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frontpage / Events / Nutrient recycling in the grip of geopolitics

Nutrient recycling in the grip of geopolitics

Webinar · 23.01.2024 13:00 - 15:00

The Covid-19 Pandemic and the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine have significantly disrupted global trade and value chains. In addition to economy and geopolitics, this also has implications on maintaining the vital functions of societies around the world. The functions include nutrient recycling, which refers to the system where nutrients and organic carbon are transferred through society from soils to products, and finally to waste or side-streams, including recycled fertilisers.

The recent geopolitical shifts have created new incentives to use microbial or plant-based products to improve soil health and reduce the environmental footprint of agriculture. These are in line with ecological arguments for more localized nutrient cycles as well as the goals of EU’s strategic autonomy, national self-sufficiency, and security of supply.

This webinar explores the interplay between global geopolitics and the management of essential nutrients necessary for agriculture and food security. How can resilience and adaptability be increased in a rapidly evolving global trade landscape of agriculture? How should different forms and levels of government navigate the challenges of resource distribution, technology transfer, and trade negotiations related to sustainable agricultural inputs in the era of polycrisis?

The webinar is organized by FIIA in cooperation with Natural Resources Institute Finland (LUKE).

You can register for the webinar here .

Programme

Opening words :
Mikko Weckroth , Research Manager and Senior Scientist , Natural Resources Institute Finland (LUKE)

Speakers:
Guy Faure , Senior Policy Officer, European Commission: “A global perspective to the fertilizer crisis: what is at stake?”
Marco Siddi , Leading Researcher, FIIA; “Conflict, geopolitics and food security”
Jyrki Niemi , Research Professor, Natural Resources Institute Finland (LUKE): “Dependencies and vulnerabilities in global fertilizer trade”

Discussion

Panel : “Drivers and barriers for more localized nutrient cycles”
Kaisa Karttunen , Professor of Practice, University of Helsinki
Kimmo Rasa , Research Manager and Senior Scientist, Natural Resources Institute Finland (LUKE)
Tiffanie Stephani , Vice President, Government Relations and External Communications, Yara Europe
Ville-Veikko Pitkänen , Counsellor, Finland’s Representation in NATO

Moderator:
Emma Hakala , Leading Researcher, FIIA

Speakers

Opening words

Mikko Weckroth

Research Manager and Senior Scientist, Natural Resources Institute Finland (LUKE)

Mikko Weckroth is a Research Manager and a Senior Scientist at the Natural Resources Institute Finland (LUKE). He is an political/economic/social geographer by education and his research interests cover issues related to urban and rural development, regional policy at national and EU context well as orchestrating policies on just transition in different spatial scales. Currently Weckroth works as a Research Manager in Luke´s Circular Bioeconomy Program focus area Transition to Circular bioeconomy where his explicit research interest and agenda is to figure out the spatial and systemic nature of transition to circular bioeconomy.

Speakers

Guy Faure

Senior Policy Officer, European Commission

Guy Faure works at CIRAD and carries out research on advisory services, innovation support services and impact of research with the perspective to contribute to the agroecological transition of food systems in Southern countries. He was the director of the research unit “innovation and development”. Currently he is posted at the European Commission (DG INTPA) as expert supporting EU research and innovation programs such as the DeSIRA initiative and participating in policy dialogue with international organisations.

Marco Siddi

Leading Researcher, FIIA

Marco Siddi is Leading Researcher at FIIA, where he coordinates the project The Global Politics of the Energy Transition. He is Adjunct Professor in World Politics at the University of Helsinki and in International Relations at Tampere University. He is also a Board Member of the Trans European Policy Studies Association (TEPSA), a Steering Committee Member of the ECPR Research Network on Energy Politics, Policy, and Governance, and a member of the European Leadership Network/Younger Generation Leaders Network on Euro-Atlantic Security. He received his PhD at the Universities of Edinburgh and Cologne, in the framework of the Marie Curie Training Network ‘Exact’ concerning the external action of the European Union. His work focuses primarily on energy and climate politics, the politics of memory and identity, European politics and EU-Russia relations.

