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Organic+

Organic+: Demonstrating and improving the benefit of organic farming on biodiversity and the environment

This project aims to investigate landscape level changes in biodiversity following implementations of sustainable biodiversity enhancing measures.

 

Credibility of organic production is an important cornerstone for organic farming, yet limited evidence exists that intensive organic farming benefits biodiversity. Moreover, biodiversity enhancement strategies do not consider local contexts, although biodiversity impacts of biodiversity enhancing measures often differ among landscapes. Organic+ will use computer simulations and field monitoring to investigate landscape level changes in biodiversity following implementation of sustainable biodiversity enhancing measures in five case areas differing in landscape context and managed by three organic enterprises. Communities of practice (CoPs) will be established in case areas, engaging the three organic enterprises along with other collaborators, e.g. from farmers to retailers. CoPs will support the co-development of biodiversity measures, gaining agreement on goals, acceptance and the widespread uptake of effective solutions. Furthermore, Organic+ develops and tests a decision support tool for optimizing biodiversity gains by enabling identification and implementation of optimal sustainable biodiversity measures, that result in landscape mosaics supporting valued natural systems and nature, tailored for landscape contexts. Project outputs will contribute and guide OD strategic developments helping it attain its ambitious 30-30-30 goal, further supporting the development of sustainable food consumption and providing sustainable livelihoods for organic farmers.

Activities

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Contact

Yoko Luise Dupont

Senior Researcher Department of Ecoscience - Terrestrial Ecology

Project duration 

2022-2025

Funding

Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries of Denmark GUDP (Green Development and Demonstration Programme)
& International Centre for Research in Organic Food Systems (ICROFS)