Mainstreaming Biodiversity across Agricultural Sectors

In response to biodiversity loss and its effect on agrifood systems, FAO’s Members have endorsed the Organization’s Strategy on Mainstreaming Biodiversity across Agricultural Sectors and the 2021-23 Action Plan for its Implementation and the Framework for Action on Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture. The Strategy, Action Plan and the Framework for Action aim to bring biodiversity-friendly practices to scale by integrating biodiversity in decision-making across policies, projects, economies and throughout society. By mainstreaming biodiversity, agrifood systems have the potential to make a significant contribution to biodiversity conservation, sustainable use, and restoration as stipulated in the Convention on Biological Diversity (and the Global Biodiversity Framework) and to the 2030 Agenda as a whole. 

The objective of the subprogramme is to support three countries (Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Madagascar and Uganda) to enhance biodiversity mainstreaming in policies and practices across the agricultural sectors at national and regional levels in a structured and coherent manner, taking into account national and regional priorities, needs, regulations and policies and country programming frameworks. 

The main beneficiaries of the subprogramme are the national governments and legislators responsible for biodiversity, food security and food and agriculture development in the selected countries. These include policy professionals (women and men) working in central government, across agricultural sectors (crops, livestock, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture), environment and other relevant ministries (climate change, finance, industry, health, foreign affairs, etc.), as well as other stakeholder groups who participate in policy processes in the three countries (representatives of farmers, pastoralists, forest dwellers and fisher folk, indigenous peoples and local communities, NGOs, CSOs, academia and private sector organisations). 

-   Output 1.

Three countries are supported in their update, development and/or alignment of policies relevant to biodiversity and the agricultural sectors (National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs), agricultural policies), taking into account potential synergies with commitments under the Rio Conventions. The three Rio Conventions— Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD); United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) — are intrinsically linked, operating in the same ecosystems and addressing interdependent issues.

-   Output 2.

Good practices and lessons learned in the update, development and/or alignment of policies relevant to biodiversity and the agricultural sectors, taking into account potential synergies with commitments under the Rio Conventions, are disseminated as case studies in view of informing similar initiatives in other Member countries.

-   Output 3.

Roadmaps are developed through wide multi-stakeholder consultations for the update, development and/or alignment of national and regional policies relevant to biodiversity and the agricultural sectors, and for their implementation.

Click here for the project document.