CAWR Newsletter

February 2024

Our monthly newsletters are an easy way to keep up-to-date with new developments at our research centre. From successful project bids to upcoming events, our newsletter informs you on how we are 'driving innovative transdisciplinary research on equitable, sustainable and resilient food and water systems.'

The views and opinions expressed in this newsletter are those of the contributors at the Centre for Agroecology, Water and Resilience (CAWR) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Coventry University.

CAWR Researcher Invited to Present at United Arab Emirates Symposium on the National Tree

After sending some of her Prosopis herbarium samples to collaborators at the Khalifa Centre in the UAE for their DNA analysis, Liz Trenchard was invited to the University of the United Arab Emirates in Al Ain to give a presentation.

The presentation at the first Ghaf-Prosopis Symposium (6th February - 8th February 2024) focused on the taxonomy, identification and invasion management of Prosopis. Prosopis cineraria known locally as Ghaf is the national tree of the UAE. A truly multipurpose tree, Ghaf is drought and salinity tolerant and is one of the few trees that can survive the arid conditions there.

Photo of Liz Trenchard presenting at the UAE (KCGEB) Ghaf- Prosopis Symposium.

A Presentation in the Houses of Parliament on the Right to Food and Immigration Policies

Jasber Singh outside the Houses of Parliament

Jasber Singh spoke at the Houses of Parliament earlier this year, telling MPs, academics and community groups about ways in which the right to food is being violated by UK Government immigration policies.

On the invitation of the Food and Work Network (FAWN), Jasber presented on the relationship between structural powers and household food insecurity. He argued that any right to food legislation and policies, to be fully inclusive and universal, must be applied to all people in the UK, regardless of immigration status. Jasber also provided copies of his co-authored right to food policy brief to MPs and community organisers.

International Biodynamic Research Day –marking 100 years of the biodynamic movement

The Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland

On 6th February, about 45 researchers from Europe and worldwide gathered for a one-day event as a precursor to the annual Biodynamic Agriculture Conference at the Goetheanum, Switzerland, which this year was celebrating the centenary of the biodynamic movement and thus of alternatives to industrial agriculture. A series of research contributions included one by CAWR researcher Julia Wright on methods to ‘Research with the other-than-human’.  In the afternoon, the researchers were joined - and outnumbered – by the biodynamic farmers who had also arrived for the conference, to discuss on-farm challenges and collaborative approaches to address them.

New CAWR Publication is a HOT Article

A new CAWR publication has been selected by Royal Society as one of its Analytical Methods HOT Articles of 2024.

The article is lead authored by CAWR PGR Cris Argamino, and also includes his supervisory team Dr. Ivan Kourtchev (DoS), and Dr. Anna Bogush (co-supervisor), and lab technician Sam Towers.

The work featured a new analytical method for detection of emerging and persistent toxic organic pollutants in the environment. This work is the first to report several toxic plasticisers in urban atmosphere of the eighth most populous city in Brazil, Curitiba.

CAWR Researcher Speaks In Praise of Lakeland Hedgerows

This month CAWR researcher Mark Tilzey gave a presentation ‘In Praise of Hedgerows in our Lakeland Landscape’ at The Gather, in Ennerdale, Cumbria.

Mark argued that hedgerows are an iconic feature of the lowland British, and, particularly, lowland English landscapes. This includes the valleys of the Lake District. Today, with the almost universal loss of ‘infield’ biodiversity, they often represent the only element of natural/cultural heritage remaining on most conventional farms. Yet, these surviving elements of biodiversity and cultural heritage are woefully under-appreciated.

MSc Field Trip to Slavery Exhibition in London

Last month students and staff on CAWR's Agroecology, Water and Food Sovereignty MSc course visited the slavery exhibition and the Museum of London in the Docklands.

The visit is part of the Power, Participation and People's Knowledge module. Past student cohorts said the visit, including a detailed account of the the plantation economy and how it fitted into wider imperial systems, helped them to better understand how the module's focus on power and oppression fitted into the wider course themes. For that reason the visit has has been moved forward to earlier in the module.

CAWR Supports The Climate Coalition’s #ShowTheLove Campaign

The Climate Coalition used Valentine’s Day to show the scale of support for urgent action to protect climate and nature. We joined in by making green hearts and writing on them things we love and how we show it.

Applications Open for CAWR's MSc Course Beginning Autumn 2024

For further information about this unique, brilliant opportunity to deepen knowledge, understanding and practices around Agroecology, Water and Food Sovereignty please use the QR code, above, or follow this link.

CAWR Authors Produce New Article on Co-option of Agroecology in South India

Former CAWR director Michel Pimbert and CAWR honorary research fellow Sagari Ramdas have co-authored a new article entitled: 'A cog in the capitalist wheel: Co-opting agroecology in South India.'

