Download or read book Nordic Rural Development Research written by Kjell J. Havnevik and published by Nordic Council of Ministers. This book was released on 1999 with total page 70 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Agriculture and the Environment in the Nordic Countries written by Valborg Kvakkestad and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 94 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Abstract: In the future, demand for agricultural products will increase. The agricultural sector must meet the increase in demand without compromising the natural resources of which it depends on and damage fragile ecosystems. Sustainable agricultural practices and green growth is necessary for this to happen and agricultural policy must facilitate such development. How agriculture contributes to water pollution has been in focus in the Nordic countries for many years. In many places, nutrient emissions have been successfully reduces, but targets are still not met. The implementation of the Water Framework Directive makes policies that facilitate reduction of nutrient runoff even more relevant than before. This report looks at experiences from the Nordic countries and makes suggestions for future policies for sustainable agriculture and green growth. The report has been commissioned by the Nordic Council of Ministers. The study was carried out by the Norwegian Agricultural Economics Research Institute (NILF)

Download or read book Developments in Nordic Agriculture written by and published by Nordic Council of Ministers. This book was released on 1998 with total page 110 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Nordic Food Transitions written by Jesper Manniche and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2018-12-07 with total page 120 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The ambition of the book is to investigate a possible transition in the markets for food in the Nordic countries. Six chapters from various disciplinary traditions study change and innovation within the food sectors in Denmark, Sweden and Norway; while an introductory chapter discusses the findings of these analyses. Specialty food has established a strong position within product categories such as craft beer in Denmark and organic food in Sweden, but has failed to do so in others. The emergence of markets for specialty foods have been promoted by top-down policy initiatives and bottom-up entrepreneurial efforts. Far from providing the only relevant platform for food transition and innovation, the "New Nordic Food" manifesto has helped creating a territorialized action space for networks of food producers and distributors promoting diversity in local food and rural development. Some of the specialty food networks have succeeded in re-scaling their operations from a local to a national market. Today even large retailers and food processing companies have to pay notice to the ongoing changes among consumers. There is however a paradoxical constraint in a transition towards specialty food. A large-scale transition would imply that producers and consumers abandon precisely what constitute them - their exclusiveness. The chapters were originally published in a special issue of European Planning Studies.

Download or read book Development of the Nordic Baltic Market for Organic Food written by Nordic Council of Ministers and published by Nordic Council of Ministers. This book was released on 2005-06-02 with total page 55 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report contains the conclusions from the project "Development of the Nordic/Baltic Market for Organic Food" in which public authorities and NGO's from Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden have participated. The objective of this project was to elaborate a joint project proposal in order to promote the development of the Nordic-Baltic market for organic products. The project identifies and describes a range of barriers for a market driven development of the organic sector, including lack of consumer awareness, deficient market data, different standards and labelling, lack of marketing channels, lack of processing and innovation and high prices. Against this background the project points out a range of potential cross-border activities, including an information campaign to raise awareness and induce consumers' trust in organic products, construction of a common information system on the rules and procedures, promotion of the EU-logo and national logos, collaboration between retail chains and representative organic organisations and finally alternative distribution channels. In order to enable the implementation of one or more of these potential activities the project has identified relevant funding opportunities. The most relevant funding opportunity has been identified as the EU promotion scheme (Commission Legislation (EC) 94/2002 of 18 January 2002), which is therefore described thoroughly.

Download or read book Mergers Alliances and Acquisitions in the Nordic Agro and Food Industry written by and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 195 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Abstract: A strong agro and food industry is one of the best means for securing a healthy and stable financial development in the agricultural industry. As the concentration of enterprises in the retail industry and the agro and food industry has increased in the past years, enterprises have begun looking beyond the national borders for new business partners. The extent of cross-border co-operation in the Nordic region has also increased significantly in a relatively short period of time. Because the agro and food industry varies from country to country in the Nordic region, this development involves both advantages and disadvantages as to which business areas can advantageously be chosen with a view to co-operation. In some areas the enterprises can supplement each other, but in other sectors the variations between the Nordic countries limit the possibilities of co-operation. However, all the cross-border co-operation in the Nordic agro and food industry is presumably started with an expectation of positive synergetic effects and a better common financial performance. Despite that an evaluation of the experiences has not been conducted. In addition to this, a common forum that can support and stimulate a positive development of co-operation in the Nordic agro and food industry is missing. On this background the aim of the project is the following: The aim of the project is to enhance the competitiveness of the Nordic agro and food industry. This will happen through the mapping out and analysis of the existing co-operation and the potential for new co-operation in the Nordic agro and food industry. Consequently, the project will establish new knowledge that can be the foundation for increased co-operation among the enterprises in the Nordic agro and food industry. At the same time the project will try to expand and cement the common Nordic networks in the agricultural sector by spreading the information and experiences from the project

Download or read book Nordic Baltic Co operation on Sustainable Rural Development written by and published by Nordic Council of Ministers. This book was released on 2000 with total page 80 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Nordic Baltic Co operation on Sustainable Rural Development written by and published by Nordic Council of Ministers. This book was released on 2000 with total page 114 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sammenfatning.

