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Two years extension to Drainage Foundation’s Commitment

The Commitment of the Drainage Foundation published in 2015 is extended for two years. The focus of the Commitment has been on information dissemination related on land drainage and water management and increasing cooperation between relevant stakeholders in the field.

Drainage Foundation made its Commitment to the BSAG in October 2015. Six months later the first part of the commitment, drainage research database, was released. The public database was created to enable all relevant stakeholders’ access to information and research results related to drainage.

The next step was the drainage and water conservation seminar arranged by Drainage Foundation, Finnish Field Drainage Association and BSAG on October 18, 2016. The seminar included presentations and discussions on possible ways to reduce nutrient leakage from fields without compromising good water management. Presentations covered a wide range of topics related to drainage and water conservation from practical, scientific, business and political perspectives.

Seminar series continued late last year with the Drainage and climate change seminar. At the seminar, the connection between agriculture and climate change was approached from different points of view. In addition to concrete drainage operations and practices, the speakers covered fields such as agricultural and environmental policy and global food production challenges.

In the commitment extension Drainage Foundation will arrange a third seminar during the 2020 and publish an environmental guide to water management in the fields.

Public’s awareness of the importance of soil health and optimal water management in arable lands has increased, and new research projects are underway. As new information is continuously created, storing up-to-date information in a free and public database enables easier retrieval and exploitation of that information. Collaboration in information exchange between different actors and industries creates a prerequisite for a comprehensive understanding and this is what the Drainage Foundation wants to advance by organizing the seminars. Continuing the Baltic Sea Commitment was due to the positive feedback received from the autumn 2018 seminar”, says Seija Virtanen, Executive Director of Drainage Foundation.

BSAG has been very pleased with the cooperation emerged through the Commitment. “Water management in fields is essential for BSAG’s Baltic Sea and climate work. In addition, as a strong Finnish actor, Drainage Foundation has enabled BSAG and other stakeholders’ access to relevant information”, says Laura Höijer, BSAG’s Content Director.

Link to the drainage database: http://www.tukisaatio.fi/tietopankki/ (Some publications are in English)

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