields and expensive energy. That challenge could also be an opportunity for the construction of a new agro-food system. The new system could not be sustained by high-energy external inputs, such as large-scale imports feed or syn-thetic fertilizers, but must be able to guarantee its own fertility. In this context, the proper management of organic matter in these highly min-eralized soils will be crucial. This should involve the full recycling of organic waste and the production of additional organic matter using techniques such as cover cropping. New nitrogen inputs through bio-logical fixation will also be a key point.

These strategies have potential for both mitigation and adaptation. Agu-ilera et al. (2012a,b) have shown that organic fertilizers contribute to the reduction of N2O emissions and help to enhance carbon sequestration in soils, resulting in a high mitigation potential. On the other hand, the application of organic matter prevents erosion and makes the soil more resilient to a highly variable environment (adaptation). Organics-based agriculture also reduces the dependence on fossil energy and the asso-ciated emissions. We should, however, take into account that today’s organic agriculture systems are in part supplemented with organic mat-ter derived from conventional agriculture. In this highly limiting context we should be prepared for a possible reduction in productivity. Billen et al. (2012) examined how the people living in Paris survive on food produced in the Seine catchment area, in a scenario of generalized and relocalized organic farming. However, this would only be possible if Pari-sians significantly reduced their intake of animal protein. Under this sce-nario, continental waters would also recover their quality.

We therefore conclude that to feed the people of Mediterranean coun-ties in the emerging context of climate change and energy scarcity, while also guaranteeing their access to clean water, will require a dif-ferent agro-food model. This model must necessarily be based on relo-calized agriculture, and the wise management of organic matter and nitrogen fixation will be crucial. Due to a potential reduction in yields, it will only be possible to realise this model if we act at the same time to alter demand – i.e. achieve a return to the Mediterranean diet in which animal protein is limited to roughly one third of the total.

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A cool CAP post-2013: What measures could help to adapt Cyprus farming and biodiversity to the consequences of climate change? Martin A. HellicarCampaigns manager at Birdlife Cyprus

Summary

Introduction

Keywords

Climate change poses a considerable desertification threat for Cyprus, generating interlinked challenges for agriculture and for the wildlife of farmland ecosystems. Ecologically sustainable agriculture is the best approach for adapting to these serious challenges, and the adoption of an ecosystem-based approach (EBA) to adaptation offers a practical for-mula for achieving this. Especially under the conditions of ecological stress caused by climate change, the farming ecosystem and its proper manage-ment must be at the heart of the future Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). A sufficiently “greened” and targeted CAP could provide tremendous support for an ecosystem-based approach to farming, both due to the cli-mate-proofing of all CAP support and through targeted measures such as agro-environmental climate schemes.

Cyprus, desertification, farmland ecosystems, ecosystem based ap-proaches to adaptation (EBA), EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

Climate change poses a stern adaptation challenge for agriculture in Cyprus and the rich wildlife it currently supports. Studies by the Cy-prus Institute project a rise in summer temperatures on the eastern Mediterranean island of between 2oC and 4oC before the end of this century, compared to the 1960 to 1990 reference periods. By the end of the century, Cyprus can expect an extra two months which experi-ence days with temperatures exceeding 35oC, on top of the present summer months of June, July and August. An increase in the average annual temperature has already been recorded in Cyprus. Added to this is the projection of reduced rainfall (a pattern already in evidence) and increased evaporation because of higher temperatures. As Pro-fessor Manfred Lange, geophysicist at the Cyprus Institute, recently observed, taken together these factors put Cyprus at a very high risk of desertification by the end of this century. The desertification pro-cess will place increasing pressure on an agricultural system that has

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Agriculture and biodiversity

become more and more dependent on irrigation in recent decades. Meanwhile, the shifting climatic conditions will force many species of flora and fauna to try and shift their ranges in order to find conditions they can “live with”. How we respond to these challenges in the man-agement of our farmland ecosystems will be crucial in determining the future, both of agriculture itself, and of the biodiversity it simultane-ously supports and relies on for its sustainability.

