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Sustainable resource management

Sustainable resource management is the key to agricultural development in a world affected by increasing scarcity of land, water, nutrients, energy and other vital resources for the production of food and other bio-based products.   

Research and development in the area of agroecology and sustainable resource management is particularly beneficial in intensively farmed countries of the world, such as Denmark. In this context, the overall aim of this research area is to develop methods to assess and evaluate resource management strategies for the comparison and innovative development of different production systems and land-use scenarios.  

We aim to develop methods and research results of general relevance, including methods to scale up information from farm to regional scale and from local watersheds to national and global scales.   

The work involves the integration of geographical studies of the natural resources with local farm management data. It also involves input from other stakeholders relevant for the planned use of resources that is environmentally, economically and socio-technically sustainable and for impact assessment of the value chains in a bio-based production and economy.    

Our activities include land use projects through scenario studies and coordination of the dNmark research alliance for a more sustainable use of nitrogen and other resources in Denmark. Nationally, we also are involved in assessing the potential for a new biorefinery sector.   

Internationally, we participate in collaborative projects on farming system assessment and stakeholder involvement in the development of climate change mitigation and adaptation and energy use and efficiency. We also are engaged in the development of global networks for agroecology and sustainable resource management.