Biodiversity Friend is a private standard, owned by
WBA (World Biodiversity Association), and released in 2010.
WBA was founded in 2004 at the Museum of Natural History in Verona (Italy) with the main purpose of
protecting and enhancing biodiversity through wide reaching educational activity.
Biodiversity Friend is not restricted in certifying the engagement of the farm towards
a real reduction of the biodiversity loss, but represents a stimulus for the farm towards a progressive increase of the biological diversity and an improvement of the quality of the products.
In this way the farmers become, finally, outright
tutors of the environmental integrity of the agrosystems and, in this dimension must be considered by the public opinion (that represents at the same time the consumers) and by the persons responsible of the decision-making processes.
The aim of the standard is to:
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Ensure that the production process does not lead to a loss of biodiversity resulting in the disappearance of plant and animal species present in the specific working area.
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Ensure that the company is constantly engaged in improving the quality of the environment in which it works. Farmers in this sense are true guardians of the environmental integrity of the area.
The 6th october 2010 “
Biodiversity Friend” obtained the patronage of the
Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies of Italy.
The trademark "
Biodiversity Friend" is owned by WBA and is patented worldwide.
CSQA is the only certification body chosen by the WBA to certificate Biodiversity Friend.
Key Points
The certification standard “
Biodiversity Friend” considers the environmental impacts of the activities and transformation processes in agriculture towards the ecosystem quality and biodiversity loss. The operative strategies have been fixed in
12 actions related to:
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Methods of parasite and weed control.
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Methods of soil fertility reconstitution.
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Hydric resources management.
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Presence of hedges and woods.
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Presence of nectariferous species.
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Conservation of the agrarian biodiversity.
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Soil quality.
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Water quality.
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Air quality.
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Use of renewable energy.
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Methods of low impact production.
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Other actions that can have beneficial effects on biodiversity.
The standard is
applicable to all farm productions.
Maintaining certification status requires a
constant effort in reducing the impact of production on the environment.
Benefits
It provides
clear evidence of all of the efforts made by organizations to protect biodiversity during the manufacturing process.
It promotes
the farm-tourism aspects of the area, increasing the consumer’s attention to areas not traditionally considered as places for tourism and recreation.