Research

The aim of the study is to identify those biogas plants that could use regionally available biogenic residues and waste materials and where biomethane production would be possible at the same time due to their proximity to the gas grid. Based on three to four model regions in Austria, the biogas plant data will be collected and the available and realisable potentials of biogenic residues and waste materials will be determined on the municipal as well as on the site level. Furthermore, a survey will be conducted for the use as biomethane and a possible gas feed-in. The concept is to be developed in such a way that it can be transferred to all Austrian regions. A graphical model is to be developed with the geo-information software QGIS, which will provide a visual representation of the biogas plants in question and can also be transferred to other regions.

The project will explore the land, gender and climate nexus in 4 African countries (Kenya, Tanzania, Mali and Guinea). It will analyze how women's right to land is affected by the climate crisis in Africa and show the various ways in which protecting women's right to land can effectively contribute to addressing the climate challenge. Since 2020, the 4 grassroots organizations engaged in the research project on Women’s Right to Communal Land – CNOP-G (Guinea), COFERSA (Mali), KPL (Kenya) and PWC (Tanzania) - have documented and supported efforts to advance women’s right to land within communal land governance systems. This project has delivered 5 key findings, which were elaborated collectively during a international knowledge exchange (Kenya, October 2022), building on individual research conducted in 2020-2022 in the national contexts. First, it has highlighted the importance of protecting and recognizing communal ownership while most development actors have promoted land markets, land titling and individual land ownership as ways to ensure gender equality when it comes to land. Second, it has shown the importance of boosting the participation of women and youth in communal land governance. Opening spaces for a diversity of women and youth (using an interectional approach) to participate in more horizontal and transparent communal land governance institutions is key to promoting women’s right to land in the long run. Third, to ensure that women fully participate, putting an end to gender-based violence (GBV) is key. One of the direct impacts of violence is that it generates fear, trauma and inhibits participation. Fourth, the project has shown that women’s right to own and inherit land continues to be violated. Gender-based discrimination is very high when it comes to land succession. Finally, the project has documented the need to ensure women’s secured access to land in communal land systems, highlighting that individual ownership is not necessarily the best option. Customary systems can perform well when it comes to ensuring that everyone gets access to land, but guarantees must be provided by customary leaders/village chiefs to ensure that certain categories of women and youth are not excluded and can work the land over long periods. Women are not isolated from but are pillars of their communities. For this reason, efforts to secure women’s access to land will be more successful if they support community cohesion and community needs.

The proposed project "Initiative of Fostering cross-border knowledge exchange and co-creation on sustainable soil and farm management (Soil-X-Change)" will help to connect farmers, actors, policy makers, projects, and initiatives to speed up innovation and promote faster, wider co-creation and transposition of innovative solutions into practice. It will contribute to effective AKIS by intensifying thematic cooperation between researchers, farmers, and other stakeholders in the EU. Soil-X-Change will also contribute to the green transition, smart agriculture, climate-neutrality, and sustainability areas, as well as enhancing and exchanging the knowledge of the main actors. Soil-X-Change, initiated by EIP-AGRI Operational Group practitioners (OGs), reflects the needs of 151 direct partners. It will collect, combine, harmonise, analyse and integrate the results and data product developed by the different EIP-AGRI OGs and the project partners. Soil-X-Change will disseminate and share innovative practices across 9 member countries. Furthermore, the Soil-X-Change project will bring together EIP OGs and key stakeholders working on sustainable soil and farm management to create an EU-wide network, share knowledge, and introduce ready-to-use practices that will enable farmers to make the right decisions related to agricultural production practices. At the end of the project the extended knowledge and innovative ideas of member and non-member OGs will widen the scope of their activities and showcasing their result to an increased number of stakeholders and farmers in an international environment and network across EU countries. Soil-X-Change will use a bottom-up approach (farmers to OGs) and will reinforce and share practical knowledge using the main dissemination channels suitable for farmers and practitioners.