On land as in water, there can be no food security without biodiversity: it allows plants and animals to reproduce and grow, adapt to natural and human-induced impacts, resist diseases and parasites, and continue to evolve. Aquatic biodiversity is the basis on which aquaculture can exist and grow sustainably.

Please join us at the launch of AquaGRIS, the world’s first public online database of farmed aquatic species and their wild relatives, developed by FAO in collaboration with countries, scientific experts and stakeholders through a consultative process spanning five years.  Watch the webcast 

Africa's culinary landscape is a rich tapestry of biodiversity and tradition, holding beneath its vibrant surface a treasure trove of forgotten foods.

Besta Pulum cannot contain his excitement about the tablet computer he is holding in his hands. “When I was young, I never saw that kind of computer. Now I’m seeing it; I didn’t sleep [from excitement],” says the community chief, who reckons his age at around 60. 

The First Session of the Ad Hoc Expert Team on Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture opened on 2 July 2024. The Expert Team was established by the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture in 2023 to review issues related to biodiversity for food and agriculture (BFA) and advise and make recommendations to the Commission on these matters.

The revised – unedited – draft of the Second Report on Forest Genetic Resources is now out for review. The Second Report builds on the first global assessment, published by FAO in 2014, and analyses the progress made in the implementation of the Global Plan of Action for the Conservation, Sustainable Use and Development of Forest Genetic Resources, adopted by the FAO Conference in 2013.

Land holds the past, present and future of humanity. Everything from nutritious food and thriving ecosystems to agricultural heritage and livelihoods rely on healthy and productive land. Yet every year, an average of 100 million hectares of land are degraded through unsustainable agriculture, urbanization and more frequent and prolonged droughts.

FAO celebrates the International Day of Potato 2024 with a special and an high-level event

Regional consultations on the review of the Second Global Plan of Action for Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture were held in Cali, Colombia from 21 to 23 May 2024. FAO National Focal Points for Plant Genetic Resources and National Focal Points to the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture from more than 20 countries from Latin America and the Caribbean gathered at the premises of the Alliance Biodiversity International & the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) to discuss priorities for the conservation and sustainable use of plant genetic resources.

The theme of this year’s International Day for Biodiversity is “Be Part of the Plan” - a rallying call to the public and diverse actors to support the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, endorsed in December 2022, and also known as The Biodiversity Plan. FAO is an integral part of this plan, as agrifood systems are a powerful channel for readily available and scalable solutions to conserving, restoring and sustainably using biodiversity.

Reviving and marketing ancestral agricultural food production practices.

Biodiversity and agriculture are inseparable. The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, or ‘The Biodiversity Plan’, adopted by countries in 2022, fully recognizes this close interdependence. The Biodiversity Plan sets out a pathway to a world living in harmony with nature by 2050, with more than half of its 23 targets relating to agrifood systems. FAO is playing an active role in supporting countries to implement these ambitious targets and its four Goals. In reality, FAO’s projects and initiatives relate to most of the Biodiversity Plan targets, with five topping the list.

The United Nations World Restoration Flagships are the most ambitious, promising or successful examples of large-scale ecosystem restoration, recognized in the context of the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. At least ten new flagships will be selected and announced in 2025. Apply before 31 May 2024 to join the #GenerationRestoration! 

The International Symposium Agriculture, Biodiversity and Food Security: From Commitments to Actions was held at the Quebec City Convention Centre, Canada, from April 30 to May 2, 2024. Jointly organized by Université Laval's École supérieure d'études internationales, the Ministère des Relations internationales et de la Francophonie (MRIF), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, the event brought together over 250 key players from the agricultural and agrifood sectors in 39 countries.

The FAO Biodiversity Knowledge Hub provides access to biodiversity-related resources developed by FAO. The aim is to strengthen countries’ capacity to mainstream biodiversity in agrifood sectors, implement the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals and achieve food security for all.

Can investing in people and nature effectively combat climate change? Absolutely! A sustainably managed forest generates multiple returns for people and the environment. Here's how deforestation-free cocoa and yerba mate help mitigate climate change, conserve Indigenous Peoples' knowledge, boost incomes and protect forests...

On 29 April 2024, a virtual event, co-organized with the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, will be held to raise awareness of the contribution of farmers’ varieties and landraces to food security and nutrition, highlight relevant initiatives and facilitate knowledge exchange among diverse stakeholders on their conservation and sustainable use.

The potato, an important crop that is consumed by over one billion people around the world, will be celebrated on 30 May 2024, the first-ever International Day of Potato. The theme will be: ‘Harvesting diversity, feeding hope’. The theme underscores the fact that with over 5 000 improved varieties, and farmers’ varieties/landraces of the crop, there are ample choices for the needs of diverse production systems, culinary preferences and industrial applications.

The agricultural sector - plant and animal production, fisheries, aquaculture, and forestry - depends on biodiversity and the ecosystem services it provides, but it is also the sector with the greatest influence on biodiversity. Through this call for submissions, stakeholders are invited to submit contributions on experiences and best practices, and concrete, scalable solutions concerning biodiversity and agriculture, in order to inform the International Symposium "Agriculture, Biodiversity and Food Security: From Commitments to Actions" – to be held in Quebec City, Canada, from April 30 to May 2, 2024 – and facilitate the development of recommendations.

Join FAO in marking the International Day of Forests on 21 March with a livestreamed event from FAO HQ in Rome to find out about some of the outstanding innovations that are helping to protect forests and unlock the many benefits they bring. New solutions are transforming forestry, allowing more accurate mapping and monitoring, empowering Indigenous Peoples to be the guardians of forests, promoting ecosystem restoration and driving the development of more sustainable wood and forest products.