For the success of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework, it will no longer be sufficient to seek to limit biodiversity loss through agriculture. Instead, agriculture must become an integral element of sustainable landscapes a force for conserving biodiversity and providing vital ecosystem services to local populations and securing livelihoods.
Trees on Farms (TonF) play a critical role in contributing to biodiversity conservation in agricultural landscapes through in-situ conservation, by connecting fragmented wild habitats and providing stepping-stones between protected area networks and conserving soil biodiversity and agrobiodiversity. TonF are one of the key nature-based solutions to the conservation and food production challenges we face as they also play a critical role in achieving sustainable, biodiversity friendly agricultural landscapes.
Tag: biodiversity
High-resolution maps show that rubber causes substantial deforestation
Understanding the effects of cash crop expansion on natural forest is of fundamental importance. However, for most crops there are no remotely sensed global maps1, and global deforestation impacts are estimated using models and extrapolations. Natural rubber is an example of a principal commodity for which deforestation impacts have been highly uncertain, with estimates differing more than fivefold1,2,3,4. Here we harnessed Earth observation satellite data and cloud computing5 to produce high-resolution maps of rubber (10 m pixel size) and associated deforestation (30 m pixel size) for Southeast Asia. Our maps indicate that rubber-related forest loss has been substantially underestimated in policy, by the public and in recent reports6,7,8. Our direct remotely sensed observations show that deforestation for rubber is at least twofold to threefold higher than suggested by figures now widely used for setting policy4. With more than 4 million hectares of forest loss for rubber since 1993 (at least 2 million hectares since 2000) and more than 1 million hectares of rubber plantations established in Key Biodiversity Areas, the effects of rubber on biodiversity and ecosystem services in Southeast Asia could be extensive. Thus, rubber deserves more attention in domestic policy, within trade agreements and in incoming due-diligence legislation.
A robust goal is needed for species in the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework
In 2010, Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) adopted the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020 to address the loss and degradation of nature. Subsequently, most biodiversity indicators continued to decline. Nevertheless, conservation actions can make a positive difference for biodiversity. The emerging Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework has potential to catalyze efforts to “bend the curve” of biodiversity loss. Thus, the inclusion of a goal on species, articulated as Goal B in the Zero Draft of the Post-2020 Framework, is essential. However, as currently formulated, this goal is inadequate for preventing extinctions, and reversing population declines; both of which are required to achieve the CBD’s 2030 Mission. We contend it is unacceptable that Goal B could be met while most threatened species deteriorated in status and many avoidable species extinctions occurred. We examine the limitations of the current wording and propose an articulation with robust scientific basis. A goal for species that strives to end extinctions and recover populations of all species that have experienced population declines, and especially those at risk of extinction, would help to align actors toward the transformative actions and interventions needed for humans to live in harmony with nature. © 2020 The Authors. Conservation Letters published by Wiley Periodicals LLC
Emission Reductions Program for Addressing Drivers of Deforestation and Forest Degradation: An Insight from the Terai Arc Landscape in Southern Nepal
As part of the REDD+ program, for the past decade, Nepal has been working with the World Bank’s Forest Carbon Partnership Facility on its Emission Reductions Program (ER-Program). The ER-Program was designed for a program area covering 13 districts in the Terai Arc Landscape. Approved in 2018, the Emission Reductions Program Document (ERPD) identified six major drivers of deforestation and forest degradation in the program area: unsustainable and illegal harvesting of timber and fuelwood; overgrazing; forest fires; encroachment and conversion of forest land for other land uses; resettlement; and infrastructure development. The ER-Program aims to address these drivers and help the conservation and enhancement of existing forest carbon stock through the sustainable management of forest resources. To do so, seven program interventions have been designed, ranging from localized and improved community-based forest management, through private sector engagement in the forestry sector and alternative energy promotion, to integrated land-use planning. The February 2021 Emission Reductions Payment Agreement (ERPA) between the Government of Nepal and the World Bank has paved the way for official implementation of these interventions on the ground. These interventions unlock the potentiality of up to USD 45 million in results-based payments for emission reductions of up to nine million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent by 2025. Accordingly, the ER-Program is expected to address the drivers of emissions-causing deforestation and forest degradation and enhance forest carbon stock, ultimately paving the way for results-based payments for future emissions reductions.
Technical Report on Site Based Research in Ghana and The Gambia: Land-seascape Food and Nutrition Profiles
Diversified food system strategies can improve food composition and income sources for women oyster harvesting communities dependent on seasonal fishery activities. This study focused on women shellfishers in Densu Estuary, Narkwa Lagoon, and Whin Estuary in Ghana and in Tanbi, Bulock, and Allahein estuaries in The Gambia, and to understand the status and opportunities for increasing the use of biodiversity to meet seasonal food and dietary needs. Research activities included site scoping assessments, 21 focus group discussions in Ghana (5) and The Gambia (16) and 356 random household interviews in Ghana (211) and The Gambia (145). In addition, data validation and feedback discussion meetings were conducted with communities across the six study sites. Overall, assembled data covered household livelihood characteristics, food production, food types, seasonality and expenditure attributes, tree planting, nurseries, species diversity and management, local food portfolios, and oyster and fisheries resource use challenges.
