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This book presents the current state of thought on the common path of sustainable diets and biodiversity and addresses the linkages among agriculture, health, the environment and food industries. The alarming pace of biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation and their negative impact on poverty and health makes a compelling case for re-examining food systems and diets. Thus, there is an urgent need to develop and promote strategies for sustainable diets, emphasizing the positive role of food biodiversity in human nutrition and poverty alleviation. Sustainable Diets are those diets with low environmental impacts which contribute to food and nutrition security and to [...]

Le modèle actuel d’intensification de la production ne permet pas de relever les défis du nouveau millénaire. Il va falloir apprendre à produir plus avec moins. Le présent ouvrage presente un nouveau modèle: l’intensification durable des cultures, qui permet d’accroître la production sur une même superficie tout en préservant les ressources, en réduisant l’impact négatif sur l’environnement et en améliorant le capital natural et le flux des services environnementaux.

The report examines: the role of Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) in agriculture; the relevance of the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD) agri-environmental measures for PES; opportunities and gaps in PES implementation and key areas for further investigation; cost-effective targeting of PES; social and cultural drivers behind the success of PES; landscape labelling approaches to PES through bundling services, products and stewards; enabling conditions and complementary legislative tools; and PES within the context of a green economy. The report includes case studies on: PES and eco-certification in Kenya; geographic indication certification in Ukraine; PES in Tanzania; PES and rubber [...]

This report describes the current status of the conservation and use of Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (PGRFA) throughout the world. It is based on country reports, information gathering processes, regional syntheses, thematic background studies and published scientific literature. It describes the most significant changes that have taken place since the first SoW report was published in 1998 and describes major continuing gaps and needs. The structure follows that of the first SoW report with an additional chapter on the contribution of PGRFA to food security and sustainable agricultural development. By the FAO Commission on Genetic Resources for Food [...]

Livestock contribute 40 percent of the global value of agricultural output and support the livelihoods and food security of almost a billion people. Rapidly rising incomes and urbanization, combined with underlying population growth, are driving demand for meat and other animal products in many developing countries. These changes and the speed with which they are occurring have created systemic risks for livelihoods, human and animal health and the environment. To meet the challenges and constraints of the twenty-first century, the livestock sector requires appropriate institutions, research, development interventions and governance that reflect the diversity within the sector and the multiple demands [...]

La situation mondiale de l’alimentation et de l’agriculture 2007 tente de déterminer comment l’agriculture pourrait fournir davantage de services environnementaux, en plus de la production de denrées alimentaires et de fibres. La conclusion qui s’en dégage est que la demande de services environnementaux fournis par le secteur agricole – notamment l’atténuation des effets du changement climatique, l’amélioration de la gestion des bassins versants et la préservation de la diversité biologique – continuera d’augmenter à l’avenir, et qu’il faut par conséquent prendre des mesures incitatives plus adaptées pour encourager les agriculteurs à modifi er leurs pratiques agricoles, de sorte que le secteur agricole puisse répondre à [...]

The rules and enforcement mechanisms that guide and coordinate people’s behaviour have become central issues in international development co-operation. Understanding the governance framework is a precondition for successful projects and programmes also when dealing with sustainable management of natural resources. At GTZ we have been working in this area long before this term came to the fore. Not incidentally, governance is GTZ’s annual theme in 2004. Relative to purely technical aspects, the political and the institutional dimensions of our practical work have grown to be more and more prominent. Hence, it seems to me all the more important to share [...]