The Future of Sustainable Development and Agrobiodiversity: Essential for people and the planet

A sustainable future can’t happen without conserving biodiversity. Agrobiodiversity, likewise, is essential for resilient food systems and healthy people. Diversity in the field and in the landscape helps control pests, disease, and weather-related stress. Agrobiodiversity has emerged as a solution for food security and healthy diets for a growing population, as well as a successful strategy to mitigate climate change impacts. However, numerous studies point to a worrying decline in agrobiodiversity, particularly in regions rich in biodiversity but lacking in economic resources. In these regions, economic pressures drive land-use intensification and landscape simplification, which threatens agrobiodiversity. In Tanzania, for example, rising incomes results in increased demand for animal source products, which in turn could influence land-use change that damages agrobiodiversity. These negative impacts can be mitigated, research suggests by adoption of diversified farming strategies, improved crop techniques, and increased on-farm tree cover. Given its importance for both humans and the planet, agrobiodiversity must be prioritized as a way to achieve sustainable development goals. Scientists are employing foresight tools to better understand the future of agrobiodiversity and the potential impacts on achieving sustainable development goals. Because of the complexity of these systems, linking and integrating models helps unravel the factors influencing agrobiodiversity and the range of impacts on food systems and climate change. Despite advances in modeling, more work needs to be done to understand these complex systems and trade-offs, and the links between global impacts and regional decision-making. Learn more in the full brief.