Co-design: Working with farmers in Europe to halt the loss of biological diversity

Abstract

Biodiversity loss in European agricultural landscapes is progressing rapidly despite a growing number of conservation efforts. One of the reasons for this is that farmers do not have enough decision-making power and do not receive adequate advice to tailor conservation measures to local conditions and regional biodiversity targets. In this paper, we therefore address the potential and practical implementation of co-designing conservation measures through close collaboration between farmers and other stakeholders (e.g. other practitioners, conservation experts, agricultural advisors, scientists and policymakers). Based on interviews with four researchers from ongoing European co-design projects, one national and one European farmers’ organizations, we discuss the challenges and provide recommendations for co-design in the context of biodiversity conservation in agricultural landscapes. Our aim is to reach scientists, practitioners and local decision makers working on innovative and locally adapted conservation efforts.