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The strategy of reconnecting rivers with their floodplains currently gains popularity because it not only harnesses natural capacities of floodplains but also increases social co-benefits and biodiversity. In this paper, we present an example of a successfully implemented nature-based solution (NBS) in the Dijle valley in the centre of Belgium. The research objective is to retrospectively assess cost and benefit differences between a technical solution (storm basins) and an alternative NBS, here the restoration of the alluvial floodplain. The method is a comparative social cost–benefit analysis. The case study analysis reveals similar flood security, lower costs, more ecosystem services benefits and higher biodiversity values associated with the NBS option in comparison to the technical alternative. However, the business case for working with NBS depends substantially on the spatial and socio-ecological context. Chances for successful NBS implementation increase in conditions of sufficient space to retain flood water, when flood water is of sufficient quality, and when economic activity and housing in the floodplain is limited. Supplementary Information The online version of this article contains supplementary material available at (10.1007/s13280-021-01548-4).

Understand and act: Agronomic diagnosis and companion modelling to limit soil erosion risk in a subtropical mountain catchment An on-farm agronomic survey was carried out, at the field, farm and catchment levels, to understand the dynamics of the risk of soil erosion in a watershed displaying a rapid diversification of cropping systems and differentiation of family farms. The results were integrated into a researcher agent-based model linked to a geographic information system to represent dynamically the combined impacts of topography, rainfall and technical practices on erosion risk and its spatial distribution. A simpler version of this model was implemented as a role-playing game associated to Comprendre et agir: Diagnostic agronomique et modélisation d’accompagnement pour limiter le risque d’érosion dans un bassin versant montagnard subtropical Trébuil Guy* 1 , Barnaud Cécile2 , Bousquet François3 , Promburom Panomsak4 , Turkelboom Francis5 , van Paassen Annemarie6 1 CIRAD, UMR Innovation, F-34398 Montpellier, France & Innovation, Univ. Montpellier, CIRAD, INRAE, Montpellier SupAgro, Montpellier, France 2 DYNAFOR, Université de Toulouse, INPT, INRAE, Toulouse, France 3 CIRAD, UMR SENS, F-34398 Montpellier, France & SENS, Univ. Montpellier, CIRAD, IRD, Univ. Paul Valéry, Montpellier, France 4 Center of Agricultural Resource System Research, Chiang Mai University, 50200 Thailand 5 Research Institute for Nature and Forest INBO, Kliniekstraat 25, 1070Brussels, Belgique 6Communication and Innovation, Wageningen University and Research Center, Pays-Bas *Auteur correspondant : guy.trebuil@gmail.com Revue AE&S 11-2 Quelles démarches cliniques en agronomie dans les territoires Décembre 2021 Revue à comité de lecture et en accès libre éditée par l’Association Française d’Agronomie sous le numéro ISSN 1775-4240. Plus d’informations sur www.agronomie.asso.fr/aes L’AFA est une association à but non lucratif qui publie des travaux en accès libre. Pour soutenir cette démarche, faites connaître AE&S, adhérez à l’association et faites adhérer votre organisme et vos collègues ! 2 a second agent-based model playing the game in silico, to share the researchers’ point of view on soil erosion dynamics to local farmers. They found these simulation tools relevant and Companion Modelling (ComMod) activities where launched with them to stimulate exchanges of experiences, build a shared diagnosis of the problem, and encourage collective action to limit soil degradation and the vulnerability of resource-poor holdings. The successive cycles of ComMod activities necessitated to complete the initial agronomic diagnosis by examining a series of farmer selected key questions. Gradually, local stakeholders moved towards directions not yet proposed by development agencies. The activities produced multiple effects related to awareness, self confidence and communication, learning, change in practices and self-organization. The limited durations of successive training projects were not adapted to accompany local actors up to collective action at the catchment level, but new irrigation water and farm product processing infrastructures emerged a few years later in the village. The institutionalization of the approach would allow a more continuous companionship, facilitate the dissemination of results, and a move towards a more distributed governance of renewable resources. Keywords: Agronomic survey, multi-agent model, role-playing game, participatory simulation, Thailand

