Diana del Cisne Encalada Jumbo (p), Luz María Castro Quezada

Balint Koos

The sustainable collection and production of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) is an important way to achieve a balance between the rational use of natural resources and the development of the livelihoods of the population. Caesalipinia Spinosa, also known as tara, is a NTFP with great production and market potential, originating in the Andean region of South America and used in various industries such as food and medicine, due to its high content of tannin agents, gallic acid and other compounds. This study aims to analyze the factors that determine the willingness to invest in sustainable commercial plantations of Caesalpinia Spinosa. To collect the information, a structured survey was applied to 125 households that collect Caesalpinia Spinosa in forests in southern Ecuador. To estimate the factors that determine the willingness to invest in sustainable commercial plantations of Caesalpinia Spinosa, a logistic regression model was used. The results identified 5 factors that influence the willingness to invest: age, number of children under 12 years of age, education, experience in collecting and managing of tara trees. Tara tree management has a strong influence and younger collectors are the most likely to invest in sustainable commercial tara plantations. Tara harvesting is a complementary activity to the agricultural and livestock activities of the farms, with great economic, social and environmental potential. More than 60% of collectors are willing to invest in sustainable commercial tara plantations, motivated by socio-demographic aspects and others related to the activity of collecting tara. Based on the findings, this study suggests the implementation of productive projects related to NTFPs in areas of low agricultural productivity and high rates of poverty, such as the dry forest zone in southern Ecuador. In addition, changes are suggested in the NTFP collection and production system and in local forest management, aimed at the efficient use of NTFPs and poverty reduction.

Sara Miranda-Buetas (p), Rosa Duarte Pac, Klaus Hubacek, Cristina Sarasa Fernández

Diana del Cisne Encalada Jumbo

The main driver of the Green Deal is the just transition to a European Union climatically neutral by 2050. The Green Deal is a new growth strategy to transform the European Union into an equity society, with a modern economy in which people make efficient use of resources. Within its different goals, there is a claim to not leave anyone behind in this economic transition, and pray special attention to the households that suffer energy poverty.
The European Union holds that the environmental tax is one way to reduce environmental impacts. However, the literature has demonstrated that these kinds of measures used to be regressive, being the most vulnerable households the ones who suffer the most these taxes. Nevertheless, some studies have shown that the lump sum of the tax revenues could be a way to solve this obstacle to achieve at the same time a just and sustainable economy.
In this context, using an environmentally extended multiregional and multisectoral input-output model for the EU countries (EU27+UK), plus the rest of the world, we evaluate different carbon tax scenarios that affect the European households and different environmental impacts. In this way, we consider different quintiles to evaluate how these measures affect each of them, paying special attention to those that live under energy poverty. We wonder which is the best way to establish an environmental tax. So, we analyse if an environmental tax that affects directly the income is better than one that influences the households' consumption. Our preliminary results demonstrate that a lump sum of the tax revenues could be the solution to move towards a sustainable and just European Union.

Balint Koos (p)

Sara Miranda-Buetas

The COVID-19 outbreak and its rapid spread caught many governments and agricultural producers by surprise. Many of the initial measures to contain its spread impacted negatively on the agricultural sector. Administrative measures (border closures, additional procedures and checks) unintentionally disrupted the agricultural input supply chain and negatively affected the supply of casual labour in the second quarter of 2020. In the case of the European Union, disruption of the food supply chain proved to be temporary thanks to rapid governmental interventions.

The hopefully temporary shock of the COVID-19 pandemic is not the only pressing challenge for agriculture and especially the various branches of horticulture. Greenhouse and open-field vegetable growing, fruit growing and viticulture are characterised by labour shortage and climate hazards of increasing frequency and severity. In order to assess the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and link them to the challenges of climate change and labour shortage, a computer-assisted telephone interview (CATI) was carried out among Hungarian horticulturalists in August of 2021. The results of this survey (N=214) made it possible to gain information about perceptions of climate change, planned mitigational and adaptational actions and perceived barriers. Despite the negative effects of climate change, the main concern of horticulturists remained the deepening labour shortage, as the cross-border mobility of seasonal agricultural workers had been interrupted by the pandemic. While the COVID-19 pandemic poses serious challenges for horticulturists, it also represents an opportunity to accelerate adaptational processes in the face of climate change and labour shortage.