Guidance tool: boosting biodiversity through agroecology
Industrial agriculture and food systems are a major driver of biodiversity loss. To address this, agroecology offers a promising pathway to fight against the biodiversity crisis through measures such as transitioning to ecological farming practices, nurturing diversity of seeds or reducing the use of polluting synthetic inputs. Discover our practical Guidance Tool «Boosting Biodiversity Action Through Agroecology». It contains practical advice on how to integrate agroecological principles and interventions into National Biodiversity Strategy or Action Plans.
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Our new Guidance Tool launched during COP16 in Cali (Colombia) - Boosting Biodiversity Action through Agroecology - underscores the importance of scaling out agroecological approaches in food systems to accomplish goals towards the protection and restoration of biodiversity.
The Guidance Tool (a report and an accompanying website) are co-produced by leading organizations, who collectively bring decades of experience working on food systems and biodiversity: the Global Alliance for the Future of Food, Biovision Foundation, WWF, Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, and the Agroecology Coalition.
Agroecology—the practice, science, and movement for a food system aligned with nature and people—offers a comprehensive pathway for countries to fulfill their commitments under the Global Biodiversity Framework and revise their National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs). Our Guidance Tool calls on governments to seize this opportunity to put food systems, specifically agroecological approaches, at the center of NBSAPs. Agroecology can protect and restore biodiversity while contributing to climate change mitigation, food security, and more resilient livelihoods.
Our Guidance Tool offers detailed recommendations on how countries can include agroecological interventions, from production to consumption, including supply chains, processing, and market incentives. Using case studies, it unpacks how decision-makers can implement strong policies, financing mechanisms, monitoring schemes and governance rules, while strengthening institutional capacity to ensure the NBSAPs deliver on their goals.
Industrial food systems are a primary driver of biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse, and soil and freshwater pollution. They threaten 86% of the 28,000 endangered wildlife species worldwide and have decreased crops and animal genetic diversity to a low point, with only 12 plants and 5 animals making up 75% of the world’s consumption.
Tackling biodiversity, climate, and ecological collapse requires a laser focus on transforming food systems — from production to consumption — and now is the moment to do so. We hope this Guidance helps to do just that.