At 16th and 17th of June, the agroforestry workshop organized by Landcare Europe in Băile Homorod (Harghita county, Romania) brought together farmers, conservationists, agroforestry experts and policy representants to explore how agroforestry systems support biodiversity, climate resilience, and rural livelihoods. Our team member Tibor Hartel, emphasized the role of wood-pastures as social-ecological systems shaped by centuries of co-evolution between people and nature. He presented the results of research in Transylvanian wood-pastures, including those gathered from the DBU-funded Transylvanian wood-pastures project (see his presentation here).
His presentation showcased their ecological richness (from rare spiders and amphibians to ancient trees) and their biocultural diversity, ranging from abandonment to traditional management. He also highlighted mismatches between ecosystem service potential and actual use, and the importance of reconnecting communities with these landscapes through cultural events, museums, and ecotourism. Hartel called for stronger policy support under the CAP for these high-nature-value systems.
The workshop underlined agroforestry’s potential as a climate solution and stressed the need for legal clarity, funding, and advisory services to empower farmers to transition toward more resilient, multifunctional land use.
Photo: Răzvan Popa, ADEPT