Sustainable agriculture, forestry and fishery

Definition of “Sustainable”
“Sustainable” means to create and
maintain conditions, under which
humans and nature can exist in
productive harmony, that permit
fulfilling the social, economic, and
other requirements of present and
future generations.

Early thinking about sustainability, shown on the left side of Figure 1 (Weak Sustainability) envisions the environmental, social, and economic realms as intersecting, yet separate parts of a system.
A more recent depiction of sustainability is shown on the righthand side of Figure 1 (Strong Sustainability). This model reflects the understanding that the environmental realm provides natural goods and services which cannot be duplicated through other means.

Introduction
What is sustainable agriculture?
Biodynamic?
Organic?
Intensive?
Sustainable agriculture - is a reasonable relationship between economy, ecology, environmental conciseness and social development of rural territories. It should be:
economically beneficial
environmentally sound
meeting good social standards and to be just

Sustainable Agriculture Aspects

Traditional Methods
Today 80% of crop production worldwide relies on rainfall.
Meso-American farms are often looked upon as proof of past functioning sustainable agricultural systems.
Crop Rotation
Natural Fertilizers
Raised Fields
Terraces
Irrigation Canals
Swamps/Lakes
Home Gardens
Tree Culture

Negative Impacts
Our current mass production style of farming has resulted in numerous
negative side-affects:
Environmental damages
Reduced biodiversity
Habitat destruction
Deforestation
Water, air and soil pollution
Salinization, desertification
Decline in water resources
and land subsidence
Human impacts
Farm land destruction
Damage to soil fertility
Reduced nutritional value of food
Decreased economic, social and cultural values
For the past several years research has looked at sustainable agriculture as a potential solution to correct and prevent these problems.

Environmental problems of conventional (intensive) agriculture
Drainage
Mechanization
Over-use of chemicals
Intensive livestock breeding
Soil degradation
Human health

Abundant food insecurity (FAO, 2006)
Demand for food will increase (Evans, 2009, and others)
Unsustainable use of natural production factors such as soil, biological diversity and water (Pimentel et al., 1995; FAO, 2003)
60 % of ecosystem services are degraded (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005)
Intensive agriculture is depends on high energy but could be energy self-reliant and could mitigate GHG emission considerably (Smith et al., 2007)
Agriculture is insufficiently prepared to cope with unpredictability and adaptation to climate change (Lobell et al., 2008)
Challenges for Sustainable Agricultural
Production and Farming Systems Dev.

Sustainable agriculture definition
Sustainable agriculture is the practice of farming using principles of ecology, the study of relationships between organisms and their environment. It has been defined as "an integrated system of plant and animal production practices having a site-specific application that will, over the long term:
Satisfy human food and fiber needs
Make the most efficient use of non-renewable resources and on-farm resources and integrate, where appropriate, natural biological cycles and controls
Sustain the economic viability of farm operations
Enhance the quality of life for farmers and society as a whole

Agro-ecology
Diversity
Recycling
Healthy soil
Healthy crops
Healthy livestock
Healthy people
The four basic principles of organic agriculture
Endorsed by IFOAM, September 2005
Ecological and social justice
Fari Trade?
Precaution

Sustainable Agriculture Poster

A. Crop rotation keeps the soil healthy.
B. Mixed farms allows the uses of livestock manure.
C. Conserving natural areas protects our environment.
D. Small changes in practices can help, rather than harm, the environment.
E. Grass-fed livestock control weeds without chemicals or mowing.
F. Science can determine the right amount of fertilizers and pesticides.
G. Farming removes nutrients and fertilizers or manures replace them.
H. Farming multiple crops allows farmers to reduce their financial risks by having multiple products to sell.

“Hot topics” of Sustainable Agriculture
Sustainable agricultural management (positive case studies analysis from international experience)
Economic instruments of environmental policy
Farm business management
Machinery and technologies for cleaner production
Environmental protection through best farm practices
Agricultural and forestry extension education
Soil management
Water management
Labor management
Food and products quality and safety
Eco-marketing and eco-labeling
Pest control
Control of pollution and degradations of agro ecosystems
Ecological ethics as source of changing behavior

The ways of teaching SAM
Multidisciplinary approaches
The main goal of education – to teach the way, tools and mechanisms of an integration of all possible social, economic and environmental factors which could help to achieve the sustainable agriculture

Rules and Regulations
While the goal of sustainable agriculture is similarly defined by numerous organizations, there are no strictly defined rules or regulations for farmers to abide by.
There are standards and certifications for organic farming, which has similarities to sustainable agriculture, but the two not synonymous.

Sustainable forestry - Scientific Publications

Definition of Forest Land
FAO definition
1.A minimum area of land of 0.05 –1.0 ha
2.Tree crown cover > 10 –30 %
3.Trees with the potential to reach a minimum
height of 2 –5 m at maturity in situ
Swedish definition
Land suitable for forest production with no other use and with
a potential mean production> 1 m3 ha-1 yr-1

Wildlands
Peruvian Amazon, Peru
Credit: © Wendee Holtcamp.

