Agricultural biodiversity in FAO

FAO’s goal is to alleviate poverty and hunger by promoting sustainable agricultural development, improved nutrition and food security, and the access of all people at all times to the food they need for an active and healthy life. The importance of biological diversity for food security was reconfirmed in commitment No.3 of the Rome Declaration on Food Security made at the World Food Summit held in Rome in 1996. FAO is actively promoting the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity for food and agriculture.

FAO provides intergovernmental fora where biodiversity-related policy is discussed and relevant agreements negotiated and adopted by member countries. The International Plant Protection Convention, the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries and the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources adopted in 2001, are examples of such agreements. FAO assists in the implementation of the Global Plan of Action on Plant Genetic Resources and the Global Plan of Action for Animal Genetic Resources, adopted under the aegis of FAO’s Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (CGRFA) in 1996 and 2007, respectively.

The Organization manages a broad range of programmes and activities to enhance sustainable agricultural systems and management practices, for example the promotion of mixed agricultural systems such as rice-fish farming and agroforestry; participatory training for integrated pest management; pollination management; advice on soil and water conservation; and promotion of technologies and management options of grasslands and forage resources in arid, semi-arid and humid tropical ecosystems.

FAO also addresses legal and economic aspects of agricultural biodiversity, and seeks to capitalize on its multidisciplinary expertise through an integrated approach to biodiversity conservation and sustainable use. Through its work as a specialized UN organization, FAO assists countries in the implementation of biodiversity-related agreements of relevance to food and agriculture. These include the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA), the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), and the Convention to Combat Desertification (CCD).

The leading role of FAO is recognized in these international fora and FAO contributes actively to the development of international plans and programmes in this area. The Conference of the Parties (COP) to the CBD has recognized the “specific nature of agricultural biodiversity and its distinctive features and problems requiring distinctive solutions”, and the leading role of FAO in agricultural biodiversity, including leading support to the programme of work on agricultural biodiversity (Decision V/5 Nairobi 2000).