Download or read book Agriculture and the Environment in the Nordic Countries written by Valborg Kvakkestad and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 94 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Abstract: In the future, demand for agricultural products will increase. The agricultural sector must meet the increase in demand without compromising the natural resources of which it depends on and damage fragile ecosystems. Sustainable agricultural practices and green growth is necessary for this to happen and agricultural policy must facilitate such development. How agriculture contributes to water pollution has been in focus in the Nordic countries for many years. In many places, nutrient emissions have been successfully reduces, but targets are still not met. The implementation of the Water Framework Directive makes policies that facilitate reduction of nutrient runoff even more relevant than before. This report looks at experiences from the Nordic countries and makes suggestions for future policies for sustainable agriculture and green growth. The report has been commissioned by the Nordic Council of Ministers. The study was carried out by the Norwegian Agricultural Economics Research Institute (NILF)

Download or read book Climate vulnerability assessment methodology written by Lotten Wiréhn and published by Linköping University Electronic Press. This book was released on 2017-11-27 with total page 98 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Food security and climate change mitigation are crucial missions for the agricultural sector and for global work on sustainable development. Concurrently, agricultural production is directly dependent on climatic conditions, making climate change adaptation strategies essential for the agricultural sector. There is consequently a need for researchers, planners, and practitioners to better understand how, why, and to what extent agriculture is vulnerable to climate change. Such analyses involve challenges in relation to the complex social– ecological character of the agricultural system and to the multiple conceptualizations and approaches used in analysing vulnerability. The aim of this thesis is to identify how vulnerability assessments can be used to represent climate-related vulnerability in Nordic agriculture, in order to advance the methodological development of indicator-based and geographic visualization methods. The following research questions are addressed: (i) How can agricultural vulnerability to climate change and variability in the Nordic countries be characterized? (ii) How do selections, definitions, and emphases of indicators influence how vulnerability is assessed? (iii) How do estimates of vulnerability vary depending on the methods used in assessments? (iv) How can geographic visualization be applied in integrated vulnerability assessments? This thesis analyses and applies various vulnerability assessment approaches in the context of Nordic agriculture. This thesis demonstrates that various methods for composing vulnerability indices result in significantly different outcomes, despite using the same set of indicators. A conceptual framework for geographic visualization approaches to vulnerability assessments was developed for the purpose of creating transparent and interactive assessments regarding the indicating variables, methods and assumptions applied, i.e., opening up the ‘black box’ of composite indices. This framework served as the foundation for developing the AgroExplore geographic visualization tool. The tool enables the user to interactively select, categorize, and weight indicators as well as to explore the data and the spatial patterns of the indicators and indices. AgroExplore was used in focus group settings with experts in the Swedish agricultural sector. The visualization-supported dialogue results confirm the difficulty of selecting and constructing indicators, including different perceptions of what indicators actually indicate, the assumption of linear relationships between the indicators and vulnerability, and, consequently, that the direction of the relationship is predefined for each indicator. This thesis further points at the inherent complexity of agricultural challenges and opportunities in the context of climate change as such. It is specifically emphasized that agricultural adaptation policies and measures involve trade-offs between various environmental and socio–economic objectives, and that their implementation could furthermore entail unintended consequences, i.e., potential maladaptive outcomes. Nevertheless, it proved difficult to validate indicators due to, e.g. matters of scale and data availability. While heavy precipitation and other extreme weather events are perceived as the most relevant drivers of climate vulnerability by the agricultural experts participating in this study, statistical analyses of historical data identified few significant relationships between crop yield losses and heavy precipitation. In conclusion, this thesis contributes to the method development of composite indices and indicator-based vulnerability assessment. A key conclusion is that assessments are method dependent and that indicator selection is related to aspects such as the system’s spatial scale and location as well as to indicator thresholds and defined relationships with vulnerability, recognizing the contextual dependency of agricultural