Consensus Reports - posted under 'Released Documents'
Environmental Market Opportunities (EMO) – June 2009
Goal: Identify real environmental market opportunities and market risks of verifying production systems for the Alberta agriculture industry.
EMO are opportunities that have the potential to capture a viable market share by providing sustainable ecosystem services. Participation in an environmental market should be voluntary, and the identified opportunities should be advanced via the industry and facilitated through government.
The recommendations support a strong science-based foundation to verify and to build opportunities for environmental markets. Investigation of branding and labeling is needed to further advance the industry’s opportunity. Partnerships with the Institute of Agriculture, Forestry and the Environment and the Alberta Livestock and Meat Agency are important to ensure infrastructure is in place, policy is aligned and barriers are removed in order for environmental market opportunities to be captured.
Ecosystem Services (ES) - June 2009
Goal: To find ways to enhance environmental outcomes by creating a system that uses market mechanisms for rewarding agriculture producers that provide ecosystem services.
ES can be characterized as environmental outcomes obtained directly or indirectly from the natural environment such as clean air, water, soil and biodiversity. The services include our more common view of agriculture – food production, as well as an array of services affecting health, quality of life, aesthetics and the processes sustaining our air, soil water and biodiversity.
AEPA envisions a number of interacting policies actions and efforts that deliberately contribute to economic and environmental outcomes. To build and offer a long-term system that encourages and rewards agriculture producers for the provision of ES in working agriculture landscapes, the recommendations focus on engaging the agriculture industry in identifying, management and providing ES, collecting scientific information on ES in agriculture landscapes and working in partnership with the Institute of Agriculture, Forestry and the Environment in proposing a policy framework to the Government of Alberta.
Manure Nutrient Market - March 2009
Goal: To enable and enhance innovative and market-driven methods to better capture the value of livestock manure.
The potential of a manure nutrient market in Alberta is depended upon the competitiveness with fertilizer nutrients, reliable technologies, cost of application and transportation, nutrient use efficiency, regulatory streamlining and policy effectiveness. A market that integrates livestock and cropping systems was seen as an innovative opportunity that creates a stronger demand for manure nutrients and the potential to achieve significant economic and environmental benefits.
The recommendations addressed barriers and gaps to a manure nutrient market, assist in market development, and address industry issues such as phosphorus loading in the soil. The recommendations allow for more effective utilization and distribution of manure, and help agriculture address legislative policy, including cumulative effects management in the Land-use Framework.
Bioenergy Clusters – April 2009
Goal: To facilitate and promote the development of bioenergy clusters as a means to produce green energy, and to create and capture value for rural communities, agriculture, municipalities and forestry.
A bioenergy cluster is a facility that produces bioenergy from multiple feedstocks and/or produces several energy outputs. The cluster provides mutual benefits to the partners involved in the cluster, such as reduced costs or increased investment opportunities.
AEPA provided industry-supported feedback to the Alberta Government’s Nine-Point Bioenergy Plan. AEPA’s recommendations focus on opportunities for streamlining and improving policies, regulations, extension and investment to increase the production of green energy through a viable, rural community-based, bioenergy industry.
The AEPA board recognizes the importance and potential for bioenergy clusters and will monitor and evaluate potential opportunities and policy barriers for Bioenergy clusters in 2010.
Plants with Novel Traits (PNTs) - July 2008
Goal: To advocate for PNT regulations that are science based, clear, effective, transparent, practical and representative of stake holders’ interests, and to determine the advocacy process to persuade federal regulatory agencies to re-examine regulatory scopes hindering the development of technologies and products that could benefit the environment.
A PNT is a plant that contains a trait which is both new to the Canadian environment and has the potential to affect the specific use and safety of the plant with respect to the environment and human health. These traits can be introduced using biotechnology, mutagenesis, or conventional breeding techniques.
The underlying principle is regulations and processes that address PNTs be science-based, effective, transparent, and representative of stakeholders’ interests. The suggested actions included harmonization of definitions and regulations, as well as ensure appropriate evaluation of PNTs that are aligned with the levels of benefit/risk to the environment, and human and livestock health.