The 21st of March is the official first day of spring in the northern hemisphere. The day of the equinox, in which plants start to blossom and sprout as warm air begins to invade our latitudes. Not only this, this day is also celebrated throughout the world as the International...

The newsletter of December 2017 & January 2018 includes: Large-scale project for the Mediterranean to be led by LIFE for three years with the support of the MAVA Foundation, Massive support to LIFE for the vote on pulse fishing, Other news from around the EU, News from our members as well as Press review

The 11th OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) Rural Development Conference was held in Edinburgh on 9-12 April 2018. Prior to the main conference, a series of interactive sessions, led by the European Network for Rural Development, showcased projects and approaches already launched by rural communities to face 21st...

Every year either Netherlands or Belgium hosts the bi-national CSA Conference. This year it was held in Amersfoort, in the center of the Netherlands and close to several CSAs. It was a fully sold out event (125+) with a plenary meeting, workshops, a meal and a movie and on Sunday we...

SIMRA (Social Innovation in Marginalised Rural Areas) is a four-year project (2016-2020) funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Programme. It aims to advance understanding of social innovation and innovative governance in agriculture, forestry and rural development – and how to boost them – in marginalised rural areas across Europe...

The programme aims to improve existing training and resources for CSA farmers, equipping them with the skills and tools to produce healthy sustainable food for local communities, and to encourage experience sharing with European countries where CSA is less established. The event took place over five days at Cascina Santa Brera,...

The use of agent-based modelling approaches in ex-post and ex-ante evaluations of agricultural policies has been progressively increasing over the last few years. There are now a sufficient number of models that it is worth taking stock of the way these models have been developed. Here, we review 20 agricultural...

This course will critically review a broad spectrum of water-energy nexus issues, including technical and management solutions, tools to support decision-making, sustainability assessment methodologies and pathways for improved policy and governance. By the end of the course participants will: – Gain deep insights into the complex challenges surrounding the water-energy...

This course will provide knowledge on the processes underlying GHG emissions and soil C sinks, measuring methodologies and modelling tools in cropping systems. Methods for national GHG inventories and mitigation options analysis, including socio-economic assessment, will be presented. Practical work based on real case studies in Mediterranean conditions will also...

Fisheries experts convene today in Sofia, Bulgaria – to take stock of progress towards sustainable fisheries and aquaculture in the Black Sea and propose actions to maintain the momentum. All Black Sea countries signed the landmark Bucharest Declaration in 2016, with the goal of a sustainable future for fisheries and aquaculture in the...

CEJA's 2017 Activity Report showcases the organisation's work for 2017. It includes information on CEJA's structure and projects, interviews with members of the Presidency, contributions from stakeholders and sponsors, and a calendar detailing its future activities.

The Rural Connections magazine is being published at a formative time for Rural Development policy. The Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) which has been taking shape over the past months is crystallising – with the European Commission's proposals for the future EU budget published on 2 May, followed shortly afterwards by...

Urgenci’s advocacy capacity is central to strengthening the role of the Community supported Agriculture (CSA) movement at local and global level. As a global social movement, the CSA and theirs networks need to work  collectively to show how they contribute to overcoming global challenges to the food system. This is...

Managing natural resources sustainably while also coping with climate change is the focus of a new FAO initiative for food and agriculture in Europe and Central Asia. The initiative was endorsed by FAO’s regional governing body when it convened last month in Voronezh, Russian Federation. The FAO Regional Conference for Europe...

In the past 50 years, the population of the Central Asia region has tripled. With the need to feed a larger number of people amid increasingly limited water resources and highly vulnerable climatic conditions, the region faces serious food security challenges. A newly launched regional project from FAO and the Global...

Co-organised by Interreg Nord Summer Whitefish and Snowchange Cooperative, the Festival of Northern Fishing Traditions has wrapped up successfully in Tornio, Finland. Over 150 small-scale and Indigenous fishermen around the world joined forces to discuss climate change, traditional knowledge, governance and direct exchanges on common challenges.

LIFE reacts to the Commission’s proposal on Eel ahead of Monday’s Council

Being the biggest world agri-food importer and exporter, the European Union plays an important role in international agricultural markets. The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has considerable influence on international agri-food market. With the CAP 2014-2020, the distortive effect of the policy have been dramatically reduced. However, voluntary coupled support are...

Life calls for a more level playing field and a fairer allocation of quota between larger scale and smaller scale fisheries.

The monthly newsletter of the Low Impact Fishers of Europe