Wildlands
Virgin Beech Forest, Ukrainian Carpathians

Croplands
Atlas Mountains, Morocco
Wildlands
Alaska, USA

Populated Forest
Koh Samai, Thailand
Credit: © Yenit Company Ltd.
Seminatural

Populated Forest
New England, USA
Seminatural
Populated Forest
New England, USA

Seminatural
Populated Forest
Carpathians, Ukraine

Residential Woodlands
Hunan, China
Seminatural

Total World Forest Area by Region
FAO; 3.9 billion ha total;
3.7 billion natural; 204 million planted

Total Forest Area For Major Countries
FAO

Definition of ”Forest management”
”Forest management” is a system of practices for stewardship and use of forest land aimed at fulfilling relevant ecological (including biological diversity), economic and social functions of the forest in a sustainable manner.

SFM (1993 Helsinki Declaration )
“the stewardship and use of forests and forest lands in a way, and at a rate, that maintains their biodiversity, productivity, regeneration capacity, vitality and their potential to fulfil, now and in the future, relevant ecological, economic and social functions, at local, national and global levels, and that does not cause damage to other ecosystems”

What means “forestry should be sustainable” ?
*Maintained or increased production
*Minimize risks for production disturbances
*Protection of biodiversity, soil, water and air quality
*Economically viable
*Socially acceptably (employment, recreation, landscape etc)

FOREST EUROPE
(The Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe)
http://www.foresteurope.org

Signatories:
46 European
countries + EU
Observers:
48 countries
and
organisations
Sustainable forest
management
in Europe
Voluntary
cooperation
FOREST EUROPE – Regional policy process

STRASBOURG 1990
HELSINKI 1993
LISBON 1998
VIENNA 2003
WARSAW 2007
V Ministerial Conferences
Oslo
June 2011
Milestones in forest policy development
in Europe (1990 – ongoing)
RIO
1992

Targets for Swedish sustainable forestry
Management should include aspects of multiple use
Reindeer management should not be made difficult
Forest management includes the entire country
Biomass production is mainly from conifers but increasing portion deciduous
Sustainable biomass harvest
Management adapted to the site conditions
Regeneration should optimize the capacity of the land for wood volume and quality
Thinning is done in a correct way
Damages through pathogenic organisms are minimized
Management without any unwanted hydrological effects
Effective use of road systems
Management with any threats for long term production
Cultural and landscape perspective
Special sensitive areas are protected
Area non-managed land increases
Land with great culture heritage values is protected
Forestry contributes to an attractive environment for local people

The Helsinki Process Criteria of SFM
Maintenance and appropriate enhancement of forest
resources and their contribution to global carbon cycles.
Maintenance of forest ecosystem health and vitality .
Maintenance and encouragement of productive functions
of forests (wood and non-wood).
Maintenance, conservation and appropriate enhancement
of biological diversity in forest ecosystems.
Maintenance and appropriate enhancement of protective
functions in forest management (notably soil and water).
Maintenance of other socio-economic functions and
conditions. (10 I.)

The Montreal process
The Montreal process criteria of SFM
Conservation of biological diversity
Maintenance of productive capacity of forest ecosystems
Maintenance of forest ecosystem health and vitality
Conservation and maintenance of soil and water resources
Maintenance of forest contribution to global carbon cycles
Maintenance and enhancement of long-term multiple socio-economic benefits to meet the needs of societies
Legal, institutional and economic framework for forest conservation and sustainable management

SFM and Forest Certification
Sustainable Forest Handling - International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) - 1990
UNCED–Rio de Janeiro (Earth Summit)-1992
Montreal Process SFM C&I - 1993
Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) - 1993
Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) - 1995
PanEuropean Forest Council (PEFC) – 1999
CertFor - 2003
CerFlor - 2004

Forest Stewardship Council

Geographical scope of FSC certification
Source: FSC, Global FSC certificates: type and distribution, (December 2010)

Environmental NGOs Support to FSCo FSC

Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC)

Geographical scope of PEFC certification
Source: PEFC, Annual Review 2009 (Geneva, 2009)

Criticism of PEFC
Lack of consistency.
Transparency.
Indigenous people and environmental groups
Governed by economical interests.
Weaker environmental demands.

Baltic Forest Program- http://www.balticforest.net
The Baltic 21 (Forestry sector) project "Strengthening the role of small-scale private forestry for regional development and spatial planning",
The project "Northern European Model Forest Network", "NEMFN", was developed to encourage regional development in boreal forest landscapes through a transnational network of model forests, based on the Canadian and now world wide Model Forest concept (40 sites on 5 continents).

Sustainable Fisheries Are Community-Led – http://www.thesolutionsjournal.com/node/958