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It is recognised on global and European level that organic agriculture is more sustainable and environment friendly production system. Organic agriculture, including food, (hereinafter - agri-food) production shows considerable growth on the global and European Union (EU) level, including Latvia. It has been widely considered by scholars, experts and politicians that organic agri-food production is beneficial for rural development through: enhanced entrepreneur activities; growth of jobs; creation of added value a...

Nowadays the tackling climate change is the greatest sustainability and environmental challenge for the world. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) as the political forum, particularly Paris meeting held in 2015, agreed that international and national actions on climate change are necessary. Climate change has already become significant in Europe, with the mean temperature increasing, and extreme weather events becoming more frequent. Europe (i.e., Latvia) is warming faster than many ...

Soil degradation, characterized by decline in quality, decreases ecosystem goods and services, and is a major constraint for further agricultural, including food, production. In addition, soil degradation caused by human activities, especially agriculture, contributes to climate change. The need to ensure a sustainable use of soils is outlined by the European Union (EU) Soil Thematic Strategy, as well as related legislation. This requires the prevention to further soil degradation and the preservation of its funct...

Nowadays, new rural paradigm foresees sustainable development and the transition of agriculture and rural areas from agricultural origin goods providers to providers of various goods and services, which are based on ecosystem services, especially agroecosystem services. The one group of ecosystem services - provisioning services (biomass e.g. food and fiber) could be better provided by intensive and industrialized farms. The other group of ecosystem services could be assured by farms complying with the agro-ecolog...

Eco-system services, particularly agricultural eco-system services as landscape functions are defined as goods and services provided that contribute to human well-being. The aim of the study is to evaluate the capability of sustainable providing agricultural eco-services - landscapes as base of innovative activities in the rural areas. The following aspects as the tasks have been covered in the study: to evaluate sustainability aspects of Latvian agricultural landscapes, as agricultural eco-system services; to inv...

It is widely recognized by scholars and experts on international and European Union (EU) level that the waste management and waste reduction are important resource. Turning waste into a resource is an essential part of resource efficiency and boosts a circular economy. Food waste is a serious global issue, which linked to environmental, economic and social impacts. In EU wide accepted is the new paradigm circular economy, in which main accent is given on prevention and significant reduction of waste. The bio-waste...