vulnerability. Consequently, given the practicality of indicator-based methods, I stress with this thesis that future vulnerability studies must take into account and be transparent about the principles and limitations of indicator-based assessment methods in order to ensure their usefulness, validity, and relevance for guiding adaptation strategies. För jordbrukssektorn och global hållbar utveckling i stort är matsäkerhet och mitigering av klimatförändringar viktiga angelägenheter. Samtidigt är jordbruksproduktionen ofta direkt beroende av klimatförhållanden, vilket gör klimatanpassningsstrategier mycket centrala för sektorn. Forskare, planerare och aktörer behöver förstå hur, varför och i vilken omfattning jordbruket är sårbart inför klimatförändringar. Sådana analyser inbegriper även de utmaningar som skapas genom jordbrukets komplexa socio-ekologiska karaktär, och de många utgångspunkter och tillvägagångssätt som används för att bedöma sårbarhet. Syftet med denna avhandling är att identifiera hur sårbarhetsbedömningar kan representera klimatrelaterad sårbarhet i nordiskt jordbruk, och i och med detta har avhandlingen som avsikt att utveckla metodologin för indikatorbaserade- och geografiska visualiseringsmetoder. Följande forskningsfrågor avhandlas: (i) Hur kan det nordiska jordbrukets sårbarhet inför klimatvariation och förändringar karaktäriseras? (ii) Hur påverkar urval, definitioner och betoningar av indikatorer bedömningar av sårbarhet? (iii) Hur varierar uppskattningar med bedömningsmetod? (iv) Hur kan geografisk visualisering användas i integrerade såbarhetsbedömningar? För att svara på dessa frågor analyseras och tillämpas olika tillvägagångssätt att bedöma sårbarhet inom nordiskt jordbruk. Avhandlingen visar att olika metoder för sårbarhetskompositindex resulterar i signifikanta skillnader mellan index, trots att samma indikatorer och data används. Ett konceptuellt ramverk för sårberhetsbedömningar där geografisk visualisering används, har utvecklats för att möjliggöra transparens avseende till exempel. vilka variabler, metoder och antaganden som används i kompositindex. Detta ramverk har följaktligen legat till grund för att utveckla ett geografiskt visualiseringsverktyg – AgroExplore. Verktyget möjliggör interaktivitet där användaren kan välja, kategorisera och vikta indikatorer, och dessutom utforska data och spatiala mönster av indikatorer och kompositindex. AgroExplore användes i denna avhandling för att stödja fokusgruppdialoger med experter inom den svenska jordbrukssektorn. Resultaten från dessa workshops bekräftar svårigheten med att välja och skapa indikatorer. Dessa svårigheter innefattar olika uppfattningar om vad indikatorer representerar, antagandet om linjära samband mellan indikatorerna och sårbarhet, och följaktligen att sambandens riktning är fördefinierade för respektive indikator. Utöver de konceptuella och metodologiska utmaningarna med sårbarhetsbedömningar visar avhandlingen på komplexa svårigheter och möjligheter för jordbruket vid klimatförändringar. Särskilt framhålls att klimatanpassningspolitik och åtgärder inom jordbruket medför konflikter och avvägningar mellan olika miljö- och socio-ekonomiska mål. Implementering av sådana anpassningsåtgärder kan vidare innebära oönskade konsekvenser, så kallad missanpassning. Trots ökad kunskap gällande nordiska jordbrukets sårbarhet inför klimatförändringar har det visats sig vara svårt att statistiskt validera indikatorer på grund av, exempelvis, skalproblematik och datatillgänglighet. Samtidigt som experterna ansåg att kraftig nederbörd och andra extrema väderhändelser är de mest relevanta drivkrafterna till klimatsårbarhet visar den statistiska analysen av historiska data på få signifikanta samband mellan förlorad skördeavkastning och kraftig nederbörd. Denna avhandling bidrar till metodutveckling av kompositindex och indikatorbaserade metoder för sårbarhetsbedömningar. En viktig slutsats är att bedömningar är metodberoende och att valet av indikatorer är relaterat till aspekter såsom systemets utbredning och den spatiala skalan av bedömningen. Även indikatorernas tröskelvärden och hur deras relation till sårbarhet är definierade anses vara viktiga faktorer som påverkar hur indikatorer representerar sårbarhet, vilket visar på sårbarhetsbedömningars kontextuella beroende. I och med de rådande bristerna hos indikatorbaserade metoder, som bland annat har identifierats i denna avhandling, vill jag framhålla vikten av att sårbarhetsbedömningar bör vara transparanta gällande den tillämpade metodens principer, antaganden och begräsningar. Detta för att säkerställa användbarhet, giltighet och relevans, om metoden och bedömningen ska ligga till grund för anpassningsstrategier hos såväl politiker, planerare och lantbrukare.

Download or read book Bumps on the Road to 2030 written by Martin Larsen and published by Nordic Council of Ministers. This book was released on 2017-09-04 with total page 28 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This discussion paper titled “Bumps on the Road to 2030 - An overview of the common challenges for the Nordic countries in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)” was prepared by the Danish think thank Sustainia, by commission from the Nordic Council of Ministers in April 2017. The task at hand was to analyze, based on existing international comparisons, which SDGs the Nordic countries need to work on the most, in order to achieve them by 2030.