Sustainable agriculture has sympathetic management of the farmland ecosystem at its core. The long-term productivity of agricultural sys-tems can only be secured by working within the limits of the ecological systems. It cannot be achieved by attempting to circumvent these lim-its, as industrial farming does, using high inputs of chemicals, energy and technology in an artificially simplified agro-ecosystem. Adapting agriculture to the new realities of climate change, in Cyprus and else-where, can best be achieved by adopting ecosystem-based approach-es to adaptation. These can be defined as the use of biodiversity and ecosystem services to help people adapt to the adverse effects of cli-mate change.

A sustainable farming system is one in which soil fertility is maintained without excessive inputs of (energy-hungry) chemical fertilisers; one in which soil erosion is minimised, water resources are conserved, and pest infestations are controlled without excessive use of pesticides. This ecologically wise approach requires the maintenance of natural vegetation within the farmland landscape and the maintenance of bio-diversity. It also requires that these elements be restored wherever they have been lost. Moreover, it is necessary to accept that optimal productivity is preferable to maximised short-term production. The lat-ter is often achieved at the expense of long-term productivity because of water pollution and misuse, soil degradation, biodiversity loss and greenhouse gas emissions. These realities are especially urgent under the conditions of ecological stress imposed by rapid climate change.

If we accept that ecosystem-based approaches are the way forward for farming in a world affected by global warming, there are evidently many appropriate ways in which a policy instrument such as the EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) can be used. For example: • The greening of Pillar I payments and cross compliance would

help ensure minimum standards of ecological management are maintained on all farms in receipt of CAP subsidies. In this context,

How the CAP can help eco-system-based approaches

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the greening of Ecological Focus Areas is important, as it ensures that farm holdings contain an area devoted to the management of biodiversity. Used wisely, Ecological Focus Areas can help ensure the permeability of farmland for wildlife seeking to relocate in re-sponse to shifting climatic conditions.

• All CAP measures should be subject to an impact assessment that ensures their use has been climate and biodiversity proofed.

• Existing sustainable systems, such as organic and (in particular) high nature value (HNV) farming, would benefit from marketing measures and targeted subsidiary programmes, including greater support and tailored agro-environmental schemes. This could in-clude support for extensive grazing systems.

• Water management measures could be encouraged to reduce the reliance on irrigation (increasing the water supply through energy-hungry desalination is not a sustainable alternative).

• Agro-environmental climate measures hold great potential for tar-geted farm-level biodiversity conservation.

• Looking beyond farmland ecosystems, CAP support could be channelled into the management of NATURA 2000 areas.

• Non-productive investments could be used to subsidise the instal-lation of photovoltaic panels at farm level.

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Developing organic farming and food markets around the Mediterranean Sea. A strategy for climate-resilient food systems.Mohamed Ben KhederDirector of the Technical Center of Organic Agriculture in Tunisia.

Summary

Keywords

The agricultural sector in the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean (SEM) region is characterized by several problems and weaknesses. A strategy for climate-resilient food systems is needed. Organic agri-culture was introduced in the SEM countries more than 20 years ago, but the development of organic production methods in the SEM region is constrained by several critical points. Governments should include organic agriculture in their policies and agriculture development agenda. The adoption of an Organic Action Plan through supportive programmes is highly recommended. The organic agriculture in Tuni-sia will be presented as a success story.

Southern and Eastern Mediterranean countries, organic agriculture, organic action plan.

The Southern and Eastern Mediterranean (SEM) region is a market of worldwide importance for agricultural products and foodstuffs, and the agro-food sector of the SEM countries is highly significant for the regional economy. The agricultural sector faces several problems and weaknesses, such as the simplification of rotations, the widespread abandonment of livestock farming, the excessive use of mineral fertil-izers and inadequate use of organic fertilizers, and the increased deg-radation of soils and desertification the land. There is an urgent need to identify sustainable forms of land use, to reduce the degradation of primary biodiversity resources and improve rural livelihoods. A strat-egy for climate resilient food systems is needed.

