Agriculture, nature and biodiversity (Emeschbaach Farm Project)

In 2011, natur&ëmwelt acquired a farm with approximately 31 hectares of agricultural land in Emeschbaach, near Asselborn, in the commune of Wincrange.

On 16 March 2012, the official planting of a 600 metres of hedges and 6 individual trees around the edge of the field at Emeschbaach in the presence of Mr Luc Frieden, Minister of Finance and Mr. Marco Schank, Minister for Sustainable Development and Infrastructure, provided an opportunity to present an overview of the many projects and activities natur&ëmwelt has in the region and to learn more about the latest project "Agriculture, Nature and Biodiversity"  in Emeschbaach.

One of natur&ëmwelt's main objectives is to protect and restore biodiversity in a varied natural landscape. With the knowledge that our landscapes and biodiversity are the result of certain methods of farming, natur&ëmwelt supports the use of sustainable farming methods such as organic farming, which also respect natural resources.
natur&ëmwelt currently owns 1085 hectares, and ensures that all the agricultural land (meadows and ploughed lands) are organically farmed or are under "Biodiversity" contracts.
Furthermore, the agricultural land surrounding the farmhouse (built in 1850) have been managed by three partners since November 2011; they are: the National Committee of Social Defence (le Comité Nationale de Défense Sociale) with its "Naturaarbechten" project, the Forum for Employment (le Forum pour l'Emploi) with their project "Am Gaertchen" and the agricultural initiative farm Naturhaff located in Derenbach. This adds 30 hectares of farmland operated under organic farming methods, which including 5 ares of organic vegetables. The conversion of the land to organic will take until 2013.
This new project is also adding value to the ecological landscape of the Ardennes by creating new habitats, new structures and ecological links within the food chain which include: 2.5 km of hedgerows, about 20 trees, an orchard of 120 fruit trees, a pond, herbaceous buffers, perennial wasteland ...... Some measures will contribute to the implementation of various action plans to protect rare plants whose natural habitat is on now on tilled land. The goal is to have 10% ecological structures within the 31 hectares.
Awareness and monitoring of biodiversity in rural areas, information on regional natural heritage and the Natura 2000 network are also incorporated into the project. Another objective is to further research organic production methods, which will take place in collaboration with the Institute for Organic Farming and Agricultural Association "Institut fir Biologesch Landwirtschaft year Agrarkultur association" (IBLA) Luxembourg.
We hope that the renovation and conversion of the farm as an information centre on regional biodiversity and on the Natura 2000 network can be achieved in the next few years.