Key agroforestry systems in temperate climate and standardization: evidence from Bulgaria case
Ivan Bozhikin
, Elka Vasileva
Abstract: The standardization of agroforestry systems, processes and products can support and strengthen their transformational potential for implementing sustainable agriculture. However, scientific research in this area is quite limited. Therefore, our study aims to identify the key agroforestry systems in the temperate climate of Bulgaria and to reveal the leading Voluntary Sustainable Standards and Systems (VSSS) in support of their better development. To achieve the set research aim, we use a “case study” approach combined with a review of the Voluntary Sustainable Standards and Systems in Europe. Moreover, the 187 private and public Sustainability Standards and Systems covered by the ITC Standards Map for Europe to assess the degree of association between VSSS and the above types of agroforestry systems have been analyzed. The four identified VSSS groups, although directed at agricultural areas such as Agriculture, Livestock and Forestry, do not prohibit explicitly the use of agroforestry practices. Furthermore, the connection between the discovered VSSS and the studied agroforestry systems in Bulgaria is analyzed. The study has shown scarcity of standards that view agroforestry as an overall sustainable agricultural system.
Keywords: agroforestry; agroforestry standards; Bulgaria; standardization
Citation: Bozhikin, I. & Vasileva, E. (2024). Key agroforestry systems in temperate climate and standardization: evidence from Bulgaria case. Bulg. J. Agric. Sci., 30(1), 170–180.
| References: (click to open/close) | Bio Suisse (2020). Bio Suisse Standards for the Production, Processing and Trade of "Bud" Products, effective as of 01 January 2020, Bio Suisse: Swiss Association of Organic Agriculture Organizations, Basel. Available at : www.bio-suisse.ch
Bhardwaj, D. R., Navale, M. R. & Sharma, S. (2017). Agroforestry practices in temperate regions of the world. In: Agroforestry: Anecdotal to Modern Science, Dagar, J. C., Tewari, V.P., Eds.; Springer, Singapore, 163–187.
Burgess, P. J. & Rosati, A. (2018). Advances in European agroforestry: Results from the AGFORWARD project. Agrofor. Syst., 92, 801–810.
Burgess, P. J., den Herder, M., Dupraz, C., Garnett, K., Giannitsopoulos, M., Graves, A. R., Hermansen, J. E., Kanzler, M., Liagre, F., Mirck, J., Moreno, G., Mosquera-Losada, M. R., Palma, J. H. N., Pantera, A. & Plieninger, T. (2018). AGFORWARD project final report. 28 Feb 2018. Cranfield University: AGFORWARD (www.agforward.eu - the last accessed on 20 April 2021).
Costa, M. P., Schoeneboom, J. C., Oliveira, S. A., Viñas, R. S. & de Medeiros, G. A. (2018). A socio-eco-efficiency analysis of integrated and non-integrated crop-livestock-forestry systems in the Brazilian Cerrado based on LCA. J. Clean. Prod., 171, 1460–1471. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.10.063.
Craig, R., Elevitch, D., Mazaroli, N. & Ragone, D. (2018). Agroforestry Standards for Regenerative Agriculture. Sustainability, 10(9), 1-21. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10093337.
De Leicht, S. C., Fiorini, M., Brandi, C., Schleifer, P., Bissinger, K., Elamin, N. E. A. & Fernandez de Cordova, S. (2020). Linking Voluntary Standards to Sustainable Development Goals. International Trade Centre. Geneva, Switzerland. Available at: https://www.intracen.org/publication/SustainableDevelopment/.
Den Herder, M., Moreno, G., Mosquera-Losada, R., Palma, J., Sidiropoulou, A., Freijanes, J., Crous-Duran, J., Paulo, J., Tomé, M., Pantera, A., Papanastasis, V., Mantzanas, K., Pachana, P., Papadopoulos, A., Plieninger, T. & Burgess, P. (2017). Current extent and stratification of agroforestry in the European Union. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 241, 121-132, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2017.03.005.
Dias, F. S., Bugalho, M. N., Rodríguez-González, P. M., Albuquerque, A. & Cerdeira, J. O. (2015). Effects of forest certification on the ecological condition of Mediterranean streams. J. Appl. Ecol., 52(1), 190–198. https ://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.12358.
EIP-AGRI (2017). The European Innovation Partnership “Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability”, EIP-AGRI Focus Group Agroforestry: introducing woody vegetation into specialised crop and livestock systems. Final report December 2017, European Commission, Brussels. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/eip/agriculture/sites/default/files/eip-agri_fg_agroforestry_final_report_2017_en.pdf.
