Taupo Beef

      Category:  Market-Based Instruments
      Policy Type:  Ecolabeling
      Sector:  Agriculture
      Region:  Oceania
      Country:  New Zealand
      Description: New Zealand's Taupo Beef is a pilot program carried out by two farms in the Lake Taupo catchment to gauge whether diners will pay a premium for beef produced in compliance with New Zealand's most stringent environmental rules to protect water quality. The environmental standards that underpin the ecolabel were developed by Waikato Regional Council and became effective in 2011.
      Outcome:  Taupo Beef represents farming systems that mitigate nutrient leaching and protect water quality.

      Reference:  Taupo Beef (New Zealand)

      The Accounting for Nutrients on Australian Dairy Farms project (A4N)

      Category:  Research, Monitoring, and Evaluation
      Policy Type:  Research
      Sector:  Agriculture
      Region:  Oceania
      Country:  Australia
      Description: The Accounting for Nutrients on Australian Dairy Farms project (A4N) was a 4 year research and development initiative (2006-2010), which aimed to develop a national framework for nutrient accounting for N, P, K, S, Ca and Mg for the Australian dairy industry. It developed nutrient accounting technique to quantify nutrient inputs and outputs.
      Outcome:  The Accounting for Nutrients on Australian Dairy Farms project (A4N) developed a framework for improving nutrient use efficiency, reducing nutrient imbalances in soils and decreasing nutrient losses from dairy farms to surface and ground water.

      Reference:  The Accounting for Nutrients on Australian Dairy Farms project (A4N)

      The Agricultural Pollution Control GEF Projects

      Category:  Price-Based Instruments
      Policy Type:  Subsidies, Grants & Incentive Payments
      Sector:  Agriculture
      Region:  Europe
      Country:  Romania; Moldova
      Description: The Agricultural Pollution Control Projects in Romania and Moldova, supported by GEF grant funding, aim to significantly increase the use of environmentally friendly agricultural practices. In Romania, grant funding is used to provide incentives for the installation of improved manure storage facilities and equipment for manure collection and promotes the adoption of better agricultural practices to improve agricultural production while reducing nutrient discharge pollution for agriculture. In Moldova, funding is used to 1) provide grants to entrepreneurs and enterprises under the Rural Investment and Services Project (RISP) for investing in environmentally sustainable agricultural practices; and 2) train rural advisory service providers in several nutrient reduction practices, including crop nutrient management, conservation tillage practices, crop rotation, and tree planting of buffer strips. The projects are financed by Global Environmental Facility (GEF) through the World Bank.
      Outcome:  The agricultural practices incentivised through these grants reduce nutrient discharge from agricultural sources in Romania and Moldova to the Danube River and Black Sea.

      Reference:  The Agricultural Pollution Control Project (Romania, Moldova)

      The Baltic Sea Project

      Category:  Environmental Outreach & Education
      Policy Type:  Environmental Education
      Sector:  Mixed
      Region:  Europe
      Country:  Denmark; Estonia; Finland; Germany; Latvia; Lithuania; Poland; Russia; Sweden
      Description: The Baltic Sea Project set up a network of schools and other educational institutions to create and develop educational approaches and joint programs for envrionmental education. It started in 1989, and more than 200 schools from Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia and Sweden are part of the project.
      Outcome:  The Baltic sea Project aims to increase the awareness of the students about the environmental problems in the Baltic Sea area and to give them an understanding of the scientific, social and cultural aspects of the interdependence between man and nature.

      Reference:  The Baltic Sea Environmental Education Project

      The Basic Law on Food, Agriculture and Rural Areas

      Category:  Regulatory Approaches
      Policy Type:  Regulatory Framework
      Sector:  Agriculture
      Region:  Asia
      Country:  Japan
      Description: The Basic Law on Food, Agriculture and Rural Areas in Japan requires the State take necessary measures, such as securing the proper use of agricultural chemicals and fertilizers and improving soil fertility through effective use of livestock manure, to maintain and promote the natural cyclical function of agriculture (Article 32).
      Outcome:  The Basic Law on Food, Agriculture and Rural Areas in Japan helps to reduce nutrient losses during agricultural production.

      Reference:  The Basic Law on Food, Agriculture and Rural Areas