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Ecosystem Health and Sustainable Agriculture
[last updated March 25, 2008 11:08 AM]
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General Information
Partnership website(s) |
Expected TimeframeSeptember 2005 - September 2009 |
Partners
Governments:
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Major Groups:
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Other intergovernmental organizations:
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Other:
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Thematic Focus
Primary Themes:
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Secondary Themes:
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Geographic Coverage
Geographic Scope: Sub-regional The Baltic Sea region (Europe) and the Great Lakes region (USA & Canada)
Country(ies) where the partnership is being implemented: Belarus, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Sweden, Ukraine, United States of America |
National Focal Points
This partnership has made contact with the national focal points for sustainable development in the countries involved
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Goals and Objectives
Summary of the partnership's goals and objectives
The goal is to develop a new educational package on Ecosystem Health and Sustainable Agriculture and transfer knowledge on sustainable agriculture, land use, rural development, ecosystem health and management to teachers, students and professionals in the Baltic Sea Region (BSR in Europe) and in the Great Lakes Region (GLR in USA & Canada). The Baltic Sea is affected by many different environmental problems from different sources. Discharges of nutrients from agriculture and waste-water treatment plants, as well as discharge from industries, and waste facilities leads to eutrophication and other forms of pollution. It is important to increase the knowledge of and improve the management of land and land use to prevent pollution from agriculture from reaching the Baltic Sea or the Great Lakes. It is also of great importance to use the whole ecosystem health concept to understand and prevent problems for the future. As the need of knowledge regarding ecosystem health, sustainable land use in rural areas, rural development and sustainable agriculture will be a precondition for our future, it is of great importance that this knowledge can be offered to students, teachers, experts and people working in government offices, ministries, municipalities and as agricultural advisors and agricultural managers in the Baltic Sea region and in the Great Lakes region.
The goal of the project is to transfer knowledge through a series of seminars and training courses and at the same time to develop a new educational package on sustainable agriculture, land use, rural development, ecosystem health and management to teachers, students and people working in government offices, ministries, municipalities and as agricultural advisors and agricultural managers.
This partnership cooperation is unique, as it not only represents the Baltic Sea region (Europe) and the Great Lakes region (USA and Canada) but it also represents a cooperation between agronomists, veterinarians, nature geographers, biologists, chemists, animal scientists, wildlife biologists, public health professionals, economists, business and policy experts etc. It also elaborates a new concept on sustainable agriculture and its part in the rural ecosystem. In this course package not only will sustainable agriculture from the different aspects represented by the above mentioned professions be covered, there will also be substantial knowledge on such subjects as land use and rural development, climate change, ecosystem health and the interactions between the wild and domestic animal populations, as well as public health components and poverty alleviation.
The EHSA project contributes to the implementation of the Baltic 21 Agricultural sector action programme, where education, training and information for farmers, future experts and advisors, policy makers and consumers figure as one of the most important actions. It is also a Baltic 21 Lighthouse project since March 2007.
The goal of the project is to transfer knowledge through a series of seminars and training courses and at the same time to develop a new educational package on sustainable agriculture, land use, rural development, ecosystem health and management to teachers, students and people working in government offices, ministries, municipalities and as agricultural advisors and agricultural managers.
This partnership cooperation is unique, as it not only represents the Baltic Sea region (Europe) and the Great Lakes region (USA and Canada) but it also represents a cooperation between agronomists, veterinarians, nature geographers, biologists, chemists, animal scientists, wildlife biologists, public health professionals, economists, business and policy experts etc. It also elaborates a new concept on sustainable agriculture and its part in the rural ecosystem. In this course package not only will sustainable agriculture from the different aspects represented by the above mentioned professions be covered, there will also be substantial knowledge on such subjects as land use and rural development, climate change, ecosystem health and the interactions between the wild and domestic animal populations, as well as public health components and poverty alleviation.
The EHSA project contributes to the implementation of the Baltic 21 Agricultural sector action programme, where education, training and information for farmers, future experts and advisors, policy makers and consumers figure as one of the most important actions. It is also a Baltic 21 Lighthouse project since March 2007.