Flanders (Belgium) is one of the most densely populated regions in Europe. Intensive land use, widespread suburbanization, inadequate environmental qualities, and fragmentation everywhere deteriorate living conditions and put pressure on species and natural habitats. In the past, several governmental initiatives were launched to establish a coherent ecological network to improve the situation. Despite the set objectives, only a little progress was made. Therefore, to establish green infrastructure, a new approach that moves away from previous top-down and one-sided strategies is developed. Making use of Green Infrastructure as a boundary concept, interpretation was given through an open and participatory process. The core is the identification of common objectives (ecosystem services or other objectives/services), the selection of appropriate green infrastructure elements to support the services, and the co-design of a network taking the local socio-ecological realm into account. By applying the methodology in concrete urban and rural projects, we learned that establishing strong coalitions of stakeholders, obtaining and sharing reliable knowledge of the systems are key to an effective realization of green infrastructure.

Deze piste richt zich op de rol van het beleid om een kwalitatief landschap in Voeren te behouden. Op basis van de bevindingen en keuzes die gemaakt werden door de projectgroep Voeren, werkten we binnen deze piste in de eerste plaats aan oplossingen en samenwerkingsverbanden die ervoor kunnen zorgen dat de familiale melkveebedrijven in Voeren een toekomstperspectief hebben en dat tevens beleidsdoelen kunnen gehaald worden. Hiervoor baseren we ons sterk op de rapporten en verslagen van de vele workshops, focusgroepen en overlegmomenten die plaatsvonden gedurende het onderzoekstraject. We stelden vast dat er heel wat Vlaamse beleidsinstanties zijn die vanuit hun opdracht een invloed hebben op bepaalde elementen van het Voerense landschap. Voor elk van deze instanties zijn telkens specifieke sector‐eigen doelstellingen gekoppeld die in Voeren moeten gerealiseerd worden. Tevens werd er ook vastgesteld dat velen van deze instanties moeite hebben om deze doelstellingen te halen doordat deze instanties onderling afhankelijk zijn van elkaar, de doelstellingen te generiek zijn, en er een trend is naar minder financiële middelen voor subsidies, implementatie, monitoring en evaluatie. Op lokaal gemeentelijk niveau, zijn er ook een hele reeks uitdagingen veroorzaakt door de complexe regelgeving, door verticale (binnen de instanties) en horizontale (gemeentelijke en intersectorale) incoherente beleidsdoelstellingen, en door een nijpend tekort aan personeel en tijd. Anderzijds zien we dat de familiale landbouwbedrijven moeite hebben met de vaak ingewikkelde regelgeving en administratie. Dit zorgt voor een extra belasting van de landbouwers. Het feit dat ze vaak geconfronteerd worden met vertegenwoordigers van verschillende beleidsinstanties, maakt het er niet gemakkelijk op. Daarbij komt dat de strenge controleprocedures vaak als onrechtvaardig worden ervaren. Heel wat landbouwers ervaren dit als frustrerend omdat zij reeds moeite hebben om het hoofd economisch boven water te houden. Dit leidt tot verlies in vertrouwen in beleidsinstanties. Vertrouwen is echter essentieel om een goede samenwerking op te zetten tussen landbouwers en het beleid, vooral voor vrijwillige maar ook regulerende instrumenten. Deze situatie gaat zowel ten koste van het halen van sectorale doelstellingen als het functioneren van deze bedrijven. Binnen de beleidsinstanties die actief zijn in Voeren, zien we dat het inzicht en bereidheid groeit dat samenwerking op beleidsniveau een goede zaak zou zijn voor zowel de betrokken instanties, het landschap als de melkveebedrijven. Deze wil tot samenwerking stuit daarbij wel op onvoldoende institutionele ruimte en capaciteit om beleidsprocessen consistent af te stemmen op het landschapsniveau en zo te komen tot coherente beleidsdoelstellingen en ‐processen. Implementatie van geïntegreerde planning blijft daarom een grote uitdaging. De onderzoeksgroep pleit daarom om het institutionele kader om op het landschapsniveau een coherent beleid te kunnen voeren te versterken. Dit moet het bovenlokaal afstemmen van beleidsplannen, het zoeken naar synergiën, de communicatie met lokale spelers, de implementatie op maat van het landschap en het inspelen op kansen vergemakkelijken. Dit institutioneel kader en de daaraan gekoppelde aanbevelingen werden afgetoetst met beleidsvertegenwoordigers op het Vlaams niveau, het lokaal niveau en met lokale landbouwers. Hieruit werden 10 interventiethema’s gedestilleerd welke het behoud van het typische Voerense landschap en de daaraan gekoppelde landbouwactiviteiten kan ondersteunen: beleidscoherentie, gebiedsgericht plannen, grensoverschrijdende impacten, effectieve participatie, erkenning van landbouwers als landschaps‐beheerders, lasten en lusten van toerisme, administratieve overlast, bedrijfscontroles, versnippering van de landbouwgronden, en overlast door wildschade. Voeren geldt hier als een casus, maar we gaan er van uit dat de meeste van de analyses en voorstellen ook geldig zijn voor andere gebieden in Vlaanderen met een sterke streekidentiteit.