Organic agriculture was introduced in the SEM region more than 20 years ago, and in recent years it has attracted greater attention. Through-out the region there is similar trend towards reconversion of existing agricultural production to more sustainable systems. In 2010, there were

Introduction

The organic agro-food sector

37



approximately 688 thousand hectares of organic agricultural land – just 15% of the area devoted to organic agriculture in the whole Mediterra-nean region. A number of critical points have constrained the develop-ment of organic production methods in the SEM region:

• Most of the SEM countries still lack a regulatory framework. • Unlike the earlier development of organic farming in Europe, in

the SEM countries the process is mainly driven by market forces, stimulated by the high demand for organic products in developed countries. Production is mainly export-oriented and hasn’t trig-gered local development.

• The SEM region has to cope with a considerable gap in technical and scientific knowledge related to organic production methods.

• A lack of policies to support the organics sector is slowing down its development.

Some strategic approaches are necessary for the development of organic farming in the SEM region:

• The main task is to develop a culture that values organic farming for social, environment and land related reasons, rather than just production and the market.

• National legislation should be adopted. • Collective efforts should be encouraged to boost networking and

cooperation. Sharing knowledge and experiences will help those involved adapt better to the specific Mediterranean conditions.

• It is important to disseminate technical and scientific knowledge related to organic agriculture, in order to avoid production losses.

• Greater awareness should be fostered regarding the potentials of soil, the role of organic matter, water resource management, good agricultural practices and the effects of climate change.

• Organic producers should gain access to financial services to fund new investments, and also to water resources, sources of knowl-edge, and international markets.

• A sound and reliable institutional system to support organic ag-riculture is highly recommended. An organics action plan is also useful as an expression of national political will and a long term vision for the development of the sector.

Well managed organic agriculture counteracts the depletion of resources (soil, water, energy, nutrients); it contributes positively to efforts to cope with the problems of climate change and desertifica-

Strategy

38



tion, and can help to maintain and enhance biodiversity. Robust and resilient farms are more competitive, and the experiences gathered by local farmers will prove invaluable, both for long term adaptation, and for improving incomes and food security.

Tunisia will be presented as a case study. Its organic movement started in the mid 1980s and has now become a success story. The develop-ment of the sector was very slow until 1999, when the government launched a national strategy addressing several key areas such as legislation, subsidies, education and training, research, extension ser-vices, structures and organization. The most recent global statistics for 2010 rank Tunisia 27th worldwide in terms of its land area devoted to organic agriculture. It is 12th in the European context, 2nd in Africa, 2nd among the SEM countries, and 1st among the Arabic countries.

39


CVs of SpeakersCVs of Speakers

Sofoclis Aletraris

Minister of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment, Cyprus.

Mr. Aletraris assumed office as Minister of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment on 5 August, 2011.

Previously he has worked at the Planning Division and the Design Division of the Water Development Department

(1978-1985) and at the Construction Division as Resident Engineer (1985-1998). In May 1998 he was promoted to

the position of Senior Water Engineer and as the Nicosia District Engineer he was responsible for coordinating

and supervising all the activities of the Nicosia District Office of the Department. On the15th of December 2008 he

was appointed as Director of Water Development Department (WDD) by the Public Service Commission. He got a

diploma in Rural and Surveying Engineering (1977) and at Utah State University, USA, where he was awarded a

BSc in Civil Engineering (1982) and an MSc in Water Engineering (1983). He holds a Master in Business Adminis-

tration (MBA) from the University of New Haven, USA (1999).

Director of the Technical Center of Organic Agriculture in Tunisia

Since 2000, Mohamed Ben Khedher is the Director of the Technical Center of Organic Agriculture in Tunisia. He is

a Professor at the Agronomic Institute of Chatt Meriem at the University of Sousse, Tunisia since 1984 and Invited

Professor of the MS course on Mediterranean Organic Agriculture at the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of

Bari, Italy since 2001. He did his Ph.D in physiology and breeding of Vegetable crops at Cornell University (USA)

from 1980 to 1983. His research in organic agriculture includes activities on the variety adaptation of vegetables,

fertilization, compost and compost tea used as a fertilizer and as a phytosanitary product. He is a member of the

steering committee of the Mediterranean Organic Agriculture Network (MOAN). He is a member of the Interna-

tional Society of Organic Farming Research (ISOFAR) board.

Contact: Technical Center of Organic Agriculture, PO. Box 54 Chatt Meriem 4042 Sousse, Tunisia.