Targets and Progress
Partnership targetsProject Outcomes in Short:
? A comprehensive course for undergraduate and graduate university education in Ecosystem Health and Sustainable Agriculture to be offered to higher learning institutions in the network ? Three books on Ecosystem Health and Sustainable Agriculture 1. Land Use and Rural Development 2. Sustainable Agriculture 3. Ecology and Animal Health ? 12 seminars/training courses held during the production time of the educational material ? Teachers Conferences in the Baltic Sea and Great Lakes regions |
Progress against targetsSo far the project is running according to schedule. The planning of the project started with a Stakeholders Planning Meeting that was held on 10-12 September 2005 in Kaunas, Lithuania. During 2006, local coordinators were identified and a Kick-Off Meeting was held on 27-29 November in Tallinn, Estonia. The project homepage started in December 2006 and the first issue of the Newsletter was distributed in Spring 2007. A Planning meeting was held with the Russian coordinators on 14-16 November, 2007 in Uppsala, Sweden. Editors meetings were held in October 2007 for the module on Sustainable Agriculture and the module on Land Use and Rural Development and will be held in April 2008 for the module on Ecology and Animal Health. Seven of the twelve seminar /training courses have been held so far and the rest will be held during 2008. An Authors meeting will be held on 25-26 June 2008 in Klaipeda, Lithuania.
We plan to hold an Editing conference in Autumn 2008. Layout and printing of the books will take place during Autumn/Winter 2008/2009 The project will end with 2-3 Teachers conferences in 2009 to spread the knowledge of the new course on Ecosystem Health and Sustainable Agriculture throughout the two regions, the Baltic Sea Region and the Great Lakes region, so that all unviversities that participate are welcome to use the material. |
Capacity-Building and Technology Transfer
Arrangements for Capacity-Building and Technology Transfer
Relationship to International Agreements on Sustainable Development
How the partnership contributes to the implementation of Agenda 21, the Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21, and the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation
This partnership contributes in several ways to the implementation of the Agenda 21, the Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21 and the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation. Firstly, it contributes by creating a transdisciplinary holistic educational package on Ecosystem Health and Sustainable Agriculture that will be available to a couple of hundred universities in the Baltic Sea region (Europe) and in the Great Lakes region (USA & Canada). It also creates a large network of partners that can in future take an active part in the transformation of agriculture and rural living to a more sustainable path. This partnership is a resource for all involved experts and can be used as a platform for future research and applied research projects in this area. This educational package can be adapted and used also for other groups of stakeholders such as extension or advisory service workers and also for experts at authorities or managers of large farms. Many of the dimensions that are included in the three above mentioned documents are included in this educational package.
Relevant Sections of Agenda 21
Relevant Sections of Agenda 21
Preamble
Relevant Sections of the Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21 Integration of economic, social and environmental objectives; Sectors and issues; Means of implementation
Relevant Sections of the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation Introduction ; Poverty eradication ; Changing unsustainable patterns of consumption and production ; Protection and managing the natural resource base of economic and social development ; Health and sustainable development ; Sustainable development in the Economic Commission for Europe region
Coordination and Implementation
Coordination Mechanism of the PartnershipThe leading role is played by the Baltic University Programme BUP at Uppsala University, where Christine Jakobsson, the Director of BUP started the project by holding a Stakeholder planning meeting in Kaunas, Lithuania in September 2005 where the idea of the project was presented and discussions during two days lead to a consensus on the themes and ideas on publication and what the project should include. After this meeting the process of securing financing proceeded and the next partnership event was a Kick-off Meeting held for the partners in Tallinn, Estonia in November 2006.
The project is organized with a Project Executive Management group at Uppsala University for the everyday work of the project. The next step is the Management Steering Group which consists of the three main editors of the three modules and the head representative of the North American partners. There also is a Reference group for scientific advice consisting of mainly experts and representatives for the funders. Project Executive management: Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden Project director: Christine Jakobsson, BUP Project senior advisor: Ingrid Karlsson, KUS Project administration: Karen Ohanjanian, BUP Management steering group: Project director Christine Jakobsson Senior Advisor Ingrid Karlsson, KUS Senior Advisor Leif Norrgren, SLU Senior Advisor Börje Gustafsson, University of Illinois Reference group: Rune Andersson, SLU, MAT 21 Staffan Lund, SLU Ulf Magnusson, SLU Ingemar Nilsson Kerstin Svennersten-Sjaunja, SLU Anna Tjärvar, Sida Östersjöenhet Ingrid Karlsson, UU Leif Norrgren, SLU/SVA Christine Jakobsson, UU |
Implementation Mechanism of the PartnershipThe EHSA project contributes to the implementation of the Baltic 21 Agricultural sector action programme, where education, training and information for farmers, future experts and advisors, policy makers and consumers figure as one of the most important actions.