EU FP7 OpenNESS project deliverable D33 & D44

Jacobs, S., Dendoncker, N., Martín-López, B., Barton, D. N., Gomez-Baggethun, E., Boeraeve, F., ... Washbourn, C. L. (2016). A new valuation school: Integrating diverse values of nature in resource and land use decisions. Ecosystem Services, 22, 213-220. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoser.2016.11.007 We are increasingly confronted with severe social and economic impacts of environmental degradation all over the world. From a valuation perspective, environmental problems and conflicts originate from trade-offs between values. The urgency and importance to integrate nature's diverse values in decisions and actions stand out more than ever. Valuation, in its broad sense of ‘assigning importance’, is inherently part of most decisions on natural resource and land use. Scholars from different traditions -while moving from heuristic interdisciplinary debate to applied transdisciplinary science- now acknowledge the need for combining multiple disciplines and methods to represent the diverse set of values of nature. This growing group of scientists and practitioners share the ambition to explore how combinations of ecological, socio-cultural and economic valuation tools can support real-life resource and land use decision-making. The current sustainability challenges and the ineffectiveness of single-value approaches to offer relief demonstrate that continuing along a single path is no option. We advocate for the adherence of a plural valuation culture and its establishment as a common practice, by contesting and complementing ineffective and discriminatory single-value approaches. In policy and decision contexts with a willingness to improve sustainability, integrated valuation approaches can be blended in existing processes, whereas in contexts of power asymmetries or environmental conflicts, integrated valuation can promote the inclusion of diverse values through action research and support the struggle for social and environmental justice. The special issue and this editorial synthesis paper bring together lessons from pioneer case studies and research papers, synthesizing main challenges and setting out priorities for the years to come for the field of integrated valuation. publishersversion published

This paper analyses a local innovation in response to intense soil degradation in olive orchards of north-west Syria. Farmers developed a practice consisting of quarrying red clayey soil in valley bottoms and applying this soil to hillslope olive orchards with heavily degraded calcareous soils. A biophysical, economic and social analysis of the practice of soil application identified the opportunities and risks of this innovative soil management technique. On the basis of a pairwise comparison of nine adjacent treated and nontreated orchard plots, soil applications were found to increase soil depth by 36%, soil water availability by 28% and total available soil nutrients: potassium (+45%), nitrogen (+12%) and phosphorus (+6%). Olive yield increased by about 40%. A cost–benefit analysis found this practice to be economically viable within a large geographical area, and farmers scored the practice higher than alternative methods. A socio-economic analysis revealed its widespread adoption among different farmer types. The positive results of soil applications at the farm level explain its fast adoption. However, potential risks – including the further depletion of soil resources and the transfer of soil-borne diseases – limit the long-term sustainability of this locally developed practice. ispartof: Land Degradation & Development vol:27 issue:2 pages:416-426 status: published

The objective of our research was to identify and understand the desired benefits and uses of an agricultural landscape in Belgium for different stakeholder groups. This research was in response to a question of the Flemish Land Agency (VLM) who wants to find ways to raise local support for the implementation of new nature in an agricultural landscape. Ecosystem services (ES) was considered a useful way to frame the human needs of the landscape. To elucidate local needs, a social valuation (also called ‘non-monetary valuation’) was used, which included an open interview, an ES photo ranking exercise and a mapping of desired ES. This resulted in an identification of a group of desired ES which were mentioned spontaneously by respondents, and a ranking of desired ES which were triggered by the pictures. These results proved to be very useful for the managers of the land use planning project. In a final step, the results of this social valuation will be compared with the results of a monetary valuation of the area.