Major milestone achieved along the way to agricultural biodiversity An EU-backed project is boosting the transformation of Europe’s agricultural systems through better agro-biodiversity monitoring and surveillance. Climate Change and Environment Food and Natural Resources © kathomenden/stock.adobe.com The EU-funded BioMonitor4CAP project announced that it has achieved an important milestone in the effort to establish an electronic directory network of European biodiversity observatory institutions. This is part of its goal to develop inexpensive and reliable biodiversity monitoring systems for Europe’s agricultural land and Natura 2000 sites. The milestone – the ninth in the project – involves identifying relevant observatories, institutions and networks that collect agro-biodiversity indicators. It also includes centralising the data on a website in order to facilitate access to this information, in other words, presenting the gathered data in a clear and structured manner on a sub-page of the BioMonitor4CAP website. As reported in a news item posted on the project website, the developed database is expected to further the development of agro-biodiversity monitoring and surveillance systems in Europe. “The methodology is developed within the framework of the Prisma Protocol, which ensures a high standard for data collection,” states the news item. “The planned interface will be user-friendly and, for example, allows selecting countries and institutions from a map.” The final database will be made available to the public at the end of 2024. Shifting away from one-crop farming Unsustainable agricultural practices have played a major role in the decline of habitat and species diversity in Europe’s agricultural landscapes, with grassland, peatland and species associated with farming impacted more than most. What the EU needs to address this problem is a fully integrated approach between its 2030 Biodiversity and Farm to Fork strategies. To make this possible, biodiversity loss or recovery must be monitored and visualised over time. Enter the BioMonitor4CAP project, whose advanced biodiversity monitoring systems are intended to speed up the shift to sustainable farming. This means a shift away from the industrial model of agriculture, based on growing only one crop, which may have the advantage of reducing overall costs, but is harming the environment and poses an economic risk for producers. As Prof. Christoph Scherber of BioMonitor4CAP project coordinator Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change, Germany, explained in a ‘Horizon Magazine’ article, greater biodiversity can lower business risks from droughts given that mixed crops diversify water needs. Prof. Scherber adds that crop variation can also help increase agricultural output. “It is important to show that agriculture can support biodiversity but also to acknowledge that biodiversity itself can bring higher production to farming,” notes the researcher. The BioMonitor4CAP (Advanced biodiversity monitoring for results-based and effective agricultural policy and transformation) project brings together a multidisciplinary team of experts from 10 European countries and Peru with the ultimate aim of enhancing biodiversity on farms worldwide and supporting the development of the EU biodiversity policies. The project ends in 2026. For more information, please see: BioMonitor4CAP project website Keywords BioMonitor4CAP, biodiversity, agriculture, agricultural, biodiversity monitoring, crop, farm, agro-biodiversity
