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This guidance document will be produced to assist countries in finding synergies between two important realms of international agreements: sound chemicals management and biodiversity conservation and sustainable use. We suggest that it can be used as countries are revising any of their strategies or policies related to these two realms, but in particular is oriented toward country revision, or to assist implementation, of their National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs), to help them attain a number of relevant Aichi Targets. It is intended to indicate where important synergies can be harvested, but is not meant to be prescriptive. The [...]

This Technical Guidance Document addresses the need for mainstreaming biodiversity and ecosystem services into agriculture, at the national level. More specifically, it is aimed to assist countries in developing and implementing their National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plans (NBSA Ps), to consider ecosystem services – and opportunities for their management – in agricultural production systems. Through an EU-funded project on “Capacity-building related to multilateral agreements (MEAs) in ACP countries (Phase 2)”, this document focuses on the East Africa region, and provides concrete examples and cases primarily from Kenya. The intention is that this document provides practical guidance to countries for building [...]

The Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR) approach, which is still in its nascent stages of development, is rapidly gaining attention as a more appropriate way to restore both degraded forests as well as the surrounding degraded landscape. The great value of this approach is that it integrates forest restoration actions with the desirable objectives of the landscape, and it is undertaken with the full participation of the people who will have a role in the management of the restored areas over the longer term. So, FLR brings together social, environmental and economic considerations in restoring the forests and lands, converse to [...]

Agriculture is feeding the world’s 7.3 billion people but at an unbearable social and environmental cost. Clayton Campanhola, Director of the FAO Plant Production and Protection Division, explains the need for sustainable food and agriculture on a global scale. He describes the FAO policy work, including key policy messages, to achieve this goal. See all videos in the Policy and Governance series :  AR  CH  EN   FR  RU  SP

The productivity and sustainability of agriculture, forestry and fisheries depend on healthy and biodiversity-rich ecosystems. Thomas Hofer, Team Leader of the FAO Forestry Department and Caterina Batello, Senior Officer with the FAO Plant Production and Protection Division explain the importance of ecosystem services and its contribution to food security. They describe the FAO policy work, including key policy messages, to achieve this goal. See all videos in the Policy and Governance series :  AR  CH  EN   FR  RU  SP

Since  the  effects  of  climate  change  are  already  being  felt,  incorporating adaptation  into agricultural policies, plans and investments is needed to maintain and enhance the benefits obtained from agriculture. Risk  management  strategies have  a  prominent  role  to  play  in adaptation,  ranging  from  increasing resilience  of  agro-ecosystems  through  better management  of  ecosystem services,  increasing  resilience of livelihoods through social protections policies to disaster risk response.

The provision of guidance for the quantitative assessment of biodiversity in livestock and other sectors is an emerging area of work. This document represents an initial step in which international experts with various backgrounds shared their views on biodiversity assessment. The general objective of this document was to develop principles applicable to different assessment methods in order to guarantee a minimum level of soundness, transparency, scientific relevance, and completeness. These principles can be used to identify crucial elements of livestock systems that affect biodiversity, to monitor changes and make improvements, and to produce assessment results for internal or external communication.

This publication addresses the need to strengthen the interface between the scientific community, knowledge-holders and policymakers, and build capacity for and strengthen the use of science and knowledge in policymaking on the topic of ecosystem services. With respect to the ecosystem service of pollination, FAO developed a protocol to identify and assess pollination deficits in crops – resulting in a global meta-analysis, with data from eleven countries. Results emerging from this endeavour give strong indication that pollination deficits may exist in a wide variety of farming systems across the world. As a response to this science, researchers and policymakers from [...]

The guidelines take account of the characteristics of different genetic resources for food and agriculture which face different challenges and opportunities in respect to climate change. The objectives of the guidelines are to promote the use of genetic resources for food and agriculture in climate change adaptation and support their integration into national climate change adaptation planning; to support the genetic resources experts and those involved in climate change adaptation to identify a nd address the challenges and opportunities of genetic resources for food and agriculture in adaptation; and to promote the involvement of genetic resources stakeholders in the national [...]

The selection of the spatial area designated for aquaculture development and careful selection of farm sites are essential first steps to ensure the success and sustainability of aquaculture. They should be carried out in accordance with the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, (CCRF) and the Ecosystem Approach to Aquaculture (EAA) FAO Technical Guidelines for Responsible Fisheries, No. 5, Suppl. 4. Rome, FAO. 53 pp.