Dr. Ana Frelih-Larsen

Dr. Ana Frelih-Larsen

D.Phil. (Geography)
MSc (Environmental Change & Management)

Senior Fellow

Team
Topics

Dr. Ana Frelih-Larsen is a Senior Fellow at Ecologic Institute, where she coordinates activities on agriculture and soils. Since joining Ecologic Institute in 2008, she has worked extensively on the evaluation and development of policy instruments for soil health, carbon farming, and more broadly mitigation and adaptation in agriculture. Her work in particular focuses on policies that support the implementation of nature-based solutions in agriculture. A native of Slovenia and fluent in German and English, she has a strong geographic interest in Central Eastern Europe.

Dr. Ana Frelih-Larsen is currently on leave from Ecologic Institute.

 

She leads a project on Capacity Building for Ambitious Climate Action in the Agri-food Sector in Central Eastern Europe, funded by the Robert Bosch Foundation. She also leads work on transition pathways towards reduced reliance on synthetic pesticides in the H2020 project SPRINT. In the past, she was involved in various projects for European and German institutions on the Common Agricultural Policy, carbon farming, and soil management. She has led projects for DG FISMA (Development of agriculture screening criteria for the EU Sustainable Finance Taxonomy), DG Climate Action (Mainstreaming climate action in rural development programmes), and DG Environment (Inventory of soil policy instruments). She has also contributed to several research projects, including CIRCASA (Coordination of International Research Cooperation on soil Carbon Sequestration in Agriculture), RECARE (Preventing and remediation degradation of soils in Europe), SmartSOIL (Sustainable and Climate Friendly Soil Management), and Soil3 (Sustainable Subsoil Management).

Before joining the Ecologic Institute, Ana worked in the non-governmental sector on different environmental and fair-trade issues. In 2008, she completed a traineeship at the Directorate General for Agriculture and Rural Development of the European Commission (EC) in Brussels in the unit responsible for Spanish rural development programs.

Ana completed a D.Phil. thesis at the University of Oxford in 2006. Her research analyzed the impact of agri-environment policy on mountain farms in Slovenia in the context of the EU enlargement process and associated agricultural reforms. Ana also holds an MSc degree with distinction in Environmental Change and Management from the University of Oxford, which she received in 2001. For her undergraduate degree, Ana studied Anthropology and Environmental Studies at McGill University in Montreal (Canada).

Recent content by Dr. Ana Frelih-Larsen

Publication:Report
 
Cover of the final report titled "Analysis of Ten Selected Crediting Methodologies for Climate-Friendly Soil Management," published by the German Environment Agency in February 2025.
This report, commissioned by the German Environment Agency and co-authored by Ecologic Institute, contains a detailed assessment of ten crediting methodologies on climate-friendly soil management measures. These crediting methodologies are examples of result-based payment and offsetting approaches to fund enhanced carbon sequestration and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from agricultural practices. Our evaluation of these certification methodologies covers key aspects, including emission quantification, baseline setting, additionality, risk management, environmental and social impacts, and governance. We find many weaknesses with the assessed methodologies.

Analysis of ten Selected Crediting Methodologies for Climate-friendly Soil Management

Annex to the report "Funding Climate-friendly Soil Management"

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Publication:Report
 
The report, titled "Funding Climate-Friendly Soil Management: Appropriate Policy Instruments and Limits of Market-Based Approaches", is part of the Climate Change series (01/2025) and published by the German Environment Agency (Umweltbundesamt). It serves as a final report examining funding mechanisms for climate-friendly soil practices. The cover features a blue background with the agency's logo at the bottom.
Soils are vital for climate mitigation, storing substantial carbon. This report, co-authored by Ecologic Institute's Hugh McDonald, Aaron Scheid and Dr. Ana Frelih-Larsen, examines funding approaches to promote climate-friendly soil management in Europe, focusing on two models: action-based and result-based. Action-based funding supports specific activities but doesn't ensure measurable outcomes, while result-based funding ties payments to verified results, encouraging innovation but involving higher costs and monitoring. Result-based funding approaches can be challenging in the context of soil carbon, with offsetting approaches found to be particularly risky.

