John, what does agroecology have to do with biodiversity?
Biodiversity is one of the 13 principles of agroecology and is therefore deeply rooted in it. Whoever practices agroecological agriculture promotes food systems that consider and respect ecological processes – and emphasize biodiversity as a very important part of these ecological processes and cycles.
You need to explain that in more detail.
Let’s take trees, shrubs, grasses or soil as an example. They are extremely important for the process of carbon storage. Agroecology focuses (among other things) on soil and plant diversity – in effect, biodiversity – that underlies fundamental ecological processes such as water and nutrient cycling, decomposition in soil structure, and many others. As you can see: Biodiversity and agroecology are extremely closely interwoven.
So whoever promotes agroecology also promotes biodiversity?
I wouldn’t make such a blanket statement, but yes, agroecology is an important force for countering biodiversity loss. Of importance regarding this topic at the international level is especially one of the three UN conventions from the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio. In addition to the topics of climate and desertification, the United Nations also discussed biodiversity at that time and adopted the CBD, short for the Convention on Biological Diversity.
And what does it say?
Quite a lot. First and foremost, it provides a global framework that identifies goals the global community wants to achieve. One of these goals is very important goal for agroecology: number ten, which deals with agriculture and food systems. In it, agroecology is explicitly stated by the United Nations as a solution, as a type of agriculture whose practises do not diminish biodiversity but rather protect it.
Dr. John Garcia Ulloa
Dr John Garcia Ulloah has been a member of Biovision’s policy and advocacy team since 2020. He is an environmental scientist from Colombia and holds more than ten years of experience in managing and implementing research and development projects in the tropics. His work focuses on understanding and influencing the drivers and policies that shape our food systems, as well as the impacts, benefits and interactions of food system transformation processes.
The United Nations framework is not binding though, right?
Individual countries have committed themselves to reaching the goals regarding climate, desertification and biodiversity. But they can decide for themselves how they want to achieve them. Some countries, for example, have managed to include support of intensive agriculture, which is not sustainable, in the national reports they have drawn up. That’s why it is not enough for agroecology to be included in UN documents. It must be explicitly included in national plans and laws. And this is precisely what the Biovision policy and advocacy team is working on.
How?
We are in contact with governments worldwide. We show them that one of the many advantages of agroecology is that it can help curb biodiversity loss and enable them to fulfil their international obligations. This is how we want to help more and more countries embed agroecology into their national biodiversity strategies.
What is needed for doing so?
On the one hand, it is important to advise individual governments when drafting their laws. We make it clear what policy options countries have for promoting agri-environmental measures, such as the development of organic standards or the promotion of community-managed seed banks. On the other hand, it is important that various organizations, NGOs and foundations in the field of agroecology form coalitions to influence states and governments even more successfully. In this area in particular, Biovision is a very important catalyst and is increasingly succeeding in giving agroecology advocates worldwide a voice in various committees. Nevertheless, it remains an enormous challenge to convince states of the benefits of agroecology.
Why?
It often fails for mundane reasons. For example, everything having to do with biodiversity and the climate is decided by the Ministry of the Environment. Everything concerning agriculture is decided by the Ministry of Agriculture. This is a problem that we often encounter: the information and our efforts for more agroecology in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture often don’t even make it to the Ministry of the Environment. The people responsible there often do not realise that agroecology would be a powerful tool for agriculture to counteract the loss of biodiversity. Knowledge transfer and cooperation is lacking between the ministries. We encounter this problem everywhere, not least here in Switzerland.
Why is it so important to make governments realise what benefits agroecology would have for a country’s biodiversity? Why is it not enough to talk about the benefits of sustainable agriculture?
Of course, our focus remains on agriculture. But agroecology is an ingenious concept because it combines different areas and thus creates added value. It is important to note that biodiversity does not just mean the diversity of plants and animals. The term is much broader and ranges from genetic diversity to species or ecosystem diversity. And the way in which we practise agriculture has an enormous influence on all these areas, be it negative or positive.
Biodiversity and its protection are a bit trendy at the moment, it seems. Does that also play a role?
Certainly not a decisive one, but it is true that a lot of money is being channelled into protecting biodiversity. The wider public is realising more and more how important biodiversity is for our planet – and how threatened it is currently. Cross-sectoral solutions – such as agroecology – provide a very good way of rethinking agriculture and food systems while at the same time safeguarding biodiversity.
