Toine Smits Leading lector Delta Areas & Resources, VHL - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Toine Smits Leading lector Delta Areas & Resources, VHL Professor Sustainable Water Management, RU The Netherlands Contents ● Background ● Aim ● Approach ● Results ● Impact

Background Globally peatlands store 1.4 trillion tonnes of carbon which is equivalent to; -75 % of all C in the atmosphere -twice the carbon stored in forests

Peatland cover (%)

Background

Background 0-5 t/ha/yr 5-25 t/ha/yr 25-50 t/ha/yr > 50 t/ha/yr

The underlying mechanism Drainage of peatlands dramatically increase CO 2 emissions, but also increases flood risks due to soil subsidence.

Aim of “Carbon Connects” (CCON) Reduce the CO 2 emission and enhance C-sequestration of mismanaged peatlands in NWE with sustainable business models.

Aim CCON Reduction of high carbon footprint of peatlands soils in Northwest Europe by introducing new bio-based business models

Biobased business models based on biobased products….

...but also C-credit schemes. wet agriculture Nature scenario Emission rights Organisation X would like to reduce Project Y needs money for C-emission further than possible measures to reduce the C-emission by peatlands

Approach; ..living labs & pilot sites..

(Sub)Partners Van Hall Larenstein Univ. Appl. Sci,.(Nl) at random order European Landowners Organization (Fr) Limerick Institute of Technology (Ire) Durham County Council (UK) Canal & River Trust (UK) Vlaamse Landmaatschappij (B) Provincie Noord-Brabant (Nl) Philipps-Universität Marburg (G) Radboud University Nijmegen (Nl) Staatsbosbeheer (Nl) and Flanders Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries & Food (B) Waterboards Aa & Meuse; Waterboard de Dommel (Nl) Association des Chambres d’Agriculture de l’Arc Atlantique (F); WEAR Rivers Trust (UK)

Results By implementing the business models, Carbon Connects will: • Generate a Farmer-to-Farmer learning program to share best practices in each region by peers. • Develop a set of policy papers to scale up the required agricultural policy shift in NWE and EU. • Create an online collaborative living lab platform to have joint plan development and implementation of wet agriculture. • Set up an online toolbox of state of the art land use practices and business models to share knowledge.

Impact ● Carbon Connects will reduce CO 2 emissions with about 90-180 tonnes per year, in its pilot stage alone. ● Viable businesses are created that tackle climate change and give protection against environmental issues. ● The partnership will create several innovation ecosystems (Living Labs) with local authorities, research institutions, farmers, and landowners to strengthen collaboration and make the region more resilient to climate change.

..workpackages & activities.. Wp T1 Low Carbon Land Management Approaches t n e WP C Communication m e g a n WP T2 Transnational Demonstration and Implementation a M t c e j o r WP T3 Transnational Low-Carbon Business Modelling P M P W Wp LT Long Term

Thank you!

Thank you!

CO 2 emission EU