In 2021, IUCN launched the IUCN Flagship Report Series, to help demonstrate the importance of conserving nature for human well-being and all life on Earth. This report, the second in the series, focuses on agriculture and nature. The interactions, synergies, and tradeoffs between the two sit at the heart of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which calls for ending hunger and ensuring food security while also mandating the protection and restoration of nature. Whether the two can be achieved simultaneously, and if so how, are crucial questions for humanity and our planet. IUCN therefore explores the positive and negative relationships between agriculture and nature conservation and mobilises new modelling approaches to examine both imperatives within a range of realistic policies.
Related Organizations
- Call number
- IUCN-NGW-002, En
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.2305/AMHX3737
- ISBN
- 978-2-8317-2309-9
- Imprint
- Gland, Switzerland : IUCN, 2024
- Monographic Series no
- 2
- Pages
- 184
- Physical Description
- xxvi, 154p. : ill., maps
- Published in
- IUCN
Table of Contents
- Overview of the contents 6
- Foreword by IUCN Director General 11
- Foreword by Agence Française de Développement 12
- Foreword by IKEA Foundation 13
- Foreword by Royal Commission AlUla 14
- Summary for decision-makers 15
- Key messages 21
- Acknowledgements 24
- Glossary 25
- Acronyms and abbreviations 28
- Part I 30
- 1 Introduction 31
- 1.1 Introducing agriculture and conservation 31
- 1.2 What is ‘agriculture’? What is ‘sustainable agriculture’? 33
- 1.3 What is ‘biodiversity’? What is ‘conservation’? 38
- 2 Influences of agriculture on biodiversity 45
- 2.1 Agriculture as a threat to living nature 46
- 2.1.1 Crop cultivation 49
- 2.1.2 Plantations 52
- 2.1.3 Livestock farming and ranching 53
- 2.1.4 Dams and water management 54
- 2.1.5 Invasive alien species 55
- 2.1.6 Nutrient loading 55
- 2.1.7 Soil erosion and sedimentation 56
- 2.1.8 Herbicides and pesticides 56
- 2.1.9 Climate change 57
- 2.1.10 Indirect agricultural impacts 57
- 2.2 Agriculture as a habitat for living nature 59
- 2.2.1 Agricultural habitat classes 60
- 2.2.2 Genetic agrobiodiversity 62
- 2.3 Minimising the threats from agriculture to biodiversity, and maximising the benefits 62
- 3 Influences of nature on agriculture 69
- 3.1 Provisioning services 71
- 3.1.1 Biomass production 71
- 3.1.2 Genetic materials 71
- 3.2 Regulating and maintenance services 73
- 3.2.1 Global climate regulation 73
- 3.2.2 Local climate regulation and climate resilience 73
- 3.2.3 Soil creation, transport, and retention 76
- 3.2.4 Soil characteristics and quality 77
- 3.2.5 Water quantity (supply) and flood regulation 79
- 3.2.6 Water quality 82
- 3.2.7 Pollination 84
- 3.2.8 Pest and pathogen control 86
- 3.3 Negative impacts of nature on agriculture 87
- 3.4 Overall importance of ecosystem services 88
- 4 Prospects for delivery of outcomes for agriculture and conservation 91
- 4.1 Methods 91
- 4.2 Efficiency frontier results 93
- 4.2.1 Current outcomes 93
- 4.2.2 Optimising for biodiversity 94
- 4.2.3 Country comparison 97
- 4.3 Summary 99
- 5 Policies for delivery of outcomes for agriculture and conservation 101
- 5.1 Agricultural policy 101
- 5.1.1 Current agricultural support 101
- 5.1.2 Linkages between agricultural support and threats to species from agriculture 102
- 5.1.3 Aligning agricultural support with conservation 105
- 5.1.4 Sustainable intensification 105
- 5.1.5 Organic production 107
- 5.1.6 Local governance 110
- 5.1.7 International financial assistance for agriculture and biodiversity 111
- 5.2 Food policy 114
- 5.2.1 Changing diet 114
- 5.2.2 Reducing food loss and waste 115
- 5.2.3 Local food systems 116
- 5.3 Conservation policy 118
- 5.3.1 Protected area expansion 118
- 5.3.2 Safeguarding Key Biodiversity Areas 118
- 5.3.3 Restoration of agricultural ecosystems 120
- 6 Key messages and conclusions 125
- 6.1 Key messages 126
- 6.2 Priorities for uptake of key messages across actors 129
- 6.3 Coda: sustainability for agriculture and biodiversity? 130
- Part 2 134
- Sustainability indicators of nature and conservation 135
- REFERENCES 143
- Annexes 172
- Annex 1: Methods and supplemental data to chapters, figures, and tables 173
- Chapter 4 Annex: Prospects for delivery of outcomes for agriculture and conservation 176
- Annex to 5.1.2: Linkages between agricultural support and threats to species from agriculture 181
