Multi-stakeholder Dialogue on Biodiversity Mainstreaming across Agricultural Sectors

Multi-stakeholder Dialogue on Biodiversity Mainstreaming across Agricultural Sectors

29-31 May 2018 FAO Headquarters, Rome, Italy 

Biodiversity Mainstreaming Platform

The UN Biodiversity Conference, held in December 2016 in Cancun, Mexico, reiterated its invitation to governments to use FAO’s guidance related to biodiversity and agriculture, fisheries, and forestry.

In addition, the UN Biodiversity Conference resulted in significant commitments for action on biodiversity to contribute to the achievement of the SDGs. Through the Cancun Declaration on Mainstreaming the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biodiversity for Well-Being, countries committed to work within their governments and across all sectors to mainstream biodiversity through multiple actions.

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), in its COP Decision XIII/3, welcomed the Biodiversity Mainstreaming Platform launched by FAO to build bridges between sectors, identify synergies, align goals and develop integrated cross-sectoral approaches to mainstream biodiversity in the agriculture, forestry and fisheries sectors, and invited FAO and its Governing and Statutory Bodies to consider and support the development and implementation of measures, guidance and tools to promote this. The outcome of the CBD COP 13 was brought to the attention of the 40th Session of FAO Conference which welcomed FAO’s initiative to act as Biodiversity Mainstreaming Platform and requested FAO to facilitate, in collaboration with its partners, such as the CBD and other UN organizations, the integration in a structured and coherent manner of actions for the conservation, sustainable use, management and restoration of biological diversity across agricultural sectors at national, regional and international levels.

The ultimate goal of the Platform is to promote and facilitate the adoption of good practices across all agricultural sectors that will support the conservation and sustainable use and management of biodiversity and increase the productivity, stability and resilience of production systems in an integrated approach. This will also require better coordination among the different agricultural sectors as none of the sectors may be able to address biodiversity in isolation. Addressing particularly SDGs 2, 14 and 15, the Platform has the objective of mainstreaming biodiversity through:

  • Facilitating dialogue among governments, communities of practice and other stakeholders;
  • Facilitating the exchange of information and data on biodiversity and biodiversity-friendly agricultural practices and policies among stakeholders;
  • Translating knowledge into policy-related actionable recommendations for consideration by FAO’s Governing and Statutory Bodies.