|
What is LIFE+
The LIFE+ programme, one of the most important EU financial tools, finances projects that contribute to the development and implementation of policy and legislation on the environment. This program facilitates the integration of environmental concerns into other policies, and generally contributes to promoting sustainable development.
Life+ priority issues are related to climate change, environment, health and quality of life, natural resources and waste and aims at contributing to the development and demonstration of innovative policy approaches, technologies, methods and tools.
The idea of Adapt2change
Based on the above criteria the Adapt2change team, led by Professor Dr. Alexander Papachatzis (TEI of Larisa) and his colleagues, in 2009 successfully submitted the Adapt2change proposal to the Life + Competent Authority, having as its primary role to promote agricultural technologies and policies that respect the environment with an eye to future generations. Since September 2010 the project has been active, providing considerable progress in research in fields relevant to the project actions.
The Adapt2change team
The lead partner TEI of Larisa leaded by Prof. Dr. Papachatzis Alexander (project manager) is supported by the TEI of Piraeus, the University of Athens, the Cypriot Agricultural Research Institute and the KEK "Europliroforisi” in order to successfully implement the challenging ongoing project activities.
The Adapt2change in a nutshell
The Adapt2change project, "Adapt agricultural production to climate change and limited water supply LIFE 09 ENV/GR/000296" is the key to tackling the most visible risk that has brought the continuous wasting of natural resources in an unsustainable way.
The overall project objective is to demonstrate the ability to adapt agricultural production to climate change and limited availability of water resources.
Water shortages and water pollution is an environmental threat that affects large parts of the European Union. As climate change is expected to exacerbate the shortage of water resources, the proposed project introduces an innovative approach to minimize water demand in the agricultural sector and reduce energy demand with simultaneous removal of pollution from agriculture. This innovative approach can be applied across the EU, because it relies on shallow geothermal energy which is widely available. The project provides stakeholders the necessary tools to fight the lack of water in a sustainable way, ensuring agricultural production.
The main actions included in the project are:
• Preparatory activities - Preparation of site establishment and construction of the original unit
• Testing & Production period - Demonstrate technical and economic viability
• Strategic communication and effective dissemination of project deliverables
• A campaign to adapt agriculture to climate change
Expected results
Upon completion of the Adapt2change project a series of objectives that will promote sustainable farming practices that can be implemented by all farmers will have been achieved. Some of these objectives can be summarized as follows:
- Construction of a prototype greenhouse system - recycling water- shallow geothermal energy, which can be reproduced easily with the help of practical guides for planning and implementation.
- User application manual for shallow geothermal energy use in agriculture.
- Adapting farming to climate change.
- Guide for environmentally friendly agricultural production
- Manual on compliance with CAP strategy (Common Agricultural Policy).
- Guide for automation and control design in greenhouses.
- A guide for sustainable water use in greenhouses.
- Guide for sustainable cultivation
- Remote Control Support (RCS).
- Guide to provide remote assistance for agricultural production.
- Proposal for agricultural policy reform with regard to water recycling. (Greece - Cyprus)
- Dissemination material for public awareness campaigns
Adapt2change - springboard to shift to sustainable development
Many words and names have been attributed to the efforts of TEI of Larisa and the other Adapt2change project partners namely: ecologically, sustainable, innovative, environmentally friendly greenhouses etc. The Adapt2change team greets all these terms, but its sole purpose and goal is the successful completion of the Adapt2change project, which is a bet that if won, will demonstrate to the international community that agricultural development and sustainability are terms that are in line and coexist.
More Information: www.adapt2change.org
|
