Research & reports

ADEME · ADEME Infos · France

One year after France's January 2024 mandate for source-separated food waste, ADEME reports that about 50% of residents (32.1 million people) now have access to municipal sorting services, 56% sort their food waste, and 9 million tonnes of biowaste per year have been diverted from incineration and landfill, backed by €100 million in green-fund investment since 2023.

European Environment Agency (EEA) · European Environment Agency (EEA) · Europe

According to this EEA indicator, water scarcity affected 28% of EU territory during at least one season in 2023. Although water abstraction fell 14% across the EU between 2000 and 2023, the area affected by water scarcity has not shrunk overall. Southern Europe experiences water scarcity year-round, with about 30% of the population in areas of permanent water stress and up to 70% in areas of seasonal summer stress; Cyprus and Malta are the most severely affected (seasonal WEI+ above 40%), with Greece, Romania, Portugal, Italy and Spain also notably affected in spring and summer.

· Wikipedia (italiano) · Italy

An Italian Wikipedia article on marcite, a traditional Lombard irrigated-meadow technique combining supply and drainage channels on gently and evenly sloped land to keep grass growing through winter under a thin flowing water layer. While ordinary meadows are cut 4-5 times a year, marcite could be harvested 7 or more times, often 9, with the third cutting in late May (maggengo) alone accounting for roughly 25% of annual yield. Origins are uncertain, though Cistercian monks from France are credited with spreading the technique in northern Italy; it was largely replaced by maize cultivation in the 20th century, and today 41 marcite are protected within Parco Agricolo Sud Milano.

European Environment Agency · European Environment Agency (EEA) · Europe

This EEA indicator page defines water scarcity as river sub-basins where the water exploitation index plus (WEI+) exceeds 20% for at least a quarter of the year, tracking conditions across the EU27 from 2000 to 2023. The data combines EEA water quality monitoring, Eurostat abstraction and population statistics, and JRC river flow and climate data.

European Environment Agency · European Environment Agency (EEA) · Europe

According to this EEA indicator, 2020-2023 EU water abstraction breaks down into power cooling (33%), agriculture/irrigation (31%), public water supply (21%), and manufacturing (14%), with total EU27 freshwater abstraction falling 14% from 224 billion m3 in the 2000s to 192.6 billion m3 in 2020-2023. However, groundwater abstraction by the agricultural sector rose 52%, from 11 to 16.5 billion m3.

European Environment Agency · European Environment Agency (EEA) · Europe

This EEA briefing from the 2025 Europe's environment report states that water stress affects roughly 30% of Europe's land area and 34% of its population every year, and that EU water abstraction fell 19% between 2000 and 2022. It also reports that flooding caused average annual economic losses of EUR 6.5 billion between 1980 and 2023, and 5,582 direct deaths between 1980 and 2022.

Eurostat · Eurostat · Europe

Published around World Water Day, this Eurostat article reports the EU's overall water exploitation index plus (WEI+) reached 5.8% in 2022, the highest since data collection began and up 0.9 percentage points from 2000. Cyprus stood at an unsustainable 71.0% and Malta at 34.1%, with values above 20% generally considered a sign of water scarcity and above 40% severe water scarcity.

Bellini, A., Savo, V., Caneva, G., D'Amico, E., Casalini, R., Bartoli, F. · Plants (Basel) · Italy

This study analyzed vegetation on an unmaintained green roof in Rome. Spontaneous colonization produced 62 species across 18 families, with Asteraceae (19 species, 31%) and Poaceae (10 species, 16%) most represented. Therophytes (annuals) dominated the life-form spectrum at 35 species (56%). Geographically, cosmopolitan species made up 25%, Mediterranean species 38%, and alien species 15%. Some originally planted species, such as Thymus, thrived through summer without irrigation.

European Commission · European Commission, Directorate-General for Environment · Europe

The European Commission's official page on the EU Pollinators Initiative (adopted 2018, revised 2023). It reports that 1 in 3 European bee, butterfly and hoverfly species is in decline and 1 in 10 bee and butterfly species is threatened with extinction, while around 4 out of 5 crop and wild flowering plant species depend on animal pollination. Under Article 10 of the Nature Restoration Regulation (in force since 19 August 2024), Member States face a legally binding target to reverse pollinator decline by 2030. A delegated regulation establishing the EU Pollinator Monitoring Scheme (EU-PoMS) was adopted on 19 September 2025, to be implemented by Member States by 16 December 2026 at the latest.

