Variety is the source of life
Agrobiodiversity benefits, challenges, and needs
For millennia, humankind’s food security and resilience were ensured by thousands of cultivated plant species, dozens of domesticated animal species, and the wider biodiversity from which they derive. But with the expansion of industrial agriculture and globalized standardized food systems, this long-running agricultural biodiversity has fallen steeply. Today, just three plant species account for half of all plant-based food calories, and only four animal species account for the vast majority of meat supplies. Looking ahead, restoring agrobiodiversity – the richness of what we cultivate, breed, consume, and conserve in the wild – is crucial to ensure resilient food systems against the backdrop of climate change. In particular, we must safeguard the livelihoods of the “guardians of agrobiodiversity”: approximately 500 million small farms across the world – particularly those in the global South. This factsheet outlines causes and consequences of agrobiodiversity loss, areas of promise, and options for policy and research.
Temi associati
The Tropentag is a development-oriented and interdisciplinary conference. It addresses issues of resource management, environment, agriculture, forestry, fisheries, food, nutrition and related sciences in the context of rural development, sustainable resource use and poverty alleviation worldwide.
Immagine: Valery Evlakhov, stock.adobe.com
Präsentationen und Podiumsdiskussion im Rahmen der Road to Bern Events
Immagine: CDE Peter Messerli
This Joint Funding Scheme (JFS) brings together Southeast Asian, European and Swiss researchers to collaborate on topics of interest for both sides. Apply before 15 October.
The ICCA report highlights the importance of recognising Indigenous peoples’ and local communities’ rights and governance systems for effective and equitable conservation.
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Im CDE Interview stellt Theresa Tribaldos Erkenntnisse aus der Nord-Süd Forschung zur gesamtheitlichen Betrachtung von Ernährungssystemen und deren Nachhaltigkeit vor.
Immagine: Foto: CDE
Swiss Academies Factsheets à la biodiversité
- Tackling climate change and biodiversity loss jointly
- Pesticides : répercussions sur l’environnement, la biodiversité et les services écosystémiques
- Achieving the SDGs with Biodiversity
- Apports excessifs d’azote et de phosphore nuisent à la biodiversité, aux forêts et aux eaux
- Biodiversity damaging subsidies in Switzerland
- Gene Drive: vantaggi, rischi e possibili applicazioni
- Variety is the source of life
- Biodiversity, a guarantee of health?
- Disparition des insectes en Suisse et conséquences éventuelles pour la société et l’économie
- Abeilles et autres pollinisateurs: importance pour l'agriculture et la biodiversité (2014)
- Les Alpes envahies par l’aulne vert (2013)
- Biodiversité et services écosystémiques à l'échelle mondiale et en Suisse (2012)
- Les coûts d'une protection conforme aux exigences légales des biotopes d'importance nationale
Swiss Academies Factsheets
- Tackling climate change and biodiversity loss jointly
- Pesticides : répercussions sur l’environnement, la biodiversité et les services écosystémiques
- Achieving the SDGs with Biodiversity
- Apports excessifs d’azote et de phosphore nuisent à la biodiversité, aux forêts et aux eaux
- Biodiversity damaging subsidies in Switzerland
- How can local populations be won over to protected areas?
- Gene Drive: vantaggi, rischi e possibili applicazioni
- Selezione vegetale – dall’incrocio classico all’editing genomico
- Small state, big companies
- Variety is the source of life
- Opportunités et conséquences d’une taxe d’incitation sur le CO2 prélevée sur les carburants
- Instruments pour une politique climatique et énergétique efficace
- Biodiversity, a guarantee of health?
- Open Science in Switzerland: Opportunities and Challenges
- L’importance nationale des collections suisses de sciences naturelles
- Governance of regional development
- Reverse emissions or influence solar radiation: Is “geoengineering” worthwhile, feasible and if so, at what price?
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- Ozone et smog estival: les changements climatiques menacent les succès d’aujourd’hui
- Factsheet «New plant breeding techniques for Swiss agriculture – significant potential, uncertain future»
- Stratégie énergétique et santé – ce dont il faudra tenir compte pour la mise en œuvre de la Stratégie énergétique 2050
- Making the Commodity Sector Work for Developing Countries - Local Impacts, Global Links, and Knowledge Gaps
- Switzerland and the Commodities Trade - Taking Stock and Looking Ahead
- Health and global change in an interconnected world - Concerns and responsibilities for Switzerland
- Harmoniser la politique énergétique et la protection du climat avec la qualité de l'air
- A Focus on fracking
- Parchi svizzeri e il valore aggiunto del turismo
- Abeilles et autres pollinisateurs: importance pour l'agriculture et la biodiversité (2014)
- Le piante geneticamente modificate e il loro significato per l’agricoltura svizzera
- Environmental changes and migration in developing countries
- Les Alpes envahies par l’aulne vert (2013)
- Food security for a planet under pressure – and the challenges for Switzerland
- Mountains, a priority for a planet under pressure and for Switzerland
- Water security for a planet under pressure – and the consequences for Switzerland
- Biodiversité et services écosystémiques à l'échelle mondiale et en Suisse (2012)
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