Agriculture and forestry. The Coalition will reduce bureaucracy in this sector so as to reduce budgetary expenditures and so that citizens, businesses and farmers spend less time on paperwork. The Coalition will find a solution to land records and will arrange for the settlement of the rights of owners and tenants. An integral part of this step is the completion of agricultural restitution. It considers a sine qua non of rural development to be access to agricultural land for legitimate owners and the privatization of the remaining land owned by the state. It will continue to support land consolidation and related investments in the countryside. In order to reduce the increasing removal of land from land holdings, the Coalition will introduce measures to protect them. In the construction of agricultural plants, priority will be given to the reconstruction of “rural xxxxxxxxxx sites”. We will not increase the gap between the quality of life in the countryside and in big cities. We will xxxxxx conditions for the creation of new jobs and for young and educated people to remain in rural areas. We will encourage local food production and the establishment of small food plants of a local nature. We will support the production of typical regional food specialities and their sale directly from the farm. We will support the development of services with the high added value of human labour, and will boost tourism and ecotourism. The Coalition will introduce programmes for the construction of sewage treatment plants and sewerage systems in small villages, as well as for the further building of flood control measures, dry polders, etc. It will immediately begin preparations for the third stage of flood control measures. It will promote measures to improve the care of small watercourses. It will ensure that reparcelling takes place not only to settle property relations, but also to provide protection against climatic fluctuations (floods, droughts). The Coalition will support the development of organic farming with respect to its role in preserving the features of the landscape, the increased retention capacity of the soil, and organic food production. It will reinforce measures to comply with environmental standards and standards for the considerate treatment of animals.
Agriculture and forestry. In agriculture, temperature and precipitation changes result in different crop suitability, which tend to be gradual, until a certain threshold is reached (Xxxxx et al., 2017, citing IPCC, 2013). Small crop failures may be balanced by storage (Xxxxxx et al., 2017), but recurring heat waves and droughts may cause shortages that cannot be balanced by the available storage. Irreversible food production shocks may lead to a socio-economic tipping point in Southern Europe: rapid and substantial increase of food prices, food insecurity and riots.10 According to the IPCC (2014) fire frequency and wildfire extent will increase in Southern Europe (cf. Xxxxxx et al., 2017). Current 100-yr wildfire events will occur every 5-50 years with substanstial consequences for local communities an economies (Forzieri et al., 2016). On a local scale, climate change can have a large impact on agricultural practices. In the wine production for example, higher temperatures change the ratio between sugar and acids, which changes the unique characteristics of wine that are crucial for the industry. (IPCC, 2014) 10 Example provided by Xxxxxx Xxxxx, IIASA. Similar stock-depletion dynamics are observed for groundwater storage: recurring droughts may potentially have dire consequences for economic and food security in the USA (Xxxxxxxxxxx et al., 2011). Scientists are concerned that climate change may negatively influence the process of pollination, because insect flight dates and crop flowering dates are differently influenced by earlier spring warming (Robbirt et al., 2014). Pollination is an important process for succesfull agriculture. Some recent work has been published on the occurrence of tipping points in these type of systems (Jiang et al., 2018).
Agriculture and forestry. The group focused on agriculture and forestry highlighted the importance of fungal spore pathogens for both agriculture and forestry. Instead of designing a specific product they provided ideas for research projects that would be highly beneficial to the agricultural sector, specifically one focused on Wheat Rust. This pathogen can affect large swathes of farmland and, when infected, can lead to very large crop losses. Little research has been carried out in Europe regarding the provision of accurate forecasts to farmers, particularly in terms of when to apply fungicides in a targeted manner. The group proposed a research project that would work together with farmers. In particular, those cultivating various wheat strains as well as groups with expertise in measurements and forecasting, to ensure full integration of all the main stakeholders involved in the production of wheat.
Agriculture and forestry. Agriculture responds to climate change very sensitively, in particular to weather extremes, such as droughts, severe storms and floods. Factors common to global climate change and agricultural production include: - increase in average air temperature, - changes in the amount and distribution of precipitation, - rising CO2 concentrations, - level of air pollution (e.g. by tropospheric ozone, PM2.5 and PM10), - changes in climate variability and occurrence of extreme events. In the Slovak context, the expected global climate changes will translate, above all, into changes in temperatures and soil moisture affecting plant production, changes in phenological conditions, physical and chemical properties of soils, wintering conditions, as well as changes in the incidence of diseases, pests and weeds. Even though increased temperatures and precipitation may support crop yields in one area, they 179European Environment Agency Report No 12/2012 “Climate change, impacts and vulnerability in Europe in 2012” 180Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions 181Adaptation to the adverse effects of climate change 182 xxxx://xxx.xxxx.xx/?Dokumenty_na_stiahnutie_CO&subor=175547 183For instance, Slovakia’s Energy Efficiency Concept, the forthcoming 3rd Energy Efficiency Action Plan 184 For instance, in respect of reducing the consumption of energy and natural resources, transition to a low-carbon economy, protection and restoration of ecosystems and biodiversity, and minimisation of waste and pollution may create zones of drought and increase the risk of erosion in other areas. The soil may absorb CO2 from the atmosphere (carbon sequestration) and thus mitigate global warming, yet higher temperatures may also encourage the decomposition of biomass, thus increasing CO2, nitrous oxide and methane emissions. Climate scenarios predicting climate changes by 2100185 suggest that these will also affect the properties of soil in the SR, e.g. by increasing the proportion of soils suffering from drought (the need to build irrigation systems and surface water retention basins) or greater risk to soils due to more frequent and intense local soil washing and flooding. Soil protection, agriculture and landscape protection from water regime extremes will require preventive measures to reduce the consequences of floods and waterlogging. The same situation can be observed in forestry - changes in temperature and moisture conditions, properties of forest soils, as well as the increasing incidence of...
