Region-specific Guidance on Resource Efficiency – Brochures Series

Publication: Brochure
Citation: Ecologic Institute (2016): Region-specific Guidance on Resource Efficiency - Brochure Series. Brochure.

The issue of closing mineral cycles was analyzed in eight European regions and the results are presented in the report "Resource Efficiency in Practice – Closing Mineral Cycles". The authors of BIO IS, Ecologic Institute, AMEC, Danish Technical University, University of Milano and LEI, identified measures that support the closing of mineral cycles within the study regions. For each region, practical and strategic options to reduce the nutrient surplus further were derived.

The completion of a number of dissemination activities aimed at reaching out to relevant stakeholders. To this aim, four regional conferences in Ireland, Italy, Poland and Spain and a final conference in Brussels were organized in order to reach out to farmers and practitioners. As a final output also leaflets providing practical and region-specific guidance have been produced.

Brittany (France)
Central Denmark
Lombardy (Italy)
Murcia (Spain)
North-Brabant (the Netherlands)
Southern and Eastern Ireland
Weser-Ems (Germany) [EN, DE]
Wielkopolskie

Good Practices to Reduce Nutrient Loss in the Weser-Ems Region (Germany)

Closing the Mineral Cycles at Farm Level

Year 2016

Publication:Report

Resource Efficiency in Practice – Closing Mineral Cycles

Final Report

Year 2016

Publication:Article

Inefficient use of fertilizers in agriculture means that serious environmental problems are still being created 25 years after the entry into force of the nitrates directive. Using the example of the Weser-Ems region, Evelyn Lukat and Sandra Naumann from the Ecologic Institute describing ways to reduce such problems.

Nährstoffkreisläufe in der Landwirtschaft schließen

Herausforderungen und Möglichkeiten in der Region Weser-Ems

Year 2016

Event:Conference

The regional conference “Closing the mineral cycles at farm level – Good practices to reduce nutrient loss in the Wielkopolskie region” took place on 13 November 2014 at the National Research Institute in Poznań, Poland. It aimed to present the results of the study “Resource efficiency in practice – Closing mineral cycles” commissioned by the DG Environment (European Commission). It focused on the good practices, which were identified as potential ways to reduce the nutrient loss at farm level and to close mineral cycles, based on the current state of nutrient saturation within the Wielkopolskie region.

Good Practices to Reduce Nutrient Loss in the Wielkopolskie Region (Poland)

Regional Conference

13 November 2014
Poznań, Poland

Event:Conference

The aim of the regional conference in Murcia was to present the region-specific results from the project "Resource Efficiency in Practice – Closing Mineral Cycles." The most promising and cost-effective measures at the farm level to close mineral cycles and reduce resource and economic inefficiency from nutrient losses (N, P, K) were presented. The conference seeks to highlight farmers' experiences with nutrient management, as well as barriers which may prevent uptake of good practices.

Good Practices to Address the Nutrient Surplus from Agriculture in Murcia (Spain)

4 November 2014
Murcia, Spain

Event:Conference

The regional conference “Closing the mineral cycle at farm level – Good practices to reduce nutrient loss in Southern and Eastern Ireland” took place on 28th October 2014 at the Killeshin Hotel, Portlaoise, Ireland. The aim of the conference was to present the results of the study “Resource efficiency in practice – Closing mineral cycles” commissioned by the DG Environment, European Commission.

Good Practices to Reduce Nutrient loss in Southern and Eastern Ireland

28 October 2014
Portlaoise, Ireland

Event:Conference

The regional conference "Closing the mineral cycles at farm level - Good practices to reduce nutrient loss in the Lombardy region" took place on 5 November 2014 at the "E.c.ho." Hotel, Milan (Italy). It aimed to present the results of the study "Resource efficiency in practice – Closing mineral cycles" commissioned by the DG Environment (European Commission). It focused on the good practices, which were identified as potential ways to reduce the nutrient loss at farm level and to close mineral cycles, based on the current state of nutrient saturation within the Lombardy region.

Good Practices to Address the Nutrient Surplus in Lombardy (Italy)

5 November 2014
Milan, Italy

Event:Conference

Inefficient use of fertilisers leads to the accumulation of nutrients in areas of intense agricultural activities and can cause serious environmental problems in these areas and beyond. Within the project "Resource Efficiency in Practice – Closing Mineral Cycles", the most promising and cost-effective measures at the regional and farm levels were identified to increase the resource efficiency and use of nutrients (N, P, K) and help close mineral cycles, particularly in saturated areas in Europe. The findings have been translated into relevant practical measures for the farming community in these areas.

Resource Efficiency in Practice – Closing Mineral Cycles

18 November 2014
Brussels, Belgium

Project

This project identified the most promising and cost-effective measures at the regional and farm levels to increase the resource efficiency and use of nutrients (N, P, K) and helped to close mineral cycles with a focus on saturated areas. Findings were translated into relevant practical measures for the farming community in highly nutrient-saturated regions in Europe. A consortium composed of BIO by Deloitte and Ecologic Institute, with the contribution of several European research institutes, conducted this project on behalf of DG Environment.

Resource Efficiency in Practice – Closing Mineral Cycles

Dec 2013 - Dec 2014

Languages: Spanish

Polish

Italian

German

French

English

Dutch

Danish
Authorship: Evelyn Lukat

Mette S. Carter (Technical University of Denmark)

Victoria Cherrier ec Foster Wheeler Environment & Infrastructure)

Giorgio Provolo (University of Milan)

Marion Sarteel (BIO by Deloitte)

Vincent Linderhof (LEI Wageningen UR)

Tanja de Koeijer (LEI Wageningen UR)

Rolf Michels (LEI Wageningen UR)

Clément Tostivint (BIO by Deloitte)
Credits: Editor: Elizabeth Dooley (Ecologic Institute)
Funding: European Commission, Directorate-General Environment (DG Environment), International
Published by: European Commission, Directorate-General Environment (DG Environment), International
Year: 2016
Dimension: 16-20 pp.
Project: Resource Efficiency in Practice – Closing Mineral Cycles
Project ID: 2529
Table of contents: Click to show full table of contents

Nutrient loss – Why does it matter?
Agricultural structure in Weser-Ems
How does nutrient loss affect farming business?
How does nutrient loss affect the Weser-Ems region and what are
the causes?
What has already been done to address the problem in the region?
Set of region-specific good practices
Improving manure cover
Spreading at the right time for stage of crop growth
Improving fertilisation management plans for all agricultural sites
Using appropriate application techniques
Adjusting feeding strategies and techniques
Further good practices to reduce nutrient losses
Further relevant links
References
Keywords: Agriculture

Climate

Land Use

Resource Conservation + Circular Economy

Brittany, France, Murcia, Spain, Lombardy, Italy, Central Denmark, North-Brabant, the Netherlands, Southern and Eastern Ireland, Weser-Ems, Germany, Wielkopolskie, Poland

Brochure

Further Links

PublicationReportResource Efficiency in Practice – Closing Mineral Cycles

Sarteel, Marion et. al. 2016: Resource efficiency in practice – Closing Mineral Cycle. Revised final report.