LIFE CRAFT: Climate responsible agriculture in Latvia
Objectives:
The main objective of the project is to implement, test, evaluate, promote and provide guidance on effective and economically feasible means for the reduction of agricultural GHG emissions while preserving stable income for farmers by taking an ecosystem-based approach.
Specific objectives:
- Increase farmer and political decision-maker awareness about available GHG emission reducing agricultural practices by developing a guidebook that lists all the relevant climate responsible agricultural practices applicable in the Baltic Sea region;
- Implement, test and demonstrate 3 different GHG emission reducing agricultural management practices at farm level;
- Adapt remote sensing based monitoring instruments for improved evaluation of national policy efficiency targeting agricultural GHG emission reduction.
Activities:
- Elaboration of the technical documentation and acquisition of permits for installation of controlled drainage systems;
- Lease of land for installation of controlled drainage systems (CDS)
- Compilation of agricultural best practice measures for climate change mitigation;
- Demonstration of emission reduction through the use of soil carbon enrichment;
- Demonstration of emission reduction through no-till technique;
- Demonstration of CDS capacity for GHG emission reduction and sequestration;
- Adaptation of methodology for GHG emission evaluation using remote sensing data;
- Replicability and Transferability plan;
- Monitoring of the environmental impacts of the project activities;
- Communication and dissemination activities.
As a part of the project, IES will implement installing, testing and demonstrating of CDS capacity for GHG emission reduction and carbon sequestration on two pilot sites CDS helps to reduce water loss and stabilise the connection between the drainage tile and the control structure. CDS provides nutrient retention, thus reducing the costs for fertilisers, as well as improves the quality of the water outflowing the drainage systems. Thus, CDS can provide approaches for cost-effective and sustainable GHG emission reduction, as well as climate responsible agriculture. Furthermore, IES will develop remote sensing-based methodology for assessment of GHG emissions, as well as will implement monitoring of environmental impacts of the project activities.
Project implementation: April 2018 – June 2023
Leading partner: Latvian Fund for Nature
Partners: Institute for Environmental Soluions, Latvian Rural Advisory and Training Centre, Czech Centre for Science and Society
Project manager: Ģirts Strazdiņš, girts.strazdins@ldf.lv
IES project administrative coordinator: Rūta Abaja, ruta.abaja@vri.lv
Project is financed by: ES LIFE Programme, The State Regional Development Agency, project partners
Find out more in the project website here.