The article describes how Andhra Pradesh Zero Budget Natural Farming project was implemented by India’s State of Andhra Pradesh in 2016 and renamed AP Community Managed Natural Farming (APCNF) in 2020.  APCNF is internationally recognised as a successful example of scaling up peasant-led agroecology by social movements, multilateral UN bodies, governments, and researchers. Sagari and Michel's article offers more critical perspectives on this agroecology program in Andhra Pradesh. They argue that this agroecology model deepens inequality, exploitation, and dispossession. Despite claims to the contrary, APCNF is locked in an unchanged productivist paradigm controlled by capital in collaboration with the state. The article concludes that by co-opting and greenwashing agroecology, APCNF closes down options for a just transformation of the dominant agri-food regime

Soil Plastics Survey

CAWR researchers are working with Garden Organic and members of the public to investigate the issue of plastic contamination of soil, particularly where food is grown. The transdisciplinary team are looking at both the physical presence of plastics in soil, as well as the concerns of gardeners and growers, and how they feel they could contribute to future research. We are conducting six regional workshops and a survey, which we would be grateful if you could complete and share with anyone else you think will be interested in this topic.

PLANET4B explores opening nature to ethnic minority communities

Three project participants enjoy the biodiversity ice-breaker game

The PLANET4B Coventry team held their first session with a Learning Community of representatives from ethnic minority communities to identify barriers and enablers in their experience of accessing the countryside. This workshop was the first of four sessions the team are facilitating with Dadima’s CIC walkers. The workshops offer a place for participants to reflect and represent their stories and histories on their relationship with nature and biodiversity in what has been perceived as a predominantly white space.

Biosecurity for Community Tree Nurseries Training Day

The in-person class looking at signs of Great Spruce Bark Beetle damage in the National Collection of Spruce at Yorkshire Arboretum, February 2024. (Photo by Sam Green)

Ginette Alexander of Yorkshire Arboretum Tree Health Centre led a biosecurity session for Community Tree Nursery workers and volunteers, at Yorkshire Arboretum, and online for the Growing Connections project. We have free classes on Recordkeeping for Community Tree Nurseries coming up in March. If you’re interested, please book here: https://linktr.ee/growing_connections

CAWR Researcher Chairs Q&A with Director of New Film on Indian Farmer Protests

A still from the film 'Trolley Times'

CAWR's Jasber Singh was invited by Kavita Bhanot of Birmingham University and the Jaag collective, to chair a question and answer session at the university with Gurvinder Singh, director of the new film 'Trolley Times'.

An audience watched the pre-release screening of the film, a portraiture of four narratives of the largest sit-in protest in the world. The historic protest was staged primarily by the farmers of Punjab, Haryana, and western Uttar Pradesh on the borders of Delhi from November 2020 to December 2021 against the three new farm laws passed by the Union Government.

The film pointed out the different narratives during the protest, and perhaps the most touching aspect of the film was the emotional impact that police oppression had on farmers and their families. The film was screened before the farmers started their new march to Delhi with further demands, and further highlights the importance of creative and cultural documentation of the right to assemble, protest, and bearing witness to these struggles to wider publics.

AGROMIX attends BIOFACH in search of innovative agroforestry products!

Innovation in Agroforestry and Mixed Farming is a key theme running through AGROMIX, a major EU-funded project lead by Coventry University. As Innovation Lead, Dr. Julia Wright led an AGROMIX contingent to BIOFACH, the world’s leading organic trade fair, to explore innovations at the commercialisation and marketing end of the whole value chain. 

The mission of the trip was to undertake a marketing study at BIOFACH to understand the state of play of products from agroforestry systems (range of products, prices), as well as to develop direct contacts with key manufacturers and importers/exporters and engage with new trade, certification and research developments discussed at the BIOFACH Congress.

Surprisingly few products market themselves as agroforestry products, highlighting the real opportunity these systems have to demonstrate their resilience and capability to provide a broad range of ecosystem services.

PhD Completions

We are introducing a new occasional section to the newsletter where we keep readers informed of PhD completions at CAWR. This will give an indication of some of the new research directions coming out of the centre. Below are some completions from the turn of the year. The dates given are for the successful viva examination.

Matt Johnston, 11 Oct 2023: Critiquing Commodification in Environmental Governance: Examples of Urban Waste Governance in Cape Town, Rotterdam, and Bristol. Supervisors: Marco Van de Wiel (DoS), Ulrich Schmutz, Jana Fried

George Olivier, 17 Nov 2023: Gully Dynamics Evolution under Environmental Change Pressures. Supervisors: Marco Van de Wiel (DoS), Willem De Clercq (co-DoS Stellenbosch University), Jana Fried

Ali Parsa, 15 Jan 2024: A Systems Approach to Environmental, Social and Economic Sustainability in Circular Economies Supervisors: Marco Van de Wiel (DoS), Ulrich Schmutz

Shurti Vispute, 24th January 2024: Beyond Belonging: Understanding Environmental Justice, Social Movements around Water and Emotions in Dzongu in Sikkim, India'. Supervisors: Jasber Singh (DoS), Adrian Evans

Emma Burnett, 25th January 2024: The roles of competition, cooperation, and self-organisation in local agri-food systems in the UK & Germany. Supervisors: Moya Kneafsey, Lopa Saxena and Luke Owen (formerly of CAWR)

Events

Upcoming Events

Virtual Open Days: Agroecology, Water and Food Sovereignty MSc, March 29th, Register here. 

