PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
In the EU, olive groves cover more than 5.3 million ha, including 420,000 ha within the Natura 2000 network. Olives are the most representative crop in the Mediterranean area, being one of the main crops in Spain, Italy, Greece and Portugal. Due to their extent and environmental and socio-economic values, olive groves represent a strategic crop to halt biodiversity loss in the EU and preserve our natural capital.
A previous project, LIFE Olivares Vivos (LIFE14 NAT/ES/001094), has demonstrated: (i) the relevance of olive groves for biodiversity preservation; (ii) an agri-environmental scheme that is able, among others, to improve biodiversity, halt soil loss, and reduce pesticide input thereby lowering production costs; and (iii) a certification scheme that raises awareness and increases the profitability of the biodiversity gain achieved.
OBJECTIVES
The main goal of the LIFE Olivares Vivos + project is to halt biodiversity loss in the EU by accelerating the expansion of the Olivares Vivos (OV) model and increasing its replication potential. The intention is not to preserve a given species, habitat or group of species, but the taxonomic and functional biodiversity of olive orchards. The project focuses on birds, ground-dwelling insects, insect pollinators, weeds and woody vegetation, used as ecological indicators.
The overarching objective will be achieved by:
- Increasing the impact of OV on the achievement of the objectives of the LIFE programme and, in particular, on the EU’s strategies to halt biodiversity loss;
- Consolidating OV certification as a tool to include the added value of biodiversity in financial decision-making, validating bio-economic strategies as a successful path to preserve our natural capital;
- Achieving better integration of results and lessons learnt from the previous LIFE project in the green architecture design of the EU, the reinforced cross-compliance requirements, and the planning of eco-schemes and measures for climate and environment of the new common agricultural policy (CAP) post-2020;
- Obtaining better knowledge of the medium-term effects of measures to restore biodiversity (recovery debt), in order to adjust the certification system and regulation of the certification seal;
- Increasing the replicability of the OV land management scheme from Andalusia to other regions of Spain, Portugal, Greece and Italy;
- Ensuring replicability of the OV model and certification in areas especially sensitive to climate change;
- Fostering the creation of green jobs as a result of new employment niches generated by the OV model;
- Expanding the OV model to the table olives sector;
- Strengthening olive farmers’ capacities through specific training to make better use of biodiversity ecosystem services and transfer these to farm income statements;
- Improving the training of technical personnel for environmental consulting and certification, so that the demand for OV applications can be addressed;
- Expanding the production and distribution options of OV oils to facilitate their added environmental value reaching the market and consumers;
- Improving the competitiveness of the olive oil sector and increasing its resilience through differentiation strategies based on added value;
- Increasing farmers‘ awareness of biodiversity conservation and green farming practices;
- Making OV a benchmark of consumer empowerment for biodiversity conservation;
- Designing a replication strategy of the OV model for other EU Mediterranean countries; and
- Designing a transferability strategy for other woody crops, with a special focus on vineyards.
RESULTS
Expected results:
- An average fauna and flora species increase of 10% in 3 years in the new OV-certified farms, with a much higher increase expected in the medium/long term (to be assessed in the original demonstration olive groves of the previous project);
- A significant increase in the area occupied by OV-certified olive groves harvested to produce olive oil (at least 10,000 additional hectares);
- 20 olive farms OV-certified for table olive production;
- At least 500 new applications from olive farmers interested in the OV model;
- A decrease of at least 50% in the use of pesticides in the OV farms;
- Eco-schemes in the post-2020 CAP to integrate the measures tested by OV that have proven to be effective to recover biodiversity;
- Inclusion, in the CAP second pillar rural development plans, of restoration measures to increase biodiversity in olive groves and other permanent crops, derived from OV;
- An optimised certification regulation based on the best knowledge available on the medium- and long-term effects of the measures applied by restoration plans;
- At least 3 action plans for the recovery of biodiversity for olive groves located in areas particularly sensitive to climate change and at least 18 action plans for the recovery of biodiversity for the “transfer olive groves” (i.e. the demonstration groves of the new project);
- New green employment niches (at least 150 people trained in the design and management of restoration plans, workers specialised in agro-system restoration, specialists in the monitoring of bio-indicators for certification, etc.);
- Threefold increase in the number of consumers who are aware of the added value of OV;
- An annual 7% increase in the market demand for OV oil from 2021 (from consumers, intermediaries and exporters);
- Increased internationalisation of OV oil: at least 50 countries importing OV oil in 2026;
- A strategic plan to transfer the OV model to other permanent crops;
- A replication plan to adopt the OV model in 3 EU countries (Portugal, Italy and Greece); and
- An increase of approximately 25% in the net ecosystem CO2 exchange due to maintenance of herbaceous ground cover in new OV groves