Jyrki Niemi

Research Professor, Natural Resources Institute Finland (LUKE)

Jyrki Niemi is a Research Professor at the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke). He has more than 30 years of experience in the analysis of agricultural policies and food markets in Finland and the EU. His research subjects include international trade policies as well as EU and domestic agricultural policies. Empirical analysis of the agri-food supply chains in Finland has played a central role in his research. He has also vast experience in research-based policy advice.

PANEL

Kaisa Karttunen

Professor of Practice, University of Helsinki

Kaisa Karttunen currently works as Professor of Practice in food security in the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry at the University of Helsinki. She has a long and versatile career in national and international organizations, including the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Kimmo Rasa

Research Manager and Senior Scientist, Natural Resources Institute Finland (LUKE)

Kimmo Rasa is a Research Manager and a Senior Scientist at the Natural Resources Institute Finland (LUKE) and has 20 years’ professional experience in soil science. Past ten years he has been working with biomass processing technologies and studied use of the end-products in various applications. Currently Rasa works as Research Manager in Luke´s Circular Bioeconomy Program focus area Optimized Material Cycles.

Tiffanie Stephani

Vice President, Government Relations and External Communications, Yara Europe

Tiffanie Stephani is heading the Government Relations and External Communications at Yara Europe (cf. Yara European Footprint | Yara International), the market leader in plant nutrition in Europe. Truly inspired by Yara’s vision of a world without hunger and a planet respected, Tiffanie works actively to promote climate-friendly crop nutrition and zero-emission energy solutions such as green ammonia. She joined Yara International – Region Europe in January 2021. Prior to this, Tiffanie has been working as Senior Agriculture and Environment Manager at Fertilizers Europe, representing the interests of the mineral fertilizer industry in the European Union, between March 2016 and December 2020. She started her career in European Government Relations and in the agriculture sector 18 years ago as policy officer in the European & environmental affairs department of the German Farmers’ Association (Deutscher Bauernverband, DBV) in Brussels. Tiffanie (French native) holds a university degree in political science from “Sciences Po Lille” and a master’s degree in European public management.

Ville-Veikko Pitkänen

Counsellor, Finland’s Representation in NATO

Ville-Veikko Pitkänen has worked as a counsellor for the Permanent Representation of Finland to NATO since September 2021, representing Finland in the NATO's Resilience Committee, which is a senior NATO advisory body for resilience in NATO. He focuses on energy policies and critical infrastructure protection in NATO. Mr Pitkänen has previously served in various international assignments in more than 30 countries including China, Cambodia, Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova, Belarus, Kosovo, Egypt and Turkey with a special focus on capacity building, crisis management, resilience, civil preparedness, gender questions and trainings and exercises. Mr Pitkänen’ previous posts include head of training positions in Emergency Services Academy Finland (ESAF) and head of training position in the Crisis Management Centre Finland (CMC Finland), where he worked for more than 10 years. Mr Pitkänen holds MA in social Sciences from Finland and MA in international peace and conflict studies from Australia. Mr Pitkänen has teacher’s pedagogical qualification; he is trained disaster coordination expert in both the Union Civil Protection Mechanism Training Programme (EU) and in the United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) system.

Moderator

Emma Hakala

Leading Researcher, FIIA

Emma Hakala is a Leading Researcher at FIIA. Her research focuses on environmental security and the geopolitics of climate change, such as the role of international actors in building climate security practices. She leads the project “Climate change and Finland’s security of supply” and a part on conflict analysis in the project “Water Cooperation and Peace – Finnish Water Way”, which FIIA implements as a partner of the Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE). Hakala gained her D.Soc.Sci degree in political history at the University of Helsinki in 2019. Hakala is also currently a Postdoctoral Researcher in the project “Toxic Crimes: Legal Activism against Wartime Environmental Destruction” at the University of Helsinki and a member of the multidisciplinary BIOS Research Unit.