18 March 2026 | Au Bassin, Brussels
On 18 March 2026, the Asociación Euromediterránea de Economistas (EMEA) y el Organic Research Centre (ORC), ReForest Project Partners, participated in the NetworkNature science-policy event “How can the nature-based solutions approach help build sustainable food systems?”, held at Au Bassin in Brussels. The event brought together EU-level policymakers, researchers, projects, businesses and stakeholders to examine how nature-based solutions (NbS) can strengthen the environmental, social and economic sustainability of farming and food systems.
Presenting The Public Goods Tool — Organic Research Centre
In the morning session — NbS and Sustainable Farming and Food Systems: how to measure and demonstrate public benefits – Christian Gossell from the Organic Research Centre presented the Public Goods Tool — a practical framework for assessing and communicating the broader public benefits delivered by farming systems, including contributions to biodiversity, water quality, climate resilience and rural livelihoods. The tool offers a structured and farmer-friendly way to demonstrate the value of sustainable practices beyond conventional productivity metrics.
Presenting the ReForest Innovative Finance Scheme
Christine de Visser, Project Manager at EMEA, also presented the ReForest Innovative Finance Scheme for agroforestry. Her presentation addressed the structural financing gap that continues to hold back the adoption of agroforestry at scale: despite robust scientific evidence of its benefits, farmers face high upfront costs, long payback periods, and the systematic undervaluation of ecosystem co-benefits by markets. The ReForest scheme is designed to bridge this gap by improving the bankability of agroforestry projects and enhancing farmers’ access to finance.
The ReForest Co-Creation and Engagement Platform
In the afternoon session — Initiatives for sustainable food systems — Christine introduced the ReForest Co-Creation and Engagement Platform, through which the project has brought together a large community of agroforestry enthusiasts — from farmers and researchers to practitioners and advisors — and developed a range of tools aimed at bridging the knowledge gap on agroforestry.
Breakout Session: Methods and Tools to Assess Progress Across Nature, Society and Economy
Following the morning presentations, Christine de Visser and Christian Gossell both participated in the breakout workshop *Group 2: Methods and tools to assess progress across nature, society and economy*. The session brought together participants to discuss how existing frameworks and tools can be strengthened and better aligned to capture the full spectrum of benefits that nature-based solutions deliver — spanning ecological, social and economic dimensions. Results from this discussion were subsequently presented in plenary and will feed into a NetworkNature policy brief and policy recommendations.
Policy Panel: Regulatory Challenges and Finance Opportunities for Agroforestry
In the closing panel discussion — What can policy do to strengthen the benefits from sustainable food systems? — Christine de Visser contributed with ReForest’s perspective on two key themes. First, she highlighted the regulatory challenges that continue to constrain the scaling of agroforestry, including the fragmented policy landscape and the administrative barriers farmers face in accessing finance and support. Second, she pointed to the significant opportunities to enhance farmers’ access to innovative finance instruments, stressing the need for coordinated blended finance packages and accessible advisory services.
Christine also took the opportunity to invite participants to the Policy Dialogues on Upscaling Agroforestry in Europe, taking place on 26 March 2026 in Brussels, where both of these themes — regulatory pathways and innovative finance — will be explored in depth with distinguished speakers from across the research, policy and finance communities.
Recording of the event: https://www.youtube.com/live/s2UFXikKj2o
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