Mainstreaming Biodiversity to Guarantee Food Security and Nutrition

Maintaining biological diversity is important for producing food and to conserve the very foundation of life and rural livelihoods, FAO Deputy Director-General Maria Helena Semedo told participants in an international summit aimed at protecting biodiversity.

“Biodiversity is essential for food security and nutrition,” Semedo said at the opening High-Level Segment of the 13thSession of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

“It is needed to sustainably produce nutritious and abundant food and to adapt agriculture, forestry and fisheries to global challenges, such as climate change and growing populations,” she said. “Reducing the ecological footprint of agricultural sectors through sustainable practices will contribute to the conservation of biodiversity.”

She added “maintaining biological diversity in agricultural sectors is important for producing nutritious food, improving rural livelihoods and enhancing the resilience of people and communities.”

“If we want to transform the world, end poverty, reach zero hunger and ensure the lasting protection of biodiversity that humanity and its food systems depend on, then we have to respond through an all-inclusive effort that cuts across sectors and ministries,” she added.

Semedo cited agroecology as “an example of the transformation we need”.

“Agroecology, combining scientific research and local and traditional knowledge, allows the development of sustainable practices and improved knowledge about agricultural ecosystems,” she added.

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