WHAT IS THAT
Biodiversity Friend ® is a private standard, owned by WBA onlus ( World Biodiversity Association onlus ), and created in 2010.WBA was founded in 2004 at the Civic Museum of Natural History of Verona and has the main purpose of surveying biodiversity and protecting it through a widespread educational action.
The goal of the standard is to:
- ensure that the production process does not lead to a loss of biodiversity , i.e. the disappearance of animal and plant species present in the agro-system,
- that the company is constantly committed to improving the quality of the environment in which it operates. In this sense, farmers are real guardians of the environmental integrity of the territory.
In 2010 Biodiversity Friend ® obtained the patronage of the Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies .
The “Biodiversity Friend ® ” brand is owned by WBA onlus and is covered for the Italian State by patent filing. The trademark is also registered in the countries of the European Community, the People's Republic of China and Australia at the World Intellectually Property Organization in Madrid and, in the United States of America, at the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
CSQA has been chosen by WBA for Biodiversity Friend certification .
KEY POINTS
The certification proposes 10 actions to be pursued that WBA considers the "Decalogue of biodiversity" in agriculture:- sustainable crop model
- protection of soil fertility
- sustainable management of water resources
- protection of hedges, woods, meadows and nectariferous species
- protection of agricultural biodiversity
- energy saving and use of renewable sources
- protection of the territory and the rural landscape
- social sustainability
- economic sustainability
- quality of air, water and soil.
Each action corresponds to a score. The certification is issued with a minimum score of 60/100.
Biodiversity Friend ® allows farms to undertake a path of gradual improvement of their environmental performance.
The environmental quality of the agrosystem is assessed through biodiversity indices of soil, water and air, based on biomonitoring methods developed by the WBA onlus Scientific Committee.
The standard is applicable to all products obtained on the farm.
To maintain the certification over time, a constant commitment aimed at reducing the impact on the environment is required.
ADVANTAGES
- It makes the Organization's commitment to obtaining and protecting biodiversity visible.
- It promotes the agro-tourism use of the area and enhances the agro-system from a landscape point of view.
PROMOTIONAL VIDEO OF THE BIODIVERSITY FRIEND PROTOCOL
VIDEO ON BF BIODIVERSITY INDICES