PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
Olive groves extend over nearly five million hectares in the EU and are one of the main crops in Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain. With nearly 1.9 million olive farms (Eurostat, 2007) the olive sector is a vital source of employment and economic activity in many European regions. In Andalusia almost 100 000 ha of olive groves are located in in the Natura 2000 network (RN2000). The ecological distribution of olive groves defines the limits of this ecological region. The olive has an important role to play in the conservation of biodiversity. Moreover, olive groves are a vital element of green infrastructure, connecting areas of high conservation value. Intensive cultivation of the crop, however, has led to the deterioration of this function.
OBJECTIVES
The LIFE Olivares Vivos project aimed to define an innovative model of olive growing with high demonstration value. The model would be agriculturally, economically and socially viable, while contributing to the halt in the loss of biodiversity in the EU by 2020. Specifically the project aimed to:
- Establish profitability formulas based on an added value for consumers (biodiversity) to help curb the abandonment of traditional olive farming;
- Develop a science-based agrifood certification system linking oil production to the recovery of biodiversity;
- Show that stakeholders, especially farmers, have a key role to play in the EU strategy on biodiversity, and promote their integration and active participation in such a strategy;
- Provide an effective solution to the economic and environmental crisis that is affecting traditional olive farming;
- Improve the ecosystem services provided by olive farming through restoration actions and the creation of a green infrastructure in demonstration plots and define restoration strategies that are technically, environmentally and economically viable and effective;
- Contribute to the integration of biodiversity in EU agriculture and demonstrate that it is possible to harmonise the environment, economy and agriculture;
- Provide proven and useful information in support of measures to reach the objectives of the CAP 2014-2020, the payment for environmental services and the design of agri-environmental measures;
- Inform citizens of the socio-economic and environmental importance of olive farming in the EU;
- Demonstrate the role that citizens can play as consumers in strategies to halt the loss of biodiversity in the EU;
- Show that the integration of socio-cultural values and environmental values is a step towards the multi-functionality of agricultural systems; and
- Establish cooperation with other olive-growing regions outside the EU.
RESULTS
The LIFE Olivares Vivos project team defined an innovative biodiversity-friendly model of olive growing that is agriculturally, economically and socially viable, with a high demonstration value.
Notably, the project:
- Established 20 demonstration olive groves (3 604 ha in land stewardship).
- Conducted 15 248 surveys, with 595 130 entries of flora and fauna.
- Recorded 180 bird species, 61 ant species, 204 bee species, and 775 plant species (representing, respectively, 1/3, 1/5, 1/5 and 1/10 of all bird, ant, bee and plant taxa recorded in the Iberian Peninsula, the most biodiverse region in the EU). Moreover, one plant species (Linaria qartobensis) was discovered in a project olive grove.
- Organised 19 volunteer camps, 7 volunteer days, and involved 226 volunteers from 10 countries in project activities (receiving an average score of 9.2 out of 10 in the participants’ assessments).
- Planted 32 000 woody plants, 18 500 m2 of native grasses, and 17 000 m2 of barley, and created 11 ponds for amphibians, 30 water troughs, 406 nest boxes, 20 perches for birds of prey, 77 bat boxes, 45 barn owl/small sized raptor boxes, 23 stone walls, and 190 insect hotels.
- Conducted 3 200 surveys among extra virgin olive oil consumers committed to biodiversity conservation, from four countries (Spain, Germany, Denmark and UK).
- Produced 334 items of news, 50 electronic newsletters, and reached a potential audience of 66.7 million people via social media and other communication channels.
- Interviewed 1 250 olive growers in 88 Andalusian municipalities to get their opinions on the relationship between biodiversity and agriculture, and the effectiveness of project actions, which were summarised in a report.
- Involved 66 municipalities in the REMOV (Olivares Vivos Municipalities Network), and more than 1 150 people (mainly farmers), in events organised by the Olivares Vivos project within the network.
- Engaged at least 2 700 schoolchildren in the Olivares Vivos school campaign, while other 86 000 schoolchildren learnt about the biodiversity of olive groves.
- Delivered 21 lectures and/or posters at conferences, 5 information days, 9 articles in scientific journals, 34 talks at events, 5 articles for popular science magazines, and 2 technical seminars and a final conference.
As a result of these actions, more than 700 olive growers expressed an interest in converting their farms to the biodiversity-friendly Olivares Vivos model.
In addition, the project team transferred scientific knowledge to an agri-environmental certification scheme and developed a seal for olive groves and Extra Virgin Olive Oils (EVOO) that have increased their biodiversity. This scheme helps to improve the profitability of farmers, mainly, through differentiation and added value. In this way, Olivares Vivos has become the first agri-food product in Europe to certify the recovery of biodiversity.
Also, the project has produced a series of reports and other publications (e.g. on biodiversity estimators; "Good ‘bad’ Weeds for olive grove"; the educational brochures "Olivares Vivos, a very close adventure" and "Los secretos del Olivar", and an article on the project results in Quercus magazine). They also disseminated their findings to specialists and the general public via other media, including videos on their YouTube channel.