Catch up on our events and seminars by visiting our YouTube channel

Publications

Ramdas, S.R. & Pimbert, M.P. 2024. A cog in the capitalist wheel: Co-opting agroecology in South India. The Journal of Peasant Studies, Volume 51, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1080/03066150.2024.2310739

Argamino, C. R. A., Sebben, B. G., da Costa, G., Towers, S., Bogush, A., Stevanovic, S., Godoi, R.H.M. & Kourtchev, I. (2024). Development and validation of a GC Orbitrap-MS method for the determination of phthalate esters (PAE) and bis (2-ethylhexyl) adipate (DEHA) to atmospheric particles and its application for screening PM_2.5 from Curitiba, Brazil. Analytical Methods. https://doi.org/10.1039/D3AY02197A

Schillé E., Valdés-Correcher E., ...Green S., Castagneyrol B., et al. (2024) Decomposing drivers in avian insectivory: Large-scale effects of climate, habitat and bird diversity Journal of Biogeography DOI: 10.1111/jbi.14808

Jones, T. S., Culham, A., Pickles, B. J., & David, J. (2024). How do gardeners define ‘invasive’? Implications for invasion science and environmental policy instruments on invasive species. Environmental Science & Policy, 151, 103614. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2023.103614

Pimbert, M.P. (2023). Defender la transformación radical de la agricultura y la alimentación. In: Una mirada critica de la transición ecológica. Revista Soberania Alimentaria Biodiversidad y Culturas. No 48.

Moeller, NI, Geck, M, Anderson, C, Barahona, C, Broudic, C, Cluset, R, Henriques, G, Leippert, F, Mills, D, Minhaj, A, Mueting-van Loon, A, de Raveschoot, SP, Frison, E. (2023). Measuring agroecology: Introducing a methodological framework and a community of practice approach. Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene 11(1). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1525/elementa.2023.00042

Carmen L. Manuelian, Sophie Valleix, Héloïse Bugaut, Birgit Fuerst-Waltl, Luciana daCosta, Sara Burbi, Ulrich Schmutz, Adrian Evans, Nikolaos Katsoulas, Sofia Faliagka, Uygun Aksoy, Özge Çiçekli, Danuta Dróżdż, Krystyna Malińska, Lindsay Whistance, Marion Johnson, Lucas Knebl, Federico Righi & Massimo De Marchi (2023) 'Farmers concerns in relation to organic livestock production', Italian Journal of Animal Science, 22:1, 1268-1282, DOI: 10.1080/1828051X.2023.2252005

Bacher, S., Galil, B. S., Nuñez, M. A., Ansong, M., Cassey, P., Dehnen-Schmutz, K., Fayvush, G., Hiremath, A. J., Ikegami, M., Martinou, A. F., McDermott, S. M., Preda, C., Vilà, M., Weyl, O. L. F., Fernandez, R. D., and Ryan-Colton, E. (2023). Chapter 4: Impacts of invasive alien species on nature, nature's contributions to people, and good quality of life. In: Thematic Assessment Report on Invasive Alien Species and their Control of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. Roy, H. E., Pauchard, A., Stoett, P., and Renard Truong, T. (eds.). IPBES secretariat, Bonn, Germany. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7430731

Lokidor, P., Taka, M., Lashford, C. and Charlesworth, S. Nature-Based Solutions for Sustainable Flood Management in East Africa. Journal of Flood Risk Management. http://doi.org/10.1111/jfr3.12954

Charlesworth, S.M., Kligerman, D., Warwick, F., Blackett, M. (2023) The suitability and acceptability of Sustainable Drainage Systems to address inadequate drainage and greywater management in favelas in Brazil. Institution of Civil Engineers, Infrastructure Asset Management [Special Issue: Sustainability of Built and Natural Environments]. https://doi.org/10.1680/jinam.23.00012

Baskoro M.L., Tjahjono B., Bogush A., Beltran M., Syaifullah D., Tjahjono M. (2024). The Influence of Ecolabel: Insights from the Indonesian Bioplastics Packaging Industry Stakeholders. In: Silva, F.J.G., Ferreira, L.P., Sá, J.C., Pereira, M.T., Pinto, C.M.A. (eds) Flexible Automation and Intelligent Manufacturing: Establishing Bridges for More Sustainable Manufacturing Systems. FAIM 2023. Lecture Notes in Mechanical Engineering. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-38165-2_112

Baskoro M., Beltran M., Bogush A.A., Tjahjono B. (2023) The imperative of communication signals in boosting business strategies of the bioplastics packaging industry. Business Strategy and the Environment, https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.3490 

Bautista Quispe, JI. Campos, LC. Masek, O. and Bogush, A. (2023) Optimisation of biochar filter for handwashing wastewater treatment and potential treated water reuse for handwashing. Journal of Water Process Engineering, Vol. 54, 104001 

Burnett, E. (2023). Coopetition outside the market economy: Oxfordshire’s community food initiatives as a case study. Local Economy, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/02690942231189821

Parsa A, Van De Wiel MJ, Schmutz U, Fried J, Black D, Roderick I (2023). Challenging the food waste hierarchy. Journal of Environmental Management 344, 118554.