Roots of Resilience: Improving biodiversity through agroecology (Webinar summary)

The webinar emphasizes on practices and experience of farmers adopting agroecology as a way to restore biodiversity. It also shed light on existing policies, academic research and innovation.  Watch the full webinar recording here.  

Biodiversity is the foundation of healthy and resilient ecosystems. It ensures natural pollination, natural pest control, nutrient cycling, water retention, and climate regulation. The more threatened biodiversity is, the more vulnerable we humans are as a species.

As a result of the industrialization of agriculture and its transformation into a multibillion-dollar business industry, alarming statistics have emerged and they’re worsening with each passing year. For example, 80% of habitats in Europe are in poor condition and this has a huge impact on biodiversity. Half of all bird species inhabiting farmlands have disappeared since 1980, having in mind that 40% of Europe’s territory is farmland. Един  от  всеки три вида пчели и пеперуди е с намаляващи популации. One in three bee and butterfly species are in decline. The grassland butterfly index has dropped by 76 point since 2020, which is almost 30% decrease compared to 1991.

At the same time, every euro invested in nature restoration adds benefits of 4 to 38 euros. Biodiversity has a sustainable economic impact that is greatly underestimated. That is why the EU Nature Restoration Regulation is extremely important. For the first time, the European community has legally binding targets for the restoration of degraded ecosystems across the Union. Agroecology plays a significant role in achieving them because it is a way of farming that improves biodiversity. This way of farming works in symbiosis with it, rather than exhausting biodiversity, as it includes entirely natural practices - crop rotation or crop diversification, agroforestry, biological pest control, natural fertilization, landscape restoration, etc.

The webinar “Roots of Resilience: Improving biodiversity through agroecology” was held within the framework of the pan-European project "Agroecology-Transect". STEP is also a part of it. Project’s main activity is the creation of a network of 11 innovation hubs, where key research for farmland, farms and farmers is conducted. They inform, engage and inspire farmers with the positive impact that nature-based agriculture has on ecosystems.

STEP expert Yanka Kazakova spoke about the activities of the Bulgarian Innovation Hub during the webinar. It is located in Western Stara Planina, among vast pastures with high natural value of the Godech municipality. Pastures are extremely important for the socio-economic prosperity of this region, which has suffered for decades from low incomes and, consequently, depopulation.

Its main focus is the development, testing and implementation of an agri-environmental results-based payment scheme. Existing agri-environment payments for high nature value pastures are not sufficiently adapted and tailored to the needs of extensive farmers.

The lack of a developed mechanism for monitoring biodiversity is among the biggest challenges, as it is a mandatory tool for results-based payments. The level of awareness among institutions and farmers is too low and the activities to create the scheme started from scratch.

A key factor for the success of implementing this scheme is working with farmers and including them in the process of monitoring biodiversity on their lands. It is necessary to develop a mechanism that is understandable and easily applicable to them, which would motivate farmers to join the scheme.

Watch the full webinar recording to learn more about the work of the Bulgarian Innovation Hub.