• Maite Aguinaco, administrator in the Strategic Area of Water, Soil and Ecosystems at CIHEAM Zaragoza, looks back on the Institute’s pioneering legacy in environmental postgraduate training, integrating ecology into agriculture.

Zaragoza, 18 July 2024.- The Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Zaragoza (IAMZ), now CIHEAM Zaragoza, was established in 1969 to complement the activities of the two Institutes already within the International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (CIHEAM) —the Institute of Bari that focused mainly on irrigation systems, and the Institute of Montpellier, that specialised in economics and rural development—. The Institute in Zaragoza initially concentrated on animal and crop production, and soon adopted an innovative focus to address the optimal use of the rural environment, human resources and natural resources. This development coincided with emerging interest worldwide in integrating ecological principles into agriculture.

In 1975, the director of the Institute, Miguel Mut, influenced by the European trends he observed during his studies in Germany, and thanks to his close relationship with technical specialists from the OECD, reached out to prominent international experts in ecology. Two world authorities, Ramón Margalef (University of Barcelona) and Frank Golley (University of Georgia, US) laid the foundations for a one-year postgraduate course ‘Rural Planning in relation to the Environment’. The course addressed the need to consider not only socioeconomic criteria to strengthen the role of agricultural production and industrial activity in regional planning and development but also to include the conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. This marked the beginning of the advanced courses and the master’s programme that were delivered between 1976 and 2018 to over 500 students and professionals from around 40 countries.

Challenges of sustainable food systems

F. Golley and R. Margalef helped to design the training programmes and brought the best international experts to participate as lecturers, conveying to the students the importance of reconciling the development of rural areas with protection of the environment. In Spain, the first warnings were beginning to be heard regarding the potential environmental hazards of intensive agriculture and crop and livestock production. Fifty years on, these principles have been incorporated in the Farm to Fork Strategy, one of the main pillars of the EU Green Deal, addressing the challenges of sustainable food systems from an integrated perspective.

Based on the discussions held between lecturers and students in the first editions of the course on rural planning, the Institute identified the need to promote knowledge-sharing activities to strengthen connections between scientists and technical experts. Then came the first advanced courses for professionals, experiencing their greatest expansion under the leadership of director Miguel Valls, who also initiated the Institute’s participation in EU research projects and launched the cooperative research networks.

Pioneers in limnology training

The first advanced courses assessed the impact of agriculture and industry on the quality of water bodies. It was based on this environmental concern that in 1980, R. Margalef organised the first advanced intensive course on limnology with the most relevant limnologists worldwide as lecturers. The course ran for five editions, providing excellence in training for the first limnologists of the Mediterranean region and Latin America and favouring contacts between working groups. This in turn led to the development of international cooperation projects and creation of the Spanish Limnology Association in 1981.

From a broader perspective and to offer deeper insight into the diverse components of sustainable management of rural areas, the Institute widened the range of topics addressed in the advanced courses to incorporate questions such as: environmental impact assessment; water resources; crop systems; forest systems; protection against forest fires; restoration of ecosystems; economics of natural resources; climate change; land use and sustainable agriculture; and integrated pest management.

Creation of the Spanish Association of Terrestrial Ecology

Parallel to the advanced courses, the symposium ‘Limits of crop production’ was organised in 1984 by F. Golley and R. Margalef through the Institute and INTECOL (The International Association for Ecology), where a prominent group of international experts discussed the state of the art of terrestrial ecology and potential applications of these principles to agricultural ecosystems. Following the symposium, the Institute launched a research project to determine and assess the impact of agriculture through study of an irrigation district in La Violada (Huesca). The research results were published in seven master’s theses by students in the Rural Planning course.

Interest also grew in creating an association of ecologists in Spain, and in 1986, with the collaboration of many of the lecturers from the Rural Planning course and the strong support of INTECOL, led by F. Golley as president, the Spanish Association of Terrestrial Ecology (AEET) was born. The Institute hosted the AEET secretariat during its early years.

Expert ecologists developed new concepts in integrated and sustainable planning of the rural environment. F. Golley introduced a systemic concept of the environment and its application to rural areas as an approach to territorial planning. This vision was reinforced by the works of Eugene Odum (University of Georgia) and his teaching activities at the Institute.

Innovative vision of environmental training

F. Golley coordinated the Rural Planning course for over 30 years, sharing his vision of hierarchies and interactions between different subsystems and demonstrating the importance of a multidisciplinary and analytical approach to planning and management, beyond political and social considerations. Wolfgang Haber (University of Munich, Germany) and Bernardt Patten (University of Georgia, US) key figures in this innovative process, also formed part of the renowned group of lecturers at the Institute; Haber specialised in landscape ecology and Patten in systems analysis. Both names attracted many European and Latin American students to the course.

Equally noteworthy is the contribution of outstanding agronomists such as Albert Noirfalise (University of Gembloux, Belgium), whose experience in forest and crop ecosystems management in Central Europe shaped the science of European agroecology. While teaching at the Institute, he advised the European Commission on incorporating environmental considerations in the first reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). In the field of environmentally-friendly crop production, Miguel Altieri (University of Berkeley, US), a scientific authority of significant influence across the Americas, brought his extensive experience to the Institute’s activities.

Integrated Pest Management is another area promoted by the Institute through relevant figures including Ramón Albajes (University of Lleida), well-known for his contribution to crop system sustainability.

The importance of protecting the environment

The Institute pioneered the design and conception of postgraduate training in environmental issues and raised awareness of the importance of protecting the environment. The experts who trained countless scientists and technical specialists have left a long-lasting legacy and continue to inspire new generations of professionals to integrate ecological concepts into agricultural practices. Thanks to their dedicated efforts, concepts that are undisputed today were once innovative and often the subject of controversial debate during their development over the past 50 years.

In line with its mission of cooperation for development through training, the Institute continues to prioritise the management of natural resources and conservation of the environment.