Management of natural capital, imperatively and inevitably, must change by adapting, among others, agricultural activities to the future climate conditions. This requires a radical change in humans’ perception of their environment, which cannot be considered any longer as an eternal/endless source of resources, but as a broader framework within which humans live as one of its constituent members. Humans’ relationship with the environment must be governed by the principles of sustainability, respect, and mild intervention, in order to be able to maintain its existence and function in a changing world and climate.
This specialization field enables students, who will choose it, to acquire knowledge and be trained in technologies focusing on:
• management and effective conservation of biodiversity and natural capital under constantly changing environmental and socio-economic conditions
• adaptation of agriculture to current climate change and future climate conditions
• capability to integrate renewable energy sources in modern sustainable agricultural systems
• hazards and natural disaster management to minimize the related risks
In the recent decades, the rapid increase of global population and living standards in the developed world, combined with the consequent intensification of productive activities, has led to an unprecedented demand for natural resources, in terms of raw materials, energy, and food. This has resulted in an intensive exploitation of natural capital worldwide. Conservation of natural capital and its sustainable use are issues that are addressed on environmental, social, economic, technological, and ultimately political basis. At institutional level, the management of natural capital is formally expressed through the European Green Deal, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), and the European Biodiversity Strategy, setting specific goals that must be achieved within a specific timeframe. The mapping and assessment of both ecosystems and ecosystem services, provide the framework for integrated and sustainable management, ensuring the essential information for scientifically documented management and policy decisions.
At the same time, the so far resources management has contributed to the acceleration of climate change, with the risk of further escalation being possible. Modern agriculture must adapt to mitigate the impacts of current and future climate change. The transition of agriculture to a new, viable-sustainable model should be based on integrated agricultural production systems that would incorporate a holistic approach to sustainability, the achievement of which involves the adoption of new approaches such as agro-ecology, climate-smart agriculture, etc. Additionally, integration of renewable energy sources in modern sustainable agricultural systems will contribute to reducing the environmental impact of agricultural activities.
Natural hazards and natural disasters have always been intertwined with agriculture, having adverse effects on crop yields and food security. Sustainable agriculture incorporates risk assessment "from the outset" in crop planning, adopting modern risk assessment systems, which, combined with the mapping of phenomena and the assessment of their impacts, can be proven a reliable mechanism for minimizing the risk undertaken by modern farmers.