[email protected] / Phone: +216 73 327 279

Executive Engineer at the Water Development Department of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of the Republic of Cyprus

Yianna Economidou holds a Master of Engineering (MEng) in Civil Engineering from Imperial College and a Mas-

ter of Business Administration (MBA) from Cornell University. She was also a recipient of a Fulbright Scholarship

Award (Cyprus – America Scholarship Program). She has lived and worked in the UK and the USA, where she

gained extensive experience in the civil engineering and financial services sectors. Ms Economidou is currently

working on EU matters and particularly on the implementation of the Water Framework Directive in Cyprus. She

also takes part in the Strategic Coordination Group for the Water Framework Directive Common Implementation

Strategy. She is a member of the Cyprus Scientific and Technical Chamber and the President of the Cyprus As-

sociation of Civil Engineers (Nicosia – Kyrenia Branch).

Contact: Water Development Department, 100 -110 Kennenty Avenue, CY - 1047, Pallouriotissa, Nicosia CYPRUS,

[email protected] / Phone: (+357) 22 609 395, Fax: (+357) 22 344 018

Subject Leader Climate at FiBL Switzerland; Chair of the Round Table on Organic Agriculture and Climate Change (RTOACC)

Andreas Gattinger is soil ecologist and agronomist and is responsible for the climate related research activities

at the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL) in Frick/CH and chairs the Round Table of Climate Change

and Organic Agriculture (RTOACC).

He is author and co-author of more than 70 scientific publications (40 peer-reviewed) and supervises master and

PhD students of various European universities. His main scientific interest is in the interaction of soil microbial

communities and the emission of greenhouse gases as influenced by farming management. Andreas Gattinger

is a member of the German organic grower association Naturland and runs an organic farm in Selters, Germany.

Contact: FiBL, Ackerstrasse, CH-5070 Frick; [email protected] / Phone: +41 (0) 62 8650418

Mohamed Ben Khedher

Yianna Economidou

Andreas Gattinger

40


CVs of Speakers

Martin A. Hellicar

Campaigns Manager, BirdLife Cyprus

Martin Hellicar is Campaigns Manager for BirdLife Cyprus, the BirdLife International partner on the Island. His work

focuses on lobbying for protection of key wildlife sites, an end to illegal bird trapping and the preservation of wildlife-

friendly farmland and farming practices, through the “greening” of the Common Agricultural Policy. An ecologist by

training, Martin has a particular interest in wildlife conservation and especially in farmland birds and High Nature Value

farmland. He coordinated a 2003 bi-communal project looking at the importance of low intensity farmland for Cyprus

birds and also an assessment of the effectiveness, for bird conservation, of agri-environment schemes in Cyprus.

Contact: [email protected] / Phone: +357 22 455 072

Policy manager, IFOAM EU Group

Antje Koelling works for the IFOAM EU Group since summer 2009. She is responisble to coordinate the work in the

areas Common Agriculture Policies, biodiversity, GMOs, climate and environmental aspects of agriculture.

Before working at the IFOAM EU Group, she has worked during five years as political advisor for a Member of the

European Parliament in the Committee for Agriculture and Rural Development. Being agronomist by education, she

worked in different jobs connected to farming before coming to Brussels, gaining experience in agricultural practice,

and politics.

The IFOAM EU Group is the European working level within the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Move-

ments. It brings together more than 250 organisations, associations and enterprises from all EU-27, EFTA andcandi-

date countries. IFOAM´s goal is the worldwide adoption of ecologically, socially and economically sound systems that

are based on the principles of Organic Agriculture.

Contact: [email protected]/ Phone: + 32 2 2806850

Dipl. Ing. PhD., Executive director of People and Water NGO

Michal Kravčík is the founder of the People and Water NGO, a holder of the Goldman Environmental Prize (1998) and

a member of ASHOKA (Innovators for the Public, an international network of innovators who work for public welfare).

He is the most representative of the People and Water NGO, which has been awarded the EU-USA Prize for Democracy

and Civil Society Development (2008). Besides other studies and publications, he is the co-author of the books “Water

for the Recovery of the Climate - A New Water Paradigm” (2007, www.waterparadigm.org) and “Between Floods and

Droughts – Manual of Integrated Flood Prevention” (2008), Water without borders (2010), After us the desert and the

deluge? (2012). He developed Government program for landscape restoration and Integrated river basins and land-

scape management (2010).