Ricard Segura, Johannes Langemeyer, Alba Badía, Sergi Ventura, Jaime Vila-Traver, Gara Villalba · The Science of The Total Environment · Spain (Barcelona)

A study in the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona, Spain, investigated the impacts of peri-urban agricultural expansion on the food-water-climate nexus using urban metabolism and atmospheric-biosphere models across four land-use scenarios. While expansion increased food production and irrigation water requirements, replacing natural non-forested and forest areas for peri-urban agriculture was predicted to reduce net ecosystem productivity by up to 18.5% and total carbon stocks by 3.3%. Irrigated peri-urban agriculture potentially reduced near-surface temperatures by 0.7°C, though reductions in the densest urban areas were minimal.

Juan David Arosemena Polo, Susana Toboso‐Chavero, Biraj Adhikari, Gara Villalba · Waste Management · Spain (Barcelona)

This research determined the potential of organic municipal solid waste (OMSW) compost to supply nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium (NPK) demand for urban agriculture (UA) and its environmental benefits in the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona, Spain. Using spatial material flow analysis and life cycle assessment, it was found that the current waste management system could substitute 8% of total NPK demand with compost, reduce impacts by up to 39%, and yield 130% savings in global warming. A 2025 scenario could substitute 21% of NPK demand and reduce environmental impacts by up to 1,049%.

Ayşe Kaplan Sarısaltık, Ufuk Sarısaltık · Cleaner and Responsible Consumption · Turkey

This qualitative study explored the role of ODTÜ Bostan, a community garden at the Middle East Technical University in Turkey, in promoting sustainability education, ecology, and food consumption practices. Operating for ten years, the garden not only enhances participants' sustainability competencies but also serves as an educational laboratory, demonstrating the potential of community gardens to address global challenges like climate change and biodiversity loss. The research employed autoethnography, thematic analysis of eight semi-structured interviews, and content analysis of archival data.

Matteo Clementi, Valentina Dessì, Giulio Maria Podestà, Szu-Cheng Chien, Barbara Ang Ting Wei, Elena Lucchi · Sustainability · Italy (Milan)

This study proposes an open-source Digital Twin model based on a geographical information system (GIS) for optimizing solar radiation mapping in urban agriculture design. The model considers complex microclimatic variables in urban environments and integrates available open data with in-situ measurements to develop a set of maps for urban farmers and designers. Initially tested on a neighborhood in Milan, Italy, the model's replicability and effectiveness were verified.

Holger Braun, Dorothee Apfel, Benedikt Rilling, Carsten Herbes · Cleaner and Responsible Consumption · Germany

A study with 44 hobby gardeners in Germany found that substrates are not a major part of gardeners' social interactions, and price is the dominant purchase criterion for substrates, with sustainability not playing an important role. Although basic knowledge about peat is widespread, purchasing substrates is a utility-driven process with mostly passive information behavior.

Victoria Sachsé · Développement durable et territoires · Italy

This study explored two shared gardens in Rome and Strasbourg using qualitative research (participant observation and interviews) to highlight the diversity of political cultures animating these spaces. The garden in Rome showed a dynamic of public space appropriation, partly in conflict with local institutions, expressing the right to the city. In contrast, the Strasbourg garden revealed a dynamic of alliance between the association and institutions through the creation of a permaculture shared garden.

Desirée Muscas, Silvia Marrapodi, Chiara Proietti, Luigia Ruga, Fabio Orlandi, Marco Fornaciari · Sustainability · Italy

A study in an urban area of central Italy evaluated the potential productive, ecosystem, and economic contributions of fruit tree species for a food forest. Using a web app for simulation, Ficus carica and Morus nigra showed good potential fruit production of 1300 kg and 865 kg, and CO2 storage of 2.5 and 1.5 tons, respectively. Morus nigra demonstrated the highest economic value over a 50-year period, estimated at approximately 6000 USD with an average price of 7 USD/kg, and edible food forests were found to improve urban ecosystem biodiversity.

Jaume Vilasís Pamos, Pablo Aránguiz, Stefhania Lozano, Guillermo Palau Salvador · Revista Lecciones Vitales · Spain (Valencia)

This study examines urban agriculture initiatives in Valencia, Spain, which adopt an agroecological approach to promote sustainable practices like composting. While these collective strategies aim for sustainable agricultural models and contribute to food sovereignty, they face significant challenges, particularly regarding access to water. The initiatives also engage in political action and promote equitable organizational models.

Alberto Matarán-Ruiz, David Fanfani, Josefa Sánchez Contreras, Miguel Ángel Escalona Aguilar · · Central America; Europe

This chapter examines bioregional food systems and territorialization processes in peri-urban agricultural areas, using three case studies from Central America and Europe. It notes that the historical co-evolutionary relationship between cities and surrounding farmlands weakened in modernity due to the global capitalist market, which reduced food to a commodity. The study highlights current problems while exploring how inherited relationships are being revived to adapt urban bioregions to climate emergency and resource scarcity.

