As part of the implementation of the scoping project INSURE: movIng Nature baSed climate solutions into Ukraine’s Reform agEnda, a meeting of the working group "Agroforestry as a path to post-war recovery and adaptation to climate change in Ukraine" was held on June 9, 2022. The WWF-Ukraine coordinates the project with the support of the of Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida).
At the general part of the meeting Vasyl Yukhnovskyi, Professor of the Forests Restoration and Melioration at the National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine, Chairman of the Ukrainian Agroforestry Association made a keynote speech on the topic "Advantages of agroforestry for the environment, mitigating the consequences of climate change and agricultural production - global synthesis and prospects for application in Ukraine".
The speaker noted that the topic of the meeting is devoted to the development of agricultural production in the conditions of climate change, considering natural based solutions, one of the powerful mechanisms of which is innovative agroforestry. The voicing of these issues was clearly defined at the 6th international conference on agroforestry, in which the speaker was as a participant. In his report, Vasyl Yukhnovsky highlighted the advantages and ecosystem services of agroforestry systems in the context of sustainable agriculture. The overview of several international projects was separately considered, namely: DigitAF: DIGItal Tools, Agroforestry for climate-smart agriculture: farmer perception of ecosystem services and the contribution to on farm resilience, AGROMIX, Synergies in integrated systems: Improving resource use efficiency while mitigating GHG emissions through well-informed decisions about circularity etc.
An overview of Ukrainian legislation on the implementation of agroforestry was presented in the report of WWF-Ukraine expert Galina Levina for working group participants. A brief overview of agroforestry in EU legislation was covered in the report of the senior policy expert of WWF-Ukraine, Sofia Shutyak.
The participants discussed recommendations for the implementation of agroforestry as a nature-based solution for adaptation to climate change and post-war restoration of Ukraine in the second part of the meeting of the working group. The main leitmotif of the discussion was the conclusion that agroforestry in Ukraine should be actively developed, as the ecological and economic benefits of its implementation are undeniable and recognized by the world community, especially considering these benefits in the context of the post-war restoration of Ukraine. The working group formulated clear recommendations for amendments in legislative acts for the wider implementation of agroforestry in practice. In particular, the priority was the recommendation to introduce the concept of "agroforestry" into the legislative framework of Ukraine and to harmonize the existing terminology, as well as the development of the Agroforestry Strategy and relevant legislative changes for its implementation - the Land Code, the Tax Code, and others. Another important aspect was the recommendations for expanding the network of institutions for designing, studying, and developing methodical materials for agroforestry systems, as well as training relevant personnel.
Ganna Lobchenko,
secretary of the Ukrainian Agroforestry Association