Contact: People and Water NGO, Čermeľska road 24, 04001 Košice, Slovakia. Phone: +421.905.482.099,

[email protected]

President of Pasybio, Cyprus

Since 2004 Vasilis Kyprinou is Farm Manager at Riverland Dairy Bio Farm Ldt in Cyprus. Previously, for one year, he

was a co-researcher Project at the Agricultural Research Institute of Cyprus. He graduated on “Animal Husbandry

and Science” at the Institute of Thessaloniki and hold a higher Diploma on “Artificial insemination of Domesticated

Animals” at the American Agriculture College of Thessaloniki.

Contact: [email protected] / Web: http://pasybio.blogspot.com/

Antje Kölling

Michal Kravčík

Vasilis Kyprinou

41


CVs of Speakers

Luis Lassaletta

Research scientist (Université Pierre et Marie Curie/CNRS)

Luis Lassaletta is a post-doctoral research scientist at the Université Pierre et Marie Curie/CNRS (Paris). He holds

a PhD in Biology (area of Ecology) from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, awarded in 2007. He has pub-

lished several scientific papers relating agricultural management practices with nutrient pollution, GHG emis-

sions, environmental conditions and biodiversity, being also an expert in numerical ecology.

He is currently studying the long term evolution of nitrogen cycle at large scales and its relation with agro-food

systems, global change and water quality. He is particularly interested in the effect of trade and diet on the global

N cycle alteration and food security. The definition of the particular characteristics of Mediterranean areas is one of

his permanent interests. He is part of the research group directed by Professors Gilles Billen and Josette Garnier

in Paris, member of the Environmental Pollution & Aquatic Ecosystems Research Group at the Universidad Com-

plutense de Madrid and also member of the Round Table on Organic Agriculture and Climate Change (RTOACC).

Contact: UMR Sisyphe, CNRS/UPMC, 4 place Jussieu, 75005 Paris, [email protected]

General Director of DIO, President of AgriBioMediterraneo-IFOAM

Charikleia Minotou is an agronomist with a postgraduate specialization at organic agriculture. Hers PhD thesis is

concerning the Sustainable Management. Charikleia works at WWF Hellas the last 12 years and the last semester

start also working at DIO (Certification and Inspection Organisation) , as General Director. Charikleia has been

elected since 2008 as President to the Mediterranean Part of IFOAM- AgriBioMediterraneo. She is also an organic

farmer since 1995 at a farm in Zakynthos island, Greece, which is certified according the European legislation and

the Biosuisse standards. Charikleia focuses scientifically on the sector of the environment and its connection with

the agriculture. She has many publications at international journals and also many participations at international

conferences and policy’s meetings. She is involved as member at many active networks and associations as

concerning organic agriculture in a local, national, international level.

Contact: Adrianou 22 street, 14561 Athens Greece. Phone: +30 6932901669 / [email protected]

Principal Researcher at the Organic Research Centre, Elm Farm and member of TP Organics

Susanne Padel is principal researcher/team leader for socio-economic issues at Organic Research Centre, Elm

Farm in the UK. The socio-economic work of ORC covers profitability of organic farms, standards and certification

systems, consumer attitudes to organic products, including willingness to pay, policy support payments and pub-

lic benefits of organic farming. After 6 years of working as an advisor for organic and converting farms in North

Germany, Susanne was appointed by Aberystwyth University as a researcher in 1993, working on a number of

mainly EU-funded projects related to socio-economic aspects of organic farming, and started work for the Organic

Research Centre in 2009. She holds a degree in general agriculture from the University of Kassel, Witzenhausen,

and a PhD in agricultural economics from Aberystwyth University.

Contact: [email protected] / Web: www.organicresearchcentre.com

Deputy Director-General DG Agriculture, European Commission

Born in Poland, Mr Jerzy Bodgan Plewa, was hitherto Associate Professor at Warsaw Agricultural University,

member of the Supervisory Board of the Bank of Food Economy and Adviser to the President of the National

Bank of Poland with responsibility for farm-sector analyses. From 1997 until July 2004, Mr. Plewa was Under-

Secretary of State at the Polish Ministry of Agriculture and Regional Development, where he was responsible for

negotiations on agriculture issues with the EU and other international organisations. From 1995 until 1997, Mr.