Funding Climate-friendly Soil Management

Appropriate policy instruments and limits of market-based approaches

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Publication:Fact Sheet
 
Fact sheet ey objectives, main obstacles, main approaches, and knowledge exchange solutions involved in the process. It also includes a spotlight on Fusarium, a serious fungal disease affecting cereal crops. The infographic features images of Slovenia, dairy farming elements, and icons representing agronomic change, financial barriers, and technical, economic, and advisory solutions.
A family farm in Brežice, Slovenia, took the leap into organic agriculture to overcome high input costs, low economic viability, and limited control over their business. The SPRINT project is studying this farm to understand how the transition to organic farming – by eliminating synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, introducing crop rotations, and experimenting with new feeding strategies – can lead to a more sustainable and profitable operation. This case study highlights the challenges and successes of the farm in adopting an organic approach.

Organic Dairy Farming in Slovenia

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Publication:Fact Sheet
 
Fact sheet titled 'Sustainable Fruit Production in Slovenia' from the SPRINT Success Stories series. The fact sheet focuses on the Fruit Centre Maribor's efforts to promote sustainable fruit production practices that minimize reliance on synthetic pesticides. It includes sections on the challenges, key objectives, main obstacles, overcoming barriers, agronomic solutions, and knowledge exchange solutions. It features images of Slovenia, various fruits, and icons representing agronomic change...
In Slovenia, the Fruit Centre Maribor is dedicated to promoting sustainable fruit production practices while reducing reliance on synthetic pesticides. The SPRINT project studies the Centre's work to understand how the use of more resistant fruit varieties, self-developed plant-based pesticides, and improved soil quality can contribute to more sustainable cultivation. This case study explores the challenges and solutions the Centre has encountered in implementing sustainable methods in fruit production.

Sustainable Fruit Production in Slovenia

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Publication:Policy Brief
 
Cover page of a policy brief titled "How to support the transition towards climate friendly and resilient agri-food systems in Central Eastern Europe?" featuring various agricultural images, including people in a field, flowers, cattle grazing, crops, and harvested vegetables. Logos at the bottom include Ecologic, Institute for European Environmental Policy, and Robert Bosch Stiftung.
This policy brief highlights the need for a systemic and integrated approach to support the transition to climate friendly and resilient agri-food systems in CEE countries. The brief underlines how the key policy instruments that countries have at their disposal – the Common Agricultural Policy, National Energy and Climate Plans, and policies to support sustainable food consumption – can be better used to support such an integrated approach. Finally, the brief points to the importance of setting clear goals, as well as developing societal support, and capacities for the transition.

How to Support the Transition Towards Climate Friendly and Resilient Agri-food Systems in Central Eastern Europe?

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Event:Digital Event
 
This webinar series explored how agroecology (including organic farming) and sustainable food consumption can enable a transition to climate friendly and resilient agri-food systems in Central Eastern Europe, while also addressing the biodiversity crisis and the economic crisis in agriculture. In each webinar, views on different elements of a transition to climate friendly and resilient agri-food systems were illustrated and exchanged, based on agroecology. Insights from research and practical examples were highlighted, followed by an exchange and networking among the participants.

Climate Action in Agri-food Systems in Central Eastern Europe (CEE)

Webinar Series

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Publication:Policy Brief
 
Cover of the policy paper "Transforming EU land use and the CAP: a post-2024 visioni"
This paper makes a proposal for how future EU agricultural policy and particularly funding structures should evolve to better reflect sustainability challenges whilst supporting farmers and other land managers in a transition that also ensures viable businesses and vibrant rural areas. This is intended as a contribution to a wider debate on the future of EU food systems.

Transforming EU Land Use and the CAP: A post-2024 vision

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