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HORSE AS A PART OF GREEN ECONOMY Markku Saastamoinen Natural Resources Institute Finland Luke GEEC, Ypäjä 26.5.2017 GREEN ECONOMY ≈ Bio-economy, bio-based economy; bioenergy instead of fossil energy sources, recycling, byproducts, carbon neutrality • Responsibility; environment, climate, waters • Well-being of humans and animals • Sustainable and economic production and businesses • Environmentally sustainable production and growth, clean production (environment friendly thinking) Sustainable production and growth • Utilization of resources sustainably (land, feeds, water, fuels, buildings, materials …) • Sustainable - feed production - energy consumption - waste/litter management - purchases in the enterprise • Recycling economy - durable products - reuse and recycling of products and materials to consume less - recycling of waste and nutrients - renewable energy (biogas, manure utilization, wind, sun …) • Organic farming, mixed farming systems - nutrients and carbon from horse manure - organic fertilizers - horse power e.g. in organic wine production (or other field work) - less fossil energy sources e.g. for fertilizer manufacturing HORSES AND GREEN ECONOMY • Biomasses moving in the horse industry - feeds; transportation, local feeds, protein sources - bedding materials; transportation, distances (import/export), by-products - manure; utilization, transportation Role of the horse - benefits • Biodiversity; grazing, forage production, important socio-economic driver for land management (carbon storages) (Poeplau et al., 2015); cooperation with neighbour farms with no animals (mixed farming systems, MFS) • Manure’s nutrient recycling; cooperation with grain farms with no manure (MFS), and other concepts • Bioenergy; manure as a biogas raw material or fuel (burning) - concepts available • Welfare, health of people (nature contacts, green care and health services) • Ecosystem services, services based on ecosystems (e.g. tourism) Role of the horse - drawbacks • Horse tourism (like all tourism) increases travelling and consumption of fossil fuels • Deworming and medication may be detrimental to biodiversity (secreting in faeces and urine) • Large consumption of water Horses in the (local) food production • Meat production – slaughtering of horses always it is possible - ethically and ecologically (environmentally) sustainable way compared to other ways of putting down (Saastamoinen, 2015) - welfare-supporting issue at the end of a horse’s life - horse has relatively low ecological footprint (Seppälä, 2013), low methane production • Meat production based on raising meat horses based on native/local breeds may support these breeds, and thus diversity of horse breeds and populations • Also milk production (food, cosmetics) supports native (cold-blooded) breeds • Both horse meat and milk have potentials as local food Bio-economy horse farm/stable • • • • Local feeds Manure utilization Carbon neutrality Other responsibility (animals, customers, staff, purchases …) Can such a enterprise has some advantage compared with “a conventional” stable? • Efficiency • Financial advantage • Customers’ ethical views and choses – are they ready to pay more? What to do to get horse industry “greener” and more sustainable? • Attitude of entrepreneurs, workers, horse people … • Education and practices in reality of horse schools • Selection of training stables and farms by the schools • Advising in horse sector Thank you! Kiitos! Web tool: www.hippolis.fi/innohorse