Pictures © Rodics Gergely and Barbara Knowles

 

 

Mountain hay meadows – hotspots of biodiversity and traditional culture

  

This project is part-funded by the G|obal Environment Facility Small Grants Programme, and celebrates the International Year of Biodiversity.

 

The project aims to facilitate the sustainable use of hay meadows, to maintain high biodiversity, traditional agriculture, important ecosystem services and healthy local communities.

 

News

"Mountain hay meadows: hotspots of biodiversity and traditional culture" was awarded the 2010 prize from the Gesellschaft für Ökologie – the Ecological Society of Germany, Austria and Switzerland -  for "an outstanding project in applied ecology".

 

Gyimes Haymaking Festival 20 to 28 August 2011

 

The project

 

This land is of exceptional natural value, with many protected areas, but many yet unknown that are not protected. These include different types of meadows still managed using traditional practices. Traditional land use practices are still present and viable in the local communities of our area. It is of utmost importance to preserve traditional knowledge on land use management because this provides high resilience against global challenges such as climate change and economic crises.

 

Traditional land use practices in our area are threatened by forces of the market economy and economic development. For example, EU regulations put severe restrictions on milk quality, which imperil traditional sources of income for the local population. We believe that the traditional systems for milk production are of key importance to the local maintenance of agroecosystems with a high biodiversity and providers of a wide range of ecosystem services, including carbon storage with direct effect on global climate change, and sustainable income generation through ecotourism and ecological products.

 

Our project aims at maintaining, revitalizing, and optimizing traditional practices where possible; motivating communities to maintain traditional knowledge of local agricultural production; and raising community awareness of the values and services of which they are themselves the managers. We will perform a thorough survey of the biodiversity of hay meadows for two communes, and we will prepare and promote integrated management plans for two demonstration areas. We will help increasing incomes from traditional land use practices through increasing the price of raw milk, and facilitate the manufacture of new milk products through training, and prepare materials to be used in the school curriculum.

 

Through these we hope to add value to hay meadows and motivate farmers for a sustainable use of their land.

 

Project report 2010

Highlights of the year included: the 2010 prize from the Ecological Society of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland for an outstanding project in applied ecology, and a letter of support from his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales for our Hay Meadow conference.

We organised an international conference in June, which attracted 100 delegates. We published the conference abstracts in a bilingual (Hungarian and English) booklet, and commissioned and edited papers from the conference which will be published in a scientific journal, Acta Oecologica Carpatica.

 

We carried out biodiversity and social surveys in two contrasting project areas, and involved specialists to identify the plants, birds, amphibians, reptiles, and some species of insects. A summer camp trained local undergraduates in biodiversity mapping.

The results of the surveys, as well as being published in scientific media, are also being used in education and tourism. We are producing a film about hay meadow management throughout the year, seven posters about the flora and fauna of the region to be used in local schools, and have developed two nature trails which use the findings and pictures from the project. The project has also been widely communicated through the local media and on websites. 

 

Visit the project website, http://www.mountainhaymeadows.eu for news and updates. Follow the seasons for farmers and wildlife: http://www.mountainhaymeadows.eu/news.php

 

The project is managed by the Pogány-havas (Pagan Snowcap) Association and is funded by the UNDP GEF Small Grants Programme, the Barbara Knowles Fund, the European Forum on Nature Conservation and Pastoralism with funding from the European Commission (DG Environment) and donations. Partners of the project are the Sapientia University, the Harghita County Council, the Environmental Protection Agency of Harghita county and Fundatia ADEPT.

 

 

 © Barbara Knowles 2010