Establishment of Multifunctional Riparian Buffers: How do we accelerate the path to 95,000+ acres with the greatest economic, social and environmental impact?
November 13, 2018 - November 14, 2018Harrisburg, PA
The goal of this workshop is to accelerate the establishment of riparian buffers in the Chesapeake Bay watershed to meet environmental goals with minimal government subsidies. To accelerate the establishment of effective buffers, STAC and others need to understand the state of knowledge on buffers, engage stakeholders around the current science, and create a roadmap to guide future buffer planning. To achieve this, we will explore a market-based approach for multifunctional buffers, targeting opportunities to improve water quality alongside farm profitability and other benefits. The workshop will address the following:
1) Understand how farmer preferences and practices can align with industry needs in the Chesapeake Bay regional bioeconomy
2) Examine how scientific knowledge on the economic and environmental benefits of multifunctional buffers be successfully leveraged to encouraged farmer buy-in
3) Identify solutions to barriers in building a robust bioeconomy in the Chesapeake Bay
4) Understand all additional environmental, social and economic benefits multifunctional buffers provide: e.g. flood mitigation, farm profitability and wildlife habitat: and how to communicate these to stakeholders