A cow (Bos taurus) resting in the beautiful Gryt archipelago, Sweden. Photo: © Germund Sellgren / WWF-Sweden
Contact: Kristina Atkisson
In September 2020, WWF will Sweden launch the Baltic Stewardship Initiative, a 3-year project funded by the Swedish Agriculture Agency. The aim of the project is to apply the WWF Freshwater Practice’s Water Stewardship concept to Baltic companies, to help reduce excess nutrient runoff from agriculture into the Baltic Sea. (The runoff causes algal blooms and poor water quality in waterways, lakes and ultimately the Baltic Sea.)
The project is building an international network of stakeholders, with WWF in a convening and facilitation role to persuade businesses to apply new measures toward sustainable agricultural production. This network will involve a range of stakeholders including farmers, producers, and retailers who together identify solutions and challenge each other to implementation. In this way they will revolutionize the current linear food production model and help recycle nutrients back into the agriculture system.
As a first stage, WWF will commission Netherlands-based Metabolic to produce a background report on the potential for circularity in the agri-food system. An analysis of nitrogen and phosphorous flows in the Baltic Sea catchment area will give an overview of nutrient cycling in the Baltic region, highlighting the low levels of nutrients currently being recycled and identifying clear hotspots for action.
This exciting project has the potential to be scaled up across the region as the first cross-cutting approach between sustainable agriculture, food and markets, engaging this particular group of actors across the food sector.
This article is part of the WWF Baltic Newsletter – May 2020
