The Baltic Sea Commitment of the City of Vantaa 2024–2026
THE BALTIC SEA COMMITMENT OF THE CITY OF VANTAA
The City of Vantaa’s Baltic Sea Commitment focuses on promoting regenerative agriculture and developing a municipal Carbon Action concept in collaboration with BSAG. As part of this commitment, the city will provide fields from its farm for research purposes and actively communicate and educate its stakeholders about regenerative agriculture.
IN PROGRESS
Commitment made in 2024
DURATION
2024–2026
Vantaa is a growing city of over 240,000 inhabitants. In its strategy, the city’s goal is to be carbon neutral by 2030. Additional goals are the promotion of biodiversity, sensible and sustainable use of natural resources, and responsible activities of residents and communities.
Today, the Vantaa city area still includes almost 4,000 hectares of fields, of which almost 800 hectares are owned by the city. Out of this amount, roughly half is managed by the city’s farms.
Regarding the city’s fields, the aim is to maintain a managed cultural landscape, enrich the urban area, and continue efficient but environmentally friendly operations. The farming plan is based on crop rotation, a living vegetation cover for as long as possible, and flowering crops that enliven the landscape.
The city’s farms also experiment with new farming and landscape management methods. A few cultivation experiments are carried out annually in the fields in cooperation with various organisations. The experiments aim to find new, more environmentally friendly farming methods and practices. The Carbon Action municipal concept will bring new experimentation and research objects to the city’s fields.
The fields of the city’s farms are mainly located in the West Vantaa area, and the operations take place from the Katrineberg farm in Seutula.
The City of Vantaa gives the Baltic Sea Action Group (BSAG) a Baltic Sea Commitment for 2024–2026. With its Baltic Sea Commitment, the City of Vantaa promotes regenerative agriculture on the fields it owns and leases by participating in research and implementing research data, as well as through sparring, training, and communication.
The commitment focuses on cooperation on the Carbon Action platform and consists of four parts.
COMMITMENT GOALS
1. Participation in Carbon Action biodiversity research
- The City of Vantaa is participating in Carbon Action’s Biodiversity Solutions in Agriculture project by providing four field parcels for research during the 2024 and 2025 growing seasons. This project generates information on the effects of agriculture on nature in northern farming conditions. In addition to beetle banks, the study design will include the use of catch crops in its biodiversity analysis.
2. Implementation of results from carbon sequestration research
- To the extent possible, the City of Vantaa will use the results of the Carbon Action research on soil carbon sequestration as they are completed.
3. Education and communication
- The City of Vantaa will provide regenerative agriculture training for farmers renting the city’s fields, based on an upcoming agreement with BSAG. The Environment Centre of Vantaa coordinates the training in cooperation with BSAG.
- In collaboration with the Vantaa Environment Centre, the City of Vantaa promotes Carbon Action and regenerative agriculture in its networks and sets an example for other municipalities.
4. Developing the Carbon Action municipal concept
- The City of Vantaa is collaborating with BSAG to develop and pilot the Carbon Action concept for municipalities.
With this commitment, the City of Vantaa joins the Carbon Action platform’s business network, facilitating collaboration with food chain operators and enhancing the city’s initiatives to promote regenerative agriculture. Additionally, the City of Vantaa commits to featuring the activities of the Carbon Action platform in its communications.
The commitment spans three years, with annual progress reviews conducted with BSAG. The City of Vantaa’s farm may continue its research and other activities in collaboration with additional partners.
Through its Baltic Sea Commitment, the City of Vantaa promotes regenerative farming and its numerous benefits on its owned and leased land. This commitment will help preserve valuable cultural landscapes, enhance biodiversity, and promote sustainable farming practices. It supports the city’s sustainability goals and aims to inspire other cities to join the Carbon Action platform.
Henry Westlin, City Engineer, City of Vantaa
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