Sebastian Eiter
Research Professor
(+47) 974 81 109
sebastian.eiter@nibio.no
Place
Ås O43
Visiting address
Oluf Thesens vei 43, 1433 Ås
Biography
Dr Sebastian Eiter is a geographer and landscape ecologist. His research topics include driving forces and consequences of agricultural landscape change, cultural heritage, biodiversity, public participation and urban agriculture.
Abstract
Urban agriculture is often considered a tool to increase the economic, social and environmental sustainability of cities and city food systems. However, sustainability is difficult to measure, resulting in debate about how sustainable urban agriculture truly is. There is therefore a lack of incentive to promote urban agriculture or protect existing initiatives that are threatened by development pressure on urban land. Monitoring the sustainability impact of urban agriculture could provide evidence and enable politicians and decision makers to make informed decisions about whether and where to prioritise different forms of urban agriculture above competing interests. We used case examples from five European cities to identify the challenges involved in monitoring urban agriculture, from selecting indicators and gathering data, to using the results. We found large differences in approach in terms of what topics to monitor and who was responsible, who gathered the data and when, what data was recorded and how they were stored, and how findings were disseminated or published. Based on these experiences, we recommend stronger involvement of existing interest groups and educational institutions in monitoring urban agriculture, and promotion of convenient tools for data collection by citizen science and for long-term data storage.
Abstract
Urban agriculture has the potential to contribute to more sustainable cities, but its impacts are complex and varied. By implementing robust monitoring systems, cities can better understand the true effects of urban farming initiatives. This evidence can then inform smarter policies and more effective urban planning strategies.
Authors
Ivy Britzny Osae Peep Mardiste Dina Stober Sebastian Eiter Matthias Buchecker Monika SuškevičsAbstract
The ‘Aarhus Convention’ – regulating access to environmental information, public participation and justice in environmental decision−making – is a key international agreement with a long history and a considerable number of signatory countries. While implementation has been studied nationally, there is little comparative research at the transnational level. Based on ten criteria, we analysed national implementation reports of the 2014, 2017 and 2021 reporting cycles in terms of how 33 countries in Europe have implemented the access to information and public participation pillars, and identified obstacles they encountered. We also studied similarities and differences supra-nationally. Overall, countries are quite successfully fulfilling the obligations of the two pillars. Most obstacles reported concern four criteria: access to information, information provision, interaction, and trust. Implementation practices have changed little from 2014 to 2021. However, East- and South-European countries report more, and more persistent or repetitive obstacles, compared to Northern and Western European countries. The national democratic context seems to affect the quality of implementation. The Convention’s compliance bodies and national agencies responsible for coordinating the implementation are encouraged to interact more closely, to account for the differences and leverage implementation.
Division of Survey and Statistics
Mitigation and Adaptation in Cultural Heritage Landscapes: Lessons from Transhumant Pastoral Systems for Managing Novel Climate Risks (PastAdapt)
Cultural landscapes provide essential ecological and sociocultural services and contain insights needed to combat climate change, but they are vulnerable to climate change and other stressors. By examining the cultural landscapes of transhumant pastoralism in France, Norway, and Spain, we will detail climate and other threats to this intangible cultural heritage (ICH), the characteristics and factors that create adaptive capacity in these systems, and methods for sustaining ICH through community action and policy.
Division of Food Production and Society
Sustainable growth of the Norwegian Horticulture Food System – GreenRoad GS35 (“GrøntStrategi mot 2035)
The main aim of GreenRoad is to deliver knowledge and solutions for increased value creation and sustainability in the horticultural food system in Norway.