Impact of Mekong River biodiversity on the food culture of women and children in Prey Veng, Cambodia
Situated in the heart of the Mekong River basin, the biodiversity of Cambodian freshwaters is high, with around 475 fish species. Fisheries have shaped Cambodian culture, including traditional diets. Fish and other aquatic animals are the main and culturally preferred animal-source foods in a population vulnerable to food insecurity and malnutrition. The food culture of consuming fish with the bones and head is nutritionally valuable, providing high-quality nutrients. The objective of this study was to assess the consumption of fish and other aquatic animals among mothers and their young children, with details on species, types of processing, and parts consumed. We interviewed 100 mothers in Prey Veng Province, Cambodia, on fish and other aquatic animals consumed by themselves and their children (one child per mother) during the preceding rainy season. To support recall of fish consumption, we used 157 cards with pictures of fish and other aquatic animal species and 11 cards with processed fish. Our results showed that species diversity in mothers’ diets was higher than that of their children; on average, mothers and children consumed 69 and 14 species of fish, eight and one species of other aquatic animals, respectively, in the preceding rainy season. On average, mothers reported they knew of 113 fish species and 14 other species available in their surrounding environments. Consuming fish with the head and bones is common among mothers but not children. Our study showed that the rich biodiversity of aquatic animals in the Mekong River is reflected in the food culture of mothers, but not in children. Consequently, children in their most critical period, do not harness the nutritional benefits from the rich aquatic biodiversity. We suggest policymakers recommend feeding young children with a larger diversity of aquatic animals and promoting fish processing to allow young children to benefit from the rich aquatic diversity and their nutrient-rich parts.
Transforming food systems with trees and forests
The global food system is failing to deliver sufficient and nutritious food to all, while damaging the earth and unsustainably drawing down its resources. We argue that trees and forests are essential to solving these challenges. We outline the current contributions of trees and forests to the global food system and present recommendations to leverage these contributions as part of the efforts to reshape food systems to better support healthy diets and environmental sustainability. Trees and forests provide nutrient-rich foods, incomes for food security, ecosystem services for food production, and add resilience to food systems. At the same time, trees and forests protect biodiversity and mitigate climate change through carbon sequestration. We recommend four approaches to realise the full potential of trees and forests to contribute to healthy and sustainable food systems: scaling up current tree-based food production, reorientating some agricultural investments towards nutrient-dense food production, repurposing production incentives from support of calorie-rich but nutrient-poor foods to support nutrient-dense foods, and integrate nutrition objectives into forest conservation and restoration programmes. Trees and forests have important roles to play in the transformation of our food systems, but more needs to be done to ensure that these roles are realised.
Putting conservation efforts in Central Africa on the right track for interventions that last
Interventions in Africa designed to stop biodiversity decline have often failed because they were based on a top-down approach to management and focused on enforcing restrictive rules and imposing bans. They were equally misaligned with the values and needs of local actors. This paper presents an African perspective on the discourse regarding the bushmeat crisis and shows that bushmeat in Africa goes beyond being a source of livelihood, having a multifaceted use that must be considered when designing interventions. We show that current conservation initiatives often do not address the right issues, by neglecting nonmonetary dimensions of bushmeat use, inadequately planning interventions, failing to align wildlife laws with realities on the ground, and carrying out ineffective law enforcement characterized by poor governance and corruption. We recommend a revision of current legal frameworks to enhance local ownership, tenure rights, and the sustainable economic empowerment of local communities to reduce hunting. We also call for development of regionally led innovative programs that invest in nature-based solutions and payments for environmental services. Finally, we identify where more research is needed to understand why wildlife use in Africa is overlooked in national development policies and not considered in national accounting.
Trees as brokers in social networks: Cascades of rights and benefits from a Cultural Keystone Species
Indigenous trees play key roles in West African landscapes, such as the néré tree (Parkia biglobosa (Jacq.) R.Br. ex G.Don). We applied social–ecological network analysis to understand the social–ecological interactions around néré. We documented the benefits néré provides and the multiple social interactions it creates amongst a large range of actors. The flows of rights over the trees and benefits from them formed two hierarchical networks, or cascades, with different actors at the top. The two forms of power revealed by the two cascades of rights and benefits suggest possible powers and counter-powers across gender, ethnicity, and age. We documented how the tree catalyses social interactions across diverse groups to sustain vital social connections, and co-constitute places, culture, and relationships. We argue that a paradigm shift is urgently needed to leverage the remarkable untapped potential of indigenous trees and Cultural Keystone Species in current global restoration and climate change agendas.
Empowering Women for Shellfish Management, Food Security and Biodiversity Conservation in Estuarine Ecosystems of West Africa
This toolkit provides the first practical guide for the design and implementation of women’s shellfish co-management in West Africa.The toolkit aims to: Share the evidence base; Increase awareness; Equip stakeholders to adapt and apply successful approaches to co-management of shellfish by women in West Africa. This toolkit contributes to achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), The FAO Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication and USAID’s Global Food Security Strategy, Biodiversity Policy, and Gender Equality And Women’s Empowerment Policy.