Horizon 2020 project:
Project tasks and goal:
The basic idea of the framework project comes from England. As part of the “Marlborough Downs Nature Improvement Area” project, which started in 2012, farmers ensured an improvement in biodiversity on their farms. To achieve this, the farmers organized themselves and implemented their ideas. This potential and the experiences of local farmers are now to be expanded across Europe with the help of the framework project.
The aim of the EU project “Framework” is to promote and develop biodiversity-sensitive cultivation of agricultural land and this process should start with the companies. To this end, a network is established between farmers from different farms within a region in which they can exchange information, ideas and experiences. These networks are called “Farmer Clusters”. These farmer clusters are in close contact with the scientists and a contact person, the so-called “facilitator”. The task of the Organic Institute of the HBLFA Raumberg-Gumpenstein is to take on the role of facilitator in this project and to support organic farms in the Mostviertel in maintaining and further increasing the biodiversity on their grassland areas.
Another important part of the project is to involve stakeholders and the public. Therefore, a “Citizen Observatory and Information Hub” is being set up. This online portal is intended to help share information and data analyzes with farmers and to inform the population about new findings from the project.
The Farmer Cluster is said to have become so well organized and consolidated over the five years of the project that it will continue to exist even after the end of the term and motivate other farmers to work in a biodiversity-sensitive way.
Project duration:
2020-2025
Project partners:
THE JAMES HUTTON INSTITUTE, Dundee, Scotland
GAME AND WILDLIFE CONSERVATION TRUST, Burgate Manor, United Kingdom
GROUPE DE RECHERCHE EN AGRICULTURE BIOLOGIQUE, Avignon France (GRAB)
UNIVERSITY OF SOIL CULTURE VIENNA, Vienna, Austria (BOKU)
EESTI MAAULIKOOL, Tartu, Estonia (EMU)
HIGHER FEDERAL TEACHING AND RESEARCH INSTITUTE FOR AGRICULTURE RAUMBERG-GUMPENSTEIN, Irdning-Ddonnersbachtal, Austria (AREC)
FUNDACION ARTEMISAN, Ciudad Real, Spain (ARTEMISAN)
SCUOLA SUERIORE DI STUDI UNIVERSITARI E DI PERFEZIONAMENTO S ANNA, Pisa, Italy (SSSA)
UNIVERSITY OF HERTFORDSHIRE HIGHER EDUCATION CORPORATION, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom (UNI OF HERTS)
CENTRO DE INVESTIGACION ECOLOGICA Y APPLICACIONES FORESTALES, Bellaterra, Spain (CREAF)
INSTITUTE NATIONAL DE RECHERCHE POUR L'AGRICULTURE, L'ALIMENTATION ET L'ENVIRONNEMENT, Paris, France (INRAE)
INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR APPLIED SYSTEMS ANALYSIS, Laxenburg, Austria (IIASA)
UNIVERSITEIT VAN AMSTERDAM, Amsterdam, Netherlands (UvA)
LUXEMBOURG INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, Esch Sur Alzette, Luxenburg(LIST)
UNIVERSITY OF OSNABRUECK, Osnabrueck, Germany (UOS)
TASKSCAPE ASSOCIATES LIMITED, Carlisle, United Kingdom (TAL)
CESKA ZEMEDELSKA UNIVERZITA V PRAZE, Prague, Czech Republic (CZU)
NORDISK FOND FOR MILJO OG UDVIKLING, Kobenhavn, Denmark (NORDECO)
Further information and contacts:
Project lead partner:
THE JAMES HUTTON INSTITUTE, Dundee, DD2 5DA, Scotland
Project manager:
Dr. Graham Begg
HBLFA Raumberg Gumpenstein
Higher Federal Teaching and Research Institute Raumberg-Gumpenstein, Institute for Organic Agriculture and Livestock Biodiversity, Raumberg 38, A-8952 Irdning-Donnersbachtal
Project homepage and social media:
Homepage: www.framework-biodiversity.eu
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/The-Framework-Project-102055371716565
Twitter: @H2020_FRAMEwork
Homepage for the “Marlborough Downs Nature Improvement Area” project:
https://www.spacefornature.net/
