Biodiversity Is Key to Sustainable Agriculture
Published: December 28, 2016
The need to protect biodiversity cannot be taken away from agricultural sectors if governments were to ensure sustainable development, food security, and the capacity to weather climate change.
This much was agreed on by 167 countries at the UN Biodiversity Conference (CBD COP13) which ended on 17 December in Cancun, Mexico.
There, governments agreed on specific steps to promote the integration of the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity within and across the agriculture, fisheries, forestry, and tourism sectors.
The Conference Declaration stresses that the international community must involve different governmental and economic sectors and not just environment ministries to protect biodiversity – the thousands of interconnected species that make up a vital web of ecosystem services upon which global food production depends.
“This is a turning point,” said Maria Helena Semedo, United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Deputy Director-General. “The agriculture sectors and biodiversity have often been regarded as separate and even conflicting concerns, yet they are inextricably connected. Agriculture is by nature a major user of biodiversity, but it also has the potential to contribute to its protection,” she added.