Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin - Resource Economics

CEESA

Sustainable Agriculture in Central and Eastern Europe

Start: 02/2000
End: 06/2003
 

The CEESA project developed concepts and recommendations for the successful transformation of the agricultural sectors towards sustainability in CEE countries. For that purpose, case studies were made in twelve CEE countries focusing on (A) institutions of sustainability, (B) agri-environmental policies and (C) sustainable farming systems. Research was subdivided into four phases: (1) analysis of the state of agriculture and environment in CEE countries, (2) identification of key problems, (3) analysis of alternative options for sustainable development and (4) development of recommendations. The research results were regularly presented at workshops and discussed with academic experts and political decision-makers. For regularly publishing the preliminary sub-results of the project, a CEESA Discussion Paper series was launched. The CEESA final conference on Agriculture, Environment and Rural Development in Transition: Strategies for Sustainable Resource Management and Challenges of EU Enlargement was held in November 2002 in Olsztyn, Poland. The research outcomes of the project were compiled and published in four FAO reports: 1) Maintaining High Nature Value Landscapes in an Enlarged Europe: Comparative Analysis of Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovenia; 2) The Challenge of the Nitrate Directive to the New EU Member States: Comparative Analysis of Poland, Lithuania and Slovakia; 3) Irrigation and Water Regulation Systems in Transition: The Case of Bulgaria in Comparison with Latvia, East Germany and Romania and 4) Institutional Change in Central and Eastern European Agriculture and Environment: Synopsis of the CEESA Project (also published in Russian). Furthermore, the project results were published in a series of journal articles. For instance, Environmental Management published a special issue on “The Commons in Transitions: Agrarian and Environmental Change in Central and Eastern Europe [34(2)] and Sociologia Ruralis produced a special issue on “Central and Eastern European Agriculture and Environment: The Challenges of Governance at Multiple Levels“ [45 (3)].


Researcher: Franz Gatzweiler, Renate Judis, Insa Theesfeld, Thomas Sikor

Project Partners: University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, University of Helsinki, Finnland, Wageningen University, The Niederlande, FAO Office for Central and Eastern Europe, Budapest, Hungary, Research partners from 11 Central and Eastern European Countries

Lead Overall Project: Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Konrad Hagedorn

Lead HU subproject: Dr. Franz Gatzweiler

Funding: European Union (FP5)

Publications and Presentations: Publications