Plewa successively held the posts of Director of the unit monitoring foreign agricultural markets and Director of

the information and research department in the Polish Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Mr. Plewa

was appointed on 16 of October, 2006 Deputy Director General in charge of international affairs in the Directorate

General for Agriculture and Rural Development. Mr. Plewa was responsible, under the authority of the Director

General, for representing the DG in all negotiations concerning agriculture and rural development, both with in-

ternational organisations and third countries and with the EU institutions and other DGs. Since 1 of January 2012,

Mr. Plewa, as Deputy Director General in DG AGRI, is responsible for Rural Development and Sustainability Policy.

Contact: [email protected] / Web: http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/agriculture

Charikleia Minotou

Susanne Padel

Jerzy Bodgan Plewa

42


CVs of Speakers

Jana Polakova

Senior Policy Analyst, Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP)

Jana Polakova joined the IEEP Agriculture and Land Management team as a Senior Policy Analyst in October 2010,

having spent the previous three years in the European Commission, DG Environment, focusing on environmental

integration in agricultural policy, rural development policy and CAP reform, as well as carrying out assessments of

environmental integration in national and regional rural development programming documents, agricultural state

aids, and research reports. Earlier on, she was head of unit in the State Environmental Fund of the Czech Republic,

responsible for the portfolio of biodiversity and waste projects supported by EU structural funds. As well as being

one of key players in drafting and negotiating the Czech sectoral programme for the environment funded under

structural funds in the period 2007-2013, she was actively involved in a EU twinning project led by the Ministry of

the Environment of the Czech Republic for the Ministry of the Environment of Romania to help build pre-accession

capacities for implementation of the EU structural funds in the period 2007 -2013.

Contact: 55 Quai au Foin, 1000 Brussels, [email protected] / Phone : +32 (0) 2211 1095

Director of IFOAM EU Group

Marco Schlüter holds an MSc in Agricultural Science. He has received specialised training in organic and bio-

dynamic farming, and has undertaken research in organic fruit growing. His interest in organic farming has

developed since 1992 as a consumer, farmer and scientist. Before establishing the Brussels office in 2003 he

worked as assistant to a Member of the German Parliament in 2001. He is responsible for managing the Group’s

activities and its advocacy work in Brussels and advising the IFOAM EU Group board on EU agricultural policy

matters and strategic advocacy work.

Contact: IFOAM EU Group, Rue du Commerce 124, BE - 1000 Bruxelles, [email protected] / Phone: +32 2 2801223

Technical Director, Institute for Sustainable Development (ISD), Ljubljana, Slovenia

Anamarija Slabe is agronomist and senior consultant in organic farming. She has been involved in the develop-

ment of Slovenian organic food and farming sector since its beginnings in 1994. She has coordinated several de-

velopment projects in the areas of standardisation and legislation of organic farming and production and market

development projects. Between 2001 and 2003 she was a member of the European Commission Expert group to

support the development of the European Action Plan for Organic Food and Farming. She is also a member of

IFOAM EU Board since 2001 and member of the Executive Board of European Environmental Bureau (EEB) rep-

resenting the EEB on the Steering Committee of the technology Platform Organics. Recently she has coordinated

input into national Rural Development Programme 2007-2013n behalf of numerous stakeholders’ organisations.

Contact: [email protected] / Web: http://www.itr.si/home

Senior research scientist

Professor Bill Slee was until recently Leader of the Social Economic and Geographical Sciences Group at the

James Hutton Institute and has an Honorary Chair at the University of Gloucestershire. He is a rural economist

specialising in the economics of land use, rural socio-economic change and sustainable development of rural

areas. He has also worked extensively in farm adjustment, agri-environmental issues, sustainable food chains,

forestry and rural development, environment and development and rural tourism for a range of national and

international clients including the World Bank, the European Commission, DFID and OECD, as well as a range

of EU agencies. He is particularly interested in the policies and practices needed for transition to a low carbon

economy. He was a member of the Royal Society of Edinburgh’s Inquiry into the Future of the Hills and Islands

and joined the Science Advisory Board of the European Forest Institute in 2011. He is currently serving on the

Scottish Government’s Commission for Rural Schools.

