SHOWCASE

SHOWCASing synergies between agriculture, biodiversity and Ecosystem services to help farmers capitalising on native biodiversity

Abstract

The slow adoption by the agricultural sector of practices to promote biodiversity are thought to originate from three interrelated issues. First, we know little about which incentives effectively motivate farmers to integrate biodiversity into daily farm management. Second, few studies so far have produced evidence that biodiversity-based approaches produce benefits in terms of key variables for farmers (yield, profit). Third, there is a large communication gap between the scientists investigating biodiversity-based farming practices and the farmers that have to implement them. To overcome these barriers, SHOWCASE will review and test the effectiveness of a range of economic and societal incentives to implement biodiversity management in farming operations and examine farmer and public acceptance. Focus will be on three promising approaches: (i) result-based incentives, (ii) involvement in citizen science biodiversity monitoring and (iii) biodiversity-based business models. SHOWCASE will co-produce together with stakeholders a solid interdisciplinary evidence for the agro-ecological and socio-economic benefits of biodiversity management in 10 contrasting farming systems across Europe. SHOWCASE will also design communication strategies that are tailor-made to farmers and other key stakeholders operating in different socio-economic and environmental conditions. SHOWCASE will develop a multi-actor network of 10 Experimental Biodiversity Areas in contrasting European farming systems that will be used for in-situ research on biodiversity incentives and evidence for benefits as well as knowledge exchange. This network will be used to identify and test biodiversity indicators and targets relevant to all stakeholders and use them in a learning-by-doing approach to improve benefits of biodiversity management on farms both within the network and beyond.

Project details

Unibo Team Leader: Davide Viaggi

Unibo involved Department/s:
Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Agro-Alimentari
Dipartimento di Scienze Biologiche, Geologiche e Ambientali
Dipartimento di Scienze Statistiche "Paolo Fortunati"

Coordinator:
Wu Wageningen Universiteit(Netherlands)

Other Participants:
The National Farmers' Union-Nfu (United Kingdom)
Pensoft Publishers Ltd (Bulgaria)
ALMA MATER STUDIORUM - Università di Bologna (Italy)
De Vlinderstichting (Netherlands)
Universidade De Evora (Portugal)
The University Of Reading (United Kingdom)
Estonian University Of Life Sciences (Estonia)
C.N.R.S. Delegation Centre-Est (France)
Agencia Estatal Consejo Superior De Investigaciones Cientificas (Csic) (Spain)
Universitat Bern (Switzerland)
Leibniz-Zentrum Fur Agrarlandschaftsforschung (Zalf) E.V. (Germany)
Scienseed SL (Spain)
Wwf European Policy Office (Belgium)
Consiglio Nazionale Delle Ricerche (Italy)
Peterson Projects Bv (Netherlands)
Eidgenoessisches Departement Fuer Wirtschaft, Bildung Und Forschung (Switzerland)
Universität für Bodenkultur Wien (Austria)
Sveriges Lantbruks Universitet -Slu- (Sweden)
Magyar Tudomanyos Akademia Okologiai Kutatokozpont (Hungary)
Babes-Bolyai University (Romania)

Total Eu Contribution: Euro (EUR) 7.999.771,25
Project Duration in months: 60
Start Date: 01/11/2020
End Date: 31/10/2025

Cordis webpage

Zero hunger This project contributes to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN 2030 Agenda.

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 862480 This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 862480