The EHSA project was presented in connection with the recently held Ministerial Meeting for the Ministers of Environment and the Ministers of Agriculture of the Baltic Sea Region. This meeting was held under the auspices of the Council of the Baltic Sea States CBSS in Saltsjöbaden, Sweden on April 19-20, 2007. At the CBSS High-Level Meeting of Education and Science “Higher Education and Science for Sustainable Development and Competitiveness of the Baltic Sea Region”, held in September 2007, representatives from the Ministries of Education and Science from the CBSS Member States expressed support to the activities of the Baltic University Programme as a focal point in the region for higher education on sustainable development. They highlighted the programme’s valuable contribution for example through its environmental management curricula and book series, and the current production of material for higher education on Ecosystem Health and Sustainable Agriculture as an important tool throughout the Baltic Sea Region to improve the agricultural practices and the situation of the Baltic Sea. The project was presented at the conference in Riga on Agri-environmental extension services around the Baltic Sea, 6-7 December 2007, resulting from the Saltsjöbaden high-level meeting. This conference resulted in concrete proposals on future activities for the international programme. One of these proposals included a further development of the EHSA project together with the Swedish Farmers Federation, WWF and Keep Baltic Tidy to export a programme on agri-environmental extension service to other countries in the Baltic Sea region. When the educational materials are ready, the project will end with two to three teachers’ conferences, to spread the material and increase the knowledge level of teachers within the two regions. The real spreading effect starts at the end of the project. The courses start with a teachers’ conference, where the teachers become familiar with the course material. They should be shown the contents and possibilities and be offered interesting expert lectures in connection with this conference. This will be an upgrading of their knowledge for the courses. This is also important for team building and an exchange of experience between teachers. The Ecosystem Health and Sustainable Agriculture project will be presented on May 6, 2008 at the United Nations Commission for Sustainable Development in New York in connection with a side event held by the Swedish Ministry of Environment and Baltic 21. |
Resources
Funding Currently AvailableAmount in US$: 1.000.000
Source(s): Government - Foundations / charities
Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, Urban Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, Baltic Sea Unit Swedish Institute Uppsala University Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences |
Non-financial resources availableType(s): Computers - Office space - Staff
Source(s): Government
Many universities in both regions supply both office space and computers. Staff is currently supplying the educational material to very low cost (Below full cost) and is subsidising the project in this way. Considerable unfinanced work is provided for the planning of the project and to attain financing for the project. |
Funding SoughtRequired Amount in US$: 1.000.000
Source(s) already approached: Swedish Ocean Environmental Fund
Baltic Sea 2020 Swedish Institute |
Non-financial resources soughtRequirement(s):
Source(s) approached and details:
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Additional Information
Additional Relevant Information
As this project is still under implementation the lessons learned are not clear yet. It is important to involve all partners and also to have all material easily available on the EHSA homepage (participatory approach and transparency). At the start of the project all experts were questioned regarding the need of such an educational package. All stressed that the need was enormous as no such transdisciplinary holistic educational material exists today within this field. A problem has been that most courses are too narrow.
When difficulties appear in the project with some key-partners, it is a good idea to arrange a meeting to clarify problems and also preferably to also arrange a study visit (if applicable) to clearly demonstrate what is the goal. Political support is important for the project. It is relatively time-consuming to attain financing. As one of the objectives of the project is to tranfer knowledge to NW Russia on Ecosystem Health and Sustainable Agriculture, the five seminars that have been held so far in Russia have shown that there is a great need of this knowledge and it is greatly appreciated by our partners in Russia. The other two seminars that so far have been held were in Tartu, Estonia and in Kaunas, Lithuania. The need of this educational programme was stressed also as a result of these two seminars.
When difficulties appear in the project with some key-partners, it is a good idea to arrange a meeting to clarify problems and also preferably to also arrange a study visit (if applicable) to clearly demonstrate what is the goal. Political support is important for the project. It is relatively time-consuming to attain financing. As one of the objectives of the project is to tranfer knowledge to NW Russia on Ecosystem Health and Sustainable Agriculture, the five seminars that have been held so far in Russia have shown that there is a great need of this knowledge and it is greatly appreciated by our partners in Russia. The other two seminars that so far have been held were in Tartu, Estonia and in Kaunas, Lithuania. The need of this educational programme was stressed also as a result of these two seminars.