Agriculture is the largest single source of environmental degradation, responsible for over 30% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, 70% of freshwater use and 80% of land conversion: it is the single largest driver of biodiversity loss (Foley et al. 2011, 2005; IPBES 2019; Willett et al. 2019).

Agriculture also underpins poor human health, contributing to 11 million premature deaths annually. While too many still struggle from acute hunger, a growing number of individuals, including in low and middle-income countries (LMICs), struggle to access healthy foods. Greater consideration for, and integration of, biodiversity in agriculture is a key solution space for improving health, eliminating hunger and achieving nature-positive development objectives.

This rapid evidence review documents the best available evidence of agriculture’s relationships with biodiversity, drawing on the contributions of leading biodiversity experts, and recommends actions that can be taken to move towards more biodiversity/nature-positive production through the delivery of integrated agricultural solutions on climate, biodiversity, nutrition and livelihoods. The analysis, which takes a whole-of-food-system approach, brings together a large body of evidence. It accounts for aspects not typically captured in a stand-alone primary piece of research, and indicates where there are critical gaps.

Facts and figures and Key findings include:

At least 10–20% of semi-natural habitat per km3 is needed to ensure ecosystem functions such as pollination, biological control and climate regulation, but today 20% of agricultural lands have less than 10% of such natural capital
Shifting to healthy, plant-rich diets could lead to a 20% decrease in the land needed to meet consumption demand, in line with the global goal of no net loss of nature by 2050
Restoring 15% of converted lands in priority areas could avoid 60% of expected extinctions
Regenerative agricultural practices have the potential to reduce CO2 emissions by 4.3–6.9 gigatonnes a year.

Sharing space with biodiversity is nothing new – it's been practiced traditionally by smallholder farmers for millennia through intercropping or other forms of regenerative agriculture. These include the maintenance of semi-natural/natural ecosystems within agricultural landscapes such as wetlands, hedgerows or perennial grass strips. But these diversified agroecological systems have become overwhelmed in recent decades by agro-industrial monocultures that deploy an excess of chemical inputs to maximize yield of a limited number of crops.

DeClerck, F. A. J.; Koziell, I.; Sidhu, A.; Wirths, J.; Benton, T.; Garibaldi, L. A.; Kremen, C.; Maron, M.; Rumbaitis del Rio, C.; Clark, M.; Dickens, Chris; Estrada-Carmona, N.; Fremier, A. K.; Jones, S. K.; Khoury, C. K.; Lal, R.; Obersteiner, M.; Remans, R.; Rusch, A.; Schulte, L. A.; Simmonds, J.; Stringer, L. C.; Weber, C.; Winowiecki, L. 2021. Biodiversity and agriculture: rapid evidence review. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE). 70p

/ agrobiodiversity / food systems / agricultural productivity / healthy diets / nutrition / livelihoods /
food security / food production / diversification / agroecology / ecosystem services / habitats /
environmental security / water quality / water security / climate change mitigation / resilience /
Sustainable Development Goals / policies / investment / agricultural landscape / soil fertility /
pollination / pest control / genetic diversity (as resource) / developing countries /