FAO’s 10 elements of agroecology: Guiding the transition to sustainable food and agricultural systems

Agroecology is integral to FAO’s Common Vision for Sustainable Food and Agriculture. It offers a unique approach to meeting significant increases in the future food needs. Agroecology is an integrated approach that applies ecological and social concepts and principles to the design and management of food and agricultural systems. These 10 elements set out the core principles.

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Agriculture and conservation

In 2021, IUCN launched the IUCN Flagship Report Series, to help demonstrate the importance of conserving nature for human well-being and all life on Earth. This report, the second in the series, focuses on agriculture and nature. The interactions, synergies, and tradeoffs between the two sit at the heart of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which calls for ending hunger and ensuring food security while also mandating the protection and restoration of nature. Whether the two can be achieved simultaneously, and if so how, are crucial questions for humanity and our planet. IUCN therefore explores the positive and negative relationships between agriculture and nature conservation and mobilises new modelling approaches to examine both imperatives within a range of realistic policies.

Farming with Biodiversity: Towards nature-positive production at scale

This WWF report is part their contribution to boosting nature-positive production at scale. The report outlines changes that are needed to create food systems that support rather than exploit nature, with a focus on agricultural production systems. It also feeds into the advocacy for the UNFCCC 26 (Climate CoP). The report highlights that nature positive production of food can and must be part of the solution for addressing biodiversity loss.

CBD Programme of Work on Agricultural Biodiversity

This CBD programme of work consists of four elements (assessment, adaptive management, capacity-building, and mainstreaming) and three cross-cutting initiatives (on conservation of pollinators, soil biodiversity, and biodiversity for food and nutrition). The programme of work identifies policy issues that governments can consider when addressing such matters, while considering various ways and means to improve the capacity of stakeholders and to promote the mainstreaming and integration of agricultural biodiversity into sectoral and cross-sectoral plans and programmes at all levels.

State of the Wildlife Economy in Africa (2021)

Natural resources and wildlife are traditionally seen as inputs and not as assets in a national economy. This approach has seen limited government resources being invested in the wildlife economy or allocated to supporting wildlife resources. If this is to change there is a need to illustrate to governments and other stakeholders the economic contribution of wildlife resources to local, national and regional economies. Too little is currently understood about this contribution.

Wildlife credit schemes

AFRICA’S WILDLIFE is a unique global asset but it is increasingly under threat.

Loss of habitat, conflict with humans, and illegal poaching are some of the factors that threaten the survival of rare and endangered species, including elephants, lions and rhinos.

To conserve wildlife for future generations, we need inspired ideas and urgent action.

WILDLIFE CREDITS is an innovative approach which rewards communities for protecting wildlife and creates opportunities for smart conservation where wildlife thrives and people prosper.

Wildlife Economy guides

Guidelines for the application of IUCN Red List of Ecosystems categories and criteria

The IUCN Red List of Ecosystems is a global framework for monitoring the status of ecosystems. It is part of the growing toolbox for assessing risks to biodiversity and aims to support conservation, resource use, and management decisions by identifying ecosystems most at risk of biodiversity loss. The basis of the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems is the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems Categories and Criteria, a set of eight categories and five criteria that provide a consistent method for assessing the risk of ecosystem collapse. These Guidelines assist correct implementation of the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems Categories and Criteria by providing information on the development of the protocol and a detailed overview of the scientific foundations supporting the categories and criteria.