Olga Ergunova, Andrey Somov · EKONOMIKA I UPRAVLENIE PROBLEMY RESHENIYA · Europe

This article discusses the prospects for developing local food systems (LPS) in St. Petersburg, focusing on urban agriculture (GSH) as a key component. The study analyzes current trends and statistical data to forecast GSH's impact on the city's environmental and socio-economic situation by 2030. Projections indicate that GSH can be an important tool for food supply and sustainable urban development, with advanced technologies and integration into urban planning as key development directions.

AZOLLA Projects · Open MIND · Europe

This document, prepared under Activity 2.1 of the Carbon Farming MED project, defines the criteria for selecting pilot farms for a carbon-farming program across two Mediterranean regions, Italy and Spain. Farms practicing regenerative agriculture or agroforestry were required to meet mandatory conditions — legal compliance, access to internet and car transport, and the economic capacity to dedicate 0.5 ha to the study — plus preferable conditions such as soil free of heavy-metal contamination, historical soil analysis data, pollinator habitat and biological corridors, efficient water management, participation in farmers' markets or community-supported agriculture, a track record with circular-economy practices, and potential for scaling. Three farms in Catalonia and three farms in Spain were selected, with primary activities of viticulture, olive growing, horticulture, and agroforestry; on-farm data will be collected from these farms to monitor and validate soil organic carbon (SOC) content.

Adriana Díaz Caamaño · Academia XXII · Spain

This essay frames urban food cultivation and harvesting, once a common practice around human settlements in past centuries, as a new trend for urban sustainability amid an environmental crisis driven by city growth and its planetary impact. It argues that unsustainable agriculture is straining to feed a vast population with little awareness of the countryside or of its benefits for mental and physical well-being, but presents no specific study data or case findings.

Francisco Tomatis, Monika Egerer, Luis Manuel Navas-Gracia · Horticulturae · Spain

A study of twelve plots across four urban allotment gardens in Valladolid, Spain (Horticulturae, 2024) examined food production, cooling effects, and gardener perspectives. Crop selection matched broader Global North urban-gardening trends, adapted to limited plot space and varying by season. The gardens provided more stable and cooler temperatures than urban gray spaces, though the cooling effect was smaller than that of urban parks, and was most pronounced in summer. Greater crop cover at the plot level produced a stronger cooling effect, while crop abundance and diversity showed only a weak correlation with cooling benefits. Gardener surveys found awareness of climate change and its perceived direct threat to crops, health, and the city, along with concern about future water availability for crop growth and garden development.

Mustafa Ali, Lenny Koh, Adolf Acquaye, Jonathan R. Leake, Jacob Nickles, Toby P. Evans, Gareth Roberts, Douglas Kemp · The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment · United Kingdom (Sheffield)

This study conducted an integrated environmental and economic assessment of organic peri-urban horticulture using primary data from a farm in Sheffield, UK. A hybrid life cycle assessment (LCA) found that the global warming potential (GWP) for case study tomatoes was 3.53 kg CO2-eq, which was 1.87 times higher than imported Spanish tomatoes. Economic analysis showed that the marginal increase in the prices of tomatoes and courgettes from the case study farm was 4.6 and 5.15 times less than the market prices, leading to the conclusion that the studied production system is economically and environmentally sustainable compared to the existing scenario.

Issam Alsamara, Stefanie Felicitas Beinert, Jeanne Catelijne de Jong, Maaike Jeannette Barbara Klapp, Viktoria Sirkku Marewsk, Rana Orhan · South Eastern European Journal of Public Health · Europe

This article discusses citizen participation in achieving the European Green Deal in the Meuse-Rhine Euroregion (EMR). It presents three policy options to increase citizen participation: local climate measurements, sustainable food consumption (reducing food waste), and sustainable cities through urban gardening. Recommendations include encouraging citizen science projects, gathering insights on regional greenhouse gas emissions, providing more sustainable food in institutional canteens, reducing food waste, using social media for sustainable food information, utilizing urban areas for urban gardening projects, and creating community sustainability challenges.

Lara Houston, Sara Heitlinger, Ruth Catlow, Alex Taylor · Policy Press eBooks · United Kingdom (London)

Workshops critically experimented with the possibilities and challenges of blockchain as an infrastructure for food abundance and reparative work, using fictional scenarios set in a London transformed into a city farm by 2025. This experimentation suggested that blockchain presents challenges to such restorative and sustainable work. For participants, reparation involved working in the aftermath of social and environmental collapse to bring into being more-than-human-value systems that radically decentered human knowledge and experience.