Nature and food hand in hand
RISE connects biodiversity with area development. Researchers, farmers, businesses, residents, and governments make joint choices that advance biodiversity, nature, water, and livability, tailored to each region鈥檚 practice.
Bob Walrave and from the research group Innovation, Technology, Entrepreneurship and Marketing (ITEM) lead the NWO funded program RISE, Resilient Integrated Systems for Ecosystem (RISE) restoration. In close collaboration with TU鈥檚 department of the Build Environment, WUR, Leiden University, and inHolland, they focus on developing an interactive framework that links biodiversity knowledge to daily practice in farming areas and greenhouses, and to what matters for residents and the local environment. The goal is to make nature inclusive decision making possible at farm and area level, so that nature, food production, and livability reinforce each other.
Broader view
Biodiversity loss has multiple causes and plays out in landscapes where farming, water, infrastructure, housing, and recreation intersect. Farmers, land managers, municipalities, water authorities, residents, and supply chain actors share the same space and water quality, but with different perspectives and responsibilities. RISE therefore takes a system鈥檚 perspective, and looks at the whole picture, from ecology and economy to the social fabric of a region.
Place based
The program works through co-creation with local partners. Monitoring and knowledge only gain value when they match the questions of farmers and growers, the concerns of residents about landscape and water, and the tasks of government and businesses. 鈥淢y expertise is to understand systems like these and translate them into choices people actually need to make,鈥� says Walrave. 鈥淲e map interests and constraints and make the connections visible, without putting parties on the defensive.鈥�
Shared choices
Together with partners, RISE develops a decision support framework that turns indicators for biodiversity and ecosystem services into workable choices in management, investment, and collaboration. This includes trade-offs around water, soil, pollination, and pest control, as well as environmental quality and social acceptance. 鈥淚 focus on collaboration and coordination,鈥� says Valkenburg. 鈥淲e design agreements in the region and in supply chains that work for growers and for the community, so nature inclusive choices can be sustained.鈥�
Two regions
In Reusel Zuid, RISE works with VDBorne Campus and GreenTechPort Brabant on an area-based approach in which farmers, businesses, researchers, the municipality, and the water authority have collaborated and collected data for years. Here, along with nature and water, the future of the landscape and the local living and working environment is central.
In Oostland in South Holland, the focus is on biodiversity around greenhouse horticulture. Together with Greenport West Holland, the Municipality of Lansingerland, Lentiz MBO Oostland, the water authority, and companies such as Ovata, Anthura, Duijvestijn Tomaten, and Stolk Brothers, measures in and along waterways and green maintenance are connected to cultivation practice and to what residents and nature organizations value.
Together
RISE recognizes that the costs and benefits of nature restoration do not always occur in the same place. This is why agreements are explored with supply chain partners such as Farm Frites, as well as with financiers and policymakers. This creates room to share investments and to make results visible in the living environment, not only in production or price.
What it brings
The program delivers a practical way of working together, where indicators and insights do not sit in a report but support choices in the field, in the greenhouse, and in the region. Results and materials will be made widely accessible and the approach will be validated in a third region, enabling other areas to apply it in their own context.