FAO (2017). The future of food and agriculture—Trends and challenges. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Available at: http://www.fao.org/3/a-i6583e.pdf.
FairWild (2010). FairWild Standard: Version 2.0, FairWild Foundation, Weinfelden, Switzerland. Website: www.fairwild.org.
Flinzberger, L., Zinngrebe, Y. & Plieninger, T. (2020). Labelling in Mediterranean agroforestry landscapes: a Delphi study on relevant sustainability indicators. Sustain Sci., 15, 1369–1382. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-020-00800-2.
IFOAM-Organics International (2014). The IFOAM NORMS for Organic Production and Processing; IFOAM-Organics International. Bonn, Germany. Website: http://www.ifoam.bio.
ITC (2021). ITC Standards Map. www.sustainabilitymap.org. – the last accessed on 20 April 2021.
ISCC EU (2016). International Sustainability and Carbon Certification EU, ISCC 202 Sustainability Requirements, Version 3.0, ISCC System, Koeln, Germany. Website: www.iscc-system.org.
Kachova, V., Hinkov, G., Popov, E., Trichkov, L. & Mosquera-Losada, R. (2018). Agroforestry in Bulgaria: history, presence status and prospects. Agrofor. Syst., 92, 655–665. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-016-0029-6.
Lampkin, N., Stolze, M., Meredith, S., de Porras, M., Haller, L. & Mészáros, D. (2020). Using Eco-schemes in the new CAP: a guide for managing authorities. IFOAM EU, FIBL and IEEP, Brussels. Available at: https://www.organicseurope.bio/content/uploads/2020/06/ifoam-eco-schemes-web_compressed-1.pdf?dd.
Millard, E. (2011). Incorporating Agroforestry Approaches into Commodity Value Chains. Environmental Management, 365–377.
Naturland (2020). Naturland Standards on Production, Association for Organic Agriculture, Grafelfing, Germany. Website: www.naturland.de.
PEFC (2018). Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Schemes, Sustainable Forest Management—Requirements (PEFC ST 1003: 2018); PEFC International, Geneva, Switzerland. Website: www.pefc.org.
PEFC (2019). PEFC endorsement process for the Certification of Trees Outside Forests, 3 September 2019. Available at https://www.pefc.org/news/trees-outside-forests-pefc-reaches-beyond-forests.
PEFC BG (2019a). Bulgaria takes a step toward certified forests through PEFC endorsement, 8 November 2019. Available at: https://www.pefc.org/news/bulgaria-takes-a-step-toward-certified-forests-through-pefc-endorsement.
PEFC BG (2019b) Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Schemes, Sustainable Forest Management in Bulgaria (PEFC ST 1002: 2017); PEFC Bulgaria, Sofia, Bulgaria. Website: http://www.pefc.bg/ (Bg).
Plieninger, T., Muñoz-Rojas, J., Buck, L.E. & Scherr, S.J. (2020) Agroforestry for sustainable landscape management, Sustainability Science, 15, 1255–1266. DOI: 10.1007/s11625-020-00836-4.
Regulation (EU) 2018/848 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 on organic production and labelling of organic products and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007. Website: https://ec.europa.eu/info/food-farming-fisheries/farming/organic-farming_en.
Regulation (EU) 2020/1693 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 November 2020 amending Regulation (EU) 2018/848 on organic production and labelling of organic products as regards its date of application and certain other dates referred to in that Regulation.
SBP (2015). Sustainable Biomass Program, SBP Framework Standard 1: Feedstock Compliance Standard (Version 1.0, 2015), The Sustainable Biomass Partnership, London, UK. Website: https://sbp-cert.org/.
Stancheva, J., Bencheva, S., Petkova, K. & Piralkov, V. (2007). Possibilities for agroforestry development in Bulgaria: Outlooks and limitations. Ecol. Eng., 29, 382–387. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2006.09.013.
Trichkov, L. & Kachova, V. (2016). Necessity, opportunities and priorities for development of agroforestry in Bulgaria. For. Ideas, 22, 3–15.
UNFSS (2018). 3rd Flagship Report: Voluntary sustainability standards and trade and sustainable development. United Nations Forum on Sustainability Standards.
Yin, R. K. (2014). Case Study Research Design and Methods (5th ed.) Sage.
Wani, A. A., Basira Mehraj, T. H., Masoodi, A. A. & Gatoo Mugloo, J. A. (2020). Assessment of Trees Outside Forests (TOF) with Emphasis on Agroforestry Systems January 2020 In book: Agroforestry for Degraded Landscapes, Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd., DOI: 10.1007/978-981-15-6807-7_4.
|
|
| Date published: 2024-02-26
Download full text 