Download or read book Nordic Agriculture Air and Climate written by Jacob Sørensen and published by Nordic Council of Ministers. This book was released on 2015 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report constitutes the main outputs of the project "Pathways to a Nordic food system that contributes to reduced emissions of greenhouse gases and air pollutants". The overall goals are to present the baseline data regarding the Nordic agricultural sector, its greenhouse gas and ammonia emissions, the regulatory framework and support systems, and conflicts of interest. The report aims to describe pathways to a Nordic food system that contributes to achieving the climate target of below 2 (or 1.5) degrees of warming and the air pollution target of zero exceedance of critical loads and critical levels regarding ammonia emissions. The Nordic region has diverse geological and climatic conditions that make certain types of agricultural production more vulnerable than others. The policy recommendations aim to serve as input to different policies at EU, Nordic and national level.

Download or read book Market analysis of organic foods in the Nordic and Baltic countries written by Anna Pekala and published by Nordic Council of Ministers. This book was released on 2020-01-21 with total page 140 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The project was initiated in March 2019, deriving from a request from The Danish Veterinary and Food Administration who handles the project management on the Nordic-Baltic project ”Nordic Nutrition the Green Way”. The project is funded by the Nordic Working Group for Diet, Food & Toxicology (NKMT) under the Nordic Council of Ministers. The purpose of this report is to provide an overall picture of the organic food and beverage market in the Nordic and Baltic countries. This includes a review of historical developments within the sales of organic foods and beverages across the main sales channels, imports/exports and organic agricultural production. Furthermore, we give an overview of political incentives in the area of organic food, consumer profiles and attitudes, and provide an outlook on the future trends and expected developments within the Nordic countries. The report also includes an outlook for the Nordic region and globally towards 2030. Lastly, the report includes a link between organic food and the UN’s 2030 sustainability agenda and how the individual countries incorporate organic into their national strategies towards 2030. The market analysis covers the following countries: • Nordic countries: Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Iceland • Autonomous areas: The Faroe Islands, Åland Islands and Greenland • Baltic countries: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania The market analysis is part of the project ”Nordic Nutrition the Green Way”, which aims at bringing together the Nordic and Baltic authorities and relevant private stakeholders in the field of organic production and consumption. The project addresses the idea of a sustainable and healthy diet for the population and strengthening the Nordic-Baltic identity on sustainability and branding of a greener and more organic Nordic-Baltic region.

Download or read book Nordic Food Transition written by Lund Gade, Annika and published by Nordic Council of Ministers. This book was released on 2021-06-23 with total page 83 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Available online: https://pub.norden.org/temanord2021-525/ Nordic agricultural producers face a large challenge in meeting a growing food demand while addressing climate and environmental challenges. The eight case studies presented in this report show first-hand how farmers and food producers are taking initiative to develop new farming practices and food products that are more sustainable. But these cases also illustrate specific challenges for these new products. The 36 policy recommendations illustrate that there is still a lot of potential to support the transition towards a low-emission food production system in the Nordics at all levels. A multitude of instruments need to be put into play to incentivise more sustainable agricultural practices. But if sustainable and more plant-based agricultural production and consumption is prioritised and expanded it is possible to feed 9.8 billion people and meet emissions reduction targets.

Download or read book Development of the Nordic Bioeconomy written by Alexander Wentzel and published by Nordic Council of Ministers. This book was released on 2015 with total page 219 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 2014 NCM initiated a new project:?Test centers for green energy solutions? Biorefineries and Business needs? to strengthen Nordic bioeconomy by identifying potentials, obstacles, needs and opportunities. The Nordic bioeconomy has a unique profile: Upgrade of many types of residues also to higher value products; good collaboration between private and public sector; R & D efforts in all Nordic countries. However, shortcomings were also identified: few activities across Nordic countries beyond designated Nordic programs; too few upscaling facilities; need for improved framework conditions (within regulatory and market stimulus) for biobased products. This report is part of the Nordic Prime Ministers' green growth initiative:?The Nordic Region? leading in green growth? - read more in the web magazine?Green Growth the Nordic Way? at www.nordicway.org or at www.norden.org/greengrowth.

Download or read book Agriculture s Role as an Upholder of Cultural Heritage written by and published by Nordic Council of Ministers. This book was released on 2005 with total page 130 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Ten trends for the sustainable bioeconomy in Nordic Arctic and Baltic Sea Region written by Nordic Council of Ministers Secretariat and published by Nordic Council of Ministers. This book was released on 2020-10-06 with total page 84 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Available online: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:norden:org:diva-6155 This report highlights key trends in 14 countries that policy-makers should be aware of in their work on the bioeconomy as a means to achieve our common goals for the planet and our responsibilities to each other. Of the ten trends, five are specifically part of the bioeconomy and show us some of the most prominent ways in which it develops. The other five are macrotrends – more overall societal or technological trends that influence the development of the bioeconomy. To provide context for these trends, the report analyses a number of conditions that support the bioeconomy, as well as the expected impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.