Biodiversity-friendly agricultural management measures in Lemnos

Project description

The project ‘Implementation and monitoring of agricultural management measures for the protection and conservation of landscape and biodiversity on Lemnos’ was launched in 2020 and is funded by the Green Fund under Priority Axis 3 of the ‘Natural Environment & Innovative Environmental Actions 2020’. It is included under the general thematic topic of ‘Recording, monitoring, conserving and restoring the ecosystems and habitats of flora and fauna species of national and European interest with the aim of halting biodiversity loss’.

This is a citizen science project that complements the Terra Lemnia efforts by providing the necessary support and tools for the operation of the voluntary Land Stewards’ Network – a network of farmers that will implement a set of low-input, biodiversity-friendly and locally-rooted agro-pastoral practices while monitoring soils to the benefit of biodiversity. All aspects of the proposed agricultural measures are described in the Terra Lemnia “Standard of Practices“, which will provide the basis of operation for the network.

Currently, twelve farmers have agreed to participate in the pilot phase of the network, while the project team has developed the precision-farming tools, including geodatabase and a smartphone app, that will allow participating farmers to monitor the implementation of these practices as well as to improve overall farm management. Training sessions on the use of these apps took place in 2020 and will continue in 2021. A certification system, based on the Terra Lemnia “Standard of Practices“, is also under development and will be used to create an environmental / landscape label for the products of the Land Stewards’ Network, supporting the marketing and stakeholder engagement strategy of the Terra Lemnia project. Overall, the project’s actions and outcomes aim to support the EU’s Farm to Fork Strategy and have the potential to inform rural development strategies at the regional or even national level through the Standard of Practices that will be applied by the Lands Stewards’ Network.

Publications