Europe’s best water environment measures

“To achieve the major targets on a global level, we have to find good and effective solutions locally”.

This is according to Senior Researcher Attila Nemes, who is leading the EU project OPTAIN from NIBIO’s side. Here, European researchers are working together with farmers and advisers to identify and refine nature-based and location-adapted environmental measures for 14 small catchment areas in several countries. One of these is in Kråkstadelva in Norway.

By using simulated models, the researchers are investigating where is the best place to introduce the measures in the catchment areas, and how several environmental measures work together in tandem. They are also investigating which measures have the greatest effect, and which are the most likely to be implemented with regard to the farmers’ needs.

“Soil conditions, type of production and not least the country’s laws, regulations and financial support schemes are also important for how farming is carried out,” explains Nemes.

It is not enough to simply identify a problem and propose measures to resolve it. If they are to achieve good results, for the future as well, it is important that the researchers maintain a dialogue with those who are active in the area.

It is not just about finding solutions that will have an effect in countries and areas with widely varying conditions.

 “We also hope to achieve increased understanding of the connections between agriculture, the different characteristics of a landscape, and very specific environmental measures,” says Nemes.

Hopefully it will be easier for various agricultural players to make well-informed choices in the future.