The State of the World's Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture

1. Biodiversity is essential to food and agriculture 2. Multiple interacting drivers of change are affecting biodiversity for food and agriculture 3. Biodiversity for food and agriculture is declining 4. The use of many biodiversity-friendly practices is reported to be increasing 5. Enabling frameworks for the sustainable use and conservation of biodiversity for food and agriculture remain insufficient What needs to be done? Knowledge of the roles of biodiversity in the ecological processes that underpin food and agricultural production needs to be strengthened, and used to develop management strategies that protect, restore and enhance these processes across a range of scales. Establishing effective policy and outreach measures will be needed to support the uptake of management practices that sustainably use biodiversity to promote food and livelihood security and resilience. Over the years, the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture has overseen the development of global plans of action for genetic resources in the plant, animal and forest sectors. Implementation of these instruments needs to be stepped up. Consideration also needs to be given to how the international community can more effectively promote synergies in the management of all components of biodiversity, across these sectors and others, in the interests of a more sustainable food and agriculture.