Contact: Office of the Commissioner for the Environment, P.O.Box 23348, 1681 Nicosia, Cyprus.

[email protected] / Phone: +357 22803460

Marco Schlüter

Anamarija Slabe

Bill Slee

43


Professor of Economics, University of Patras, Greece

Dimitris Skuras is working at the Department of Economics of the University of Patras where he teaches regional

economics, economic geography, economics of natural resources and the environment and international eco-

nomics. He graduated from the Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki (B.Sc.), the University of Aberdeen (M.Sc.

and Ph.D) and the University of Essex (Dip. Statistics). His research interests focus on issues related to rural devel-

opment including rural entrepreneurship, innovation in rural areas, rural tourism and markets for denominated,

organic and local food. Currently he conducts work on climate change and green growth. He has coordinated

European Union funded projects and has carried out consultancy work for the OECD, many European organiza-

tions and private firms. His research has appeared in leading journals including Economic Geography, the Journal

of Regional Science, Research Policy and others.

Contact: [email protected] / Phone: +30 261 0969 958


Christopher Stopes has a BSc in biological sciences from Manchester University and MSc in agriculture from

Reading University. He is an expert in the development of sustainable food and farming systems, policy, strate-

gies, action plans and innovative techniques for production, processing and supply chain development, with over

25 years experience working with the EU Insitutions, national governments, NGOs and corporate clients. Previ-

ously Head of Research at the Organic Research Centre, Elm Farm before establishing EcoS Consultancy in 1997,

which provides research, technical and market development services for sustainable food with a primary focus

on organic food and farming, climate change, animal welfare and pesticide policy. A Board Member and Trustee

of Pesticide Action Network UK, he is currently the President of the IFOAM EU Group and chairs the European

Commission Advisory Group on Organic Farming.

Contact: [email protected] / Web: ecosconsultancy.co.uk

Commissioner for the Environment in Cyprus

Charalampos Theopemptou is a member of the Cyprus Green party and the first Commissioner for the Environ-

ment in Cyprus. He has been appointed by the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the European union and his

main task consist in advising government, the wider public sector, private companies and the public in general on

environmental issues. Over the last years he has been involved in several environmental groups which has given

him a good insight into the various environmental problems of the island. He has been active in raising awareness

on the various environmental issues and climate change in particular.

Contact: Office of the Commissioner for the Environment, P.O.Box 23348, 1681 Nicosia, Cyprus.

[email protected] / Phone: +357 22803460

President of the AIAB – Italian Association for Organic Farming

Alessandro Triantafyllidis is the President of AIAB. He works within the organisation since the 2000, during this

period he was responsible for the international relations, and President of AIAB Liguria, regional association until

2011. He has been the Italian Board Member of the IFOAM EU Group from 2002-2011. In IFOAM EU groups he

has been part of the Policy group as expert in: CAP reform, Rural development plans, and certification schemes.

He got an Agriculture Diploma in 1993 (Milan Agricoltural University) and a Master of Science in Natural Re-

sources Management in 1996 at Edinburgh University. From 1996 to 2000 he worked for a National Farmers’

Association (Coldiretti), as responsible and coordinator of organic agriculture activities for Liguria region, which

included technical advisory, training and project management. He always worked in promoting organic farming

in Italy dealing with the Rural development plans, he deloped the AIAB standards for Bio-Eco agriturismo. He

also run a small agriturismo in Liguria. As member of the AIAB Scientific Committee he participated in different

international projects: Orwine and Organic Revision EU funded 6th Frame of Research programmes, Phare proj-

ect in Poland, Orpesa Leonardo Project, Moldovia and Palestine cooperation programmes on organic farming.

Contact: AIAB, Via Piave 14, 00187 Roma, Italy / [email protected] / Phone: +39 06 45437469

Christopher Stopes

Charalampos Theopemptou

CVs of Speakers

Dimitris Skuras

Alessandro Triantafyllidis

proceedings ifoam eu conference - organic days, cyprus

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