Among the objectives of this commission are the promotion and coordination of research projects, scientific studies, analysis and sectoral diagnosis related to mitigation and adaptation to climate change in the Balearic Islands’ agricultural sector.
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The Regional Ministry of Agriculture
The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and the Natural Environment, through the Directorate General for Agriculture, Livestock and Rural Development, has issued the order for the creation of the Commission for the Response and Adaptation of the Balearic Islands Agricultural Sector to Climate Change; an order that will be open for public consultation for fifteen working days so that contributions and suggestions can be made online via the Government’s Citizen Participation Portal.
The Commission for the Response and Adaptation of the Agricultural Sector of the Balearic Islands to Climate Change was created to achieve the best treatment of public policies in this area, from a participatory and multidisciplinary perspective, to promote priority actions and actions aimed at mitigation and adaptation to climate change in the agricultural sector of the Balearic Islands. In this regard, the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Natural Environment, Joan Simonet, recalled that “although agriculture and livestock farming in the Balearic Islands are the most vulnerable sectors and are directly affected by climate change, the agricultural sector can also play a positive and decisive role in the objectives of mitigating it”. In this line, the councillor gave as an example that croplands and plantations capture carbon from the atmosphere through photosynthesis and that permanent pastures and properly managed living soils are real carbon sinks. “These two actions, which derive directly from the actions of agriculture and livestock farming professionals, thus become allies in the fight against climate change,” he said.
Thus, the general objective of the Commission is to strengthen the response capacity, resilience and adaptation capacity of agricultural and livestock systems to the context of climate change, reducing vulnerability factors and promoting the transition towards sustainable, viable and efficient production systems.
In detail, there are seven objectives and functions of this Commission for the response and adaptation of the agricultural sector of the Balearic Islands to climate change:
-To promote and coordinate the actions of the different agricultural administrations of the Balearic Islands in terms of mitigation and adaptation to climate change to achieve a productive and profitable agricultural model with the capacity for resilience and sustainable transformation in response to climate change.
-To promote and coordinate the actions of the different bodies of the Balearic Islands’ agricultural administration to draw up a strategy to tackle climate change in the agricultural sector.
-To promote and coordinate research projects, scientific studies, analyses and sectoral diagnoses.
-To develop, within the framework of its competencies, the appropriate agricultural policy tools and instruments aimed at early warning, risk management and increasing the capacity to respond to climate risks.
To develop a system of on-farm transfer and advice to improve resilience and adaptation to climate change.
-Advise, when required, on the adaptation of draft regulations and plans of the General State Administration, the Autonomous Community of the Balearic Islands and the Island Councils regarding mitigation and adaptation to climate change.
-To advise, when required, the Balearic Islands Agricultural and Fisheries Guarantee Fund (FOGAIBA), whenever necessary, in the design and definition of the system and calls for emergency aid in the event of climatic adversities.
-Designing and implementing agricultural policy tools, measures and projects for the valuation of the ecosystem services provided by the agricultural sector, including the certification of carbon credits and payment for environmental services.
Councillor Joan Simonet, who will chair the commission – which will be made up of the director general of agriculture, Fernando Fernández, and IRFAP manager Georgina Brunet, as well as representatives of the islands’ farming organisations, unions and cooperatives, the island councils of Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera, and the UIB – says the ministry’s intention is to “convene the first session in January to begin working hand in hand with the sector”.