The report “Key Methods” deals with the development and operationalisation of various key methods that the individual farmer will be able to use in the interaction with authorities and other interested parties.

For instance, how to make local landowners and farmers interested in long term solutions to long term problems. In order to maintain an efficient agricultural production, farmers must adapt their production to the changing climatic conditions.

The primary objective for farmers is to cultivate and make profitable use of as much of their land as possible. If they are to invest in the environment, it is crucial that they believe that they will benefit from these investments. Win-win situations are what we are searching for, which is why some of the most important questions to ask in order to find the right mix of methods are:

• What kind of benefits could be interesting for farmers?
• What to look for to find/create win- win situations?
• How can farmers’ interests be combined with the objectives of the water frame directive and other environmental interests like water quality, biodiversity, etc.?

In the Aquarius project we have grouped the various key methods in three categories:

• Technical methods
• Financial methods
• Participatory planning

Each group of methods has been dealt with separately in separate workshops (reports from these workshops can be found on our webpage). The methods have then been combined, since no single method can stand alone. We have organised the three methods in what we call the Problem Solution Wheel. The Problem Solution Wheel and how to make it turn efficiently is in this report.

Download the report