IUCN flagship report calls on countries to rethink agricultural and conservation policies to help protect biodiversity and deliver food for humanity

The Complex Relationship Between Agriculture and Conservation

The assessment of these policies is included in the new report, which comprehensively explores the complex relationship between agriculture and conservation and offers a holistic and nuanced look at how the world can best feed its people while at the same time protecting critical natural habitats and species.

Importance of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

“We know that we cannot achieve conservation goals without considering agriculture, and this report shows us that we can find ways to conserve nature while ensuring that people are fed, and local economies are strong. The way that most agriculture is practiced has a major impact on the extinction crisis that our planet is facing,” said IUCN Director General Dr Grethel Aguilar. “Over a third, or 37%, of the world’s lands are devoted to agriculture. This poses both significant threats and opportunities to the protection of our natural biodiversity. Healthy nature means better agriculture, and sustainable agricultural practices means a more resilient planet. One cannot thrive without the other.”

Key Findings of the Report

• 34% of species on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ are directly threatened by agriculture due to the conversion of natural habitats to croplands, pasturelands, and plantations.
• Additional species are threatened by indirect agricultural impacts such as overconsumption of freshwater, introduction of invasive alien species, pollution from soil erosion, nutrients, agrochemicals, and climate change.
• 17% of species have agroecosystems documented as a habitat.
• The amount of agricultural support by countries is positively correlated with the number of species threatened by agriculture.

Realigning Agriculture and Conservation

The flagship report finds that realigning agriculture and conservation does not have to come at the expense of food production or economic returns. Better land use and management can ensure improvements in biodiversity, climate, and economic objectives. However, achieving these changes requires rearranging landowner and stakeholder incentives through programs like payments for ecosystem services, changes in laws and regulations, or other institutional mechanisms. Implementing policies aimed at protecting biodiversity and promoting healthy ecosystems could increase global GDP by USD 150 billion annually, while continuing with business-as-usual approaches could cost the economy upwards of USD 100 billion per year.

“The debate over how to balance agriculture and conservation is complicated, nuanced, and often country specific. In some cases, protecting land from agriculture is the best policy, while in others it is to make agricultural lands more friendly to wildlife. But what we do know is that governments often support agricultural production systems that can be harmful to species and habitats. This support should be repurposed towards incentivising conservation and sustainable management of nature, which can benefit biodiversity, food production, climate, and economic objectives,” said IUCN Deputy Director General Stewart Maginnis.

Case Studies and IUCN Initiatives

The report includes 15 case studies from countries like Vietnam, Guatemala, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, and the Republic of Korea. These case studies highlight the importance of location-specific solutions and the need for broader reforms to food policy, such as minimizing food waste and incentivizing positive changes in diets, to advance conservation goals.

The report comes alongside IUCN’s move to establish a dedicated Food and Agricultural Systems team at its headquarters in Gland, Switzerland. It also builds upon previous reports and resolutions on agriculture and food systems by IUCN.

Supporting Quotes

Agence française de développement (AFD)

“This IUCN flagship report provides a comprehensive overview on the interlinkages between biodiversity and agriculture as well as recommendations to engage towards a more sustainable pathway that combine food security and biodiversity conservation at a global scale.”

IKEA Foundation

“‘Agriculture and Conservation’, the second report in the IUCN flagship series ‘Living Nature in a Globalised World’, is an ambitious and a milestone report by IUCN. The report synthesises a wide range of knowledge across different elements of agriculture and ecosystems management. Achieving the fine balance between protecting the planet and feeding the world is only possible with improved knowledge of ecosystems and species, and increased adoption of sustainable practices such as regenerative and climate-smart agriculture.”

IUCN experts

“The IUCN flagship report breaks new ground in drawing from data based on IUCN Standards – including the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, Red List of Ecosystems, Protected Planet, and World Database of Key Biodiversity Areas – to provide novel insights into agricultural sustainability. For example, it produces, for the first time, a Red List Index for the impacts of agriculture, which reveals that changing agricultural practices over the last three decades have driven a 1% deterioration in extinction risk – crucial information for supporting countries in tracking progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 2.4 on sustainable food production. Further, it finds that overall, more than 45% of the global need and opportunity to reduce species extinction risk rests with how agriculture is implemented, as calculated from the STAR metric derived from the IUCN Red List.””

“The IUCN flagship report ‘Agriculture and Conservation’ examines how the world can feed humanity while also protecting and restoring living nature. Our ability to address these dual challenges is critical, as agriculture very fundamentally depends on nature but is also a leading threat to biodiversity. The report shows that achieving both food production and conservation objectives is possible, but few one-size-fits-all answers are available. Rather, successful solutions will vary by location, scale, and production system. One important line of action involves reforming agricultural policies to support conservation and the restoration of living nature. Trade-offs are unavoidable, ranging from ecological to economic and social, and addressing them effectively will be key to ensuring successful transition towards sustainable agriculture.”      

“IUCN included Food Systems and Sustainable Agriculture as one the eight transformations to be addressed through its draft 20-year vision and 2026-2029 programme currently under consultation ahead of approval at the World Conservation Congress in 2025, in recognition of its major importance for conservation outcomes and the Sustainable Development Goals as a whole. This report is a major tool for IUCN members, commissions, and my team in the secretariat to engage with key food and agricultural systems stakeholders and advocate for the necessary changes in public and private policy and financial flows that will lead to changes in production and consumption practices and the desired outcomes at landscape level.”

SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

SDGs

• SDG 2: Zero Hunger
• SDG 14: Life Below Water
• SDG 15: Life on Land

Targets

1. Target 2.4: By 2030, ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and production, that help maintain ecosystems, that strengthen capacity for adaptation to climate change, extreme weather, drought, flooding, and other disasters, and that progressively improve land and soil quality.
2. Target 14.2: By 2020, sustainably manage and protect marine and coastal ecosystems to avoid significant adverse impacts, including by strengthening their resilience, and take action for their restoration in order to achieve healthy and productive oceans.
3. Target 15.5: Take urgent and significant action to reduce the degradation of natural habitats, halt the loss of biodiversity, and, by 2020, protect and prevent the extinction of threatened species.

Indicators

1. Indicator 2.4.1: Proportion of agricultural area under productive and sustainable agriculture
2. Indicator 14.2.1: Proportion of national exclusive economic zones managed using ecosystem-based approaches
3. Indicator 15.5.1: Red List Index

The issues highlighted in the article are connected to several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) is addressed as the article discusses the need to feed people while protecting natural habitats and species. SDG 14 (Life Below Water) is relevant as the article mentions the impact of agriculture on marine and coastal ecosystems. SDG 15 (Life on Land) is also addressed as the article focuses on the relationship between agriculture and conservation.

Based on the article’s content, specific targets under these SDGs can be identified. Target 2.4 aims to ensure sustainable food production systems and resilient agricultural practices. Target 14.2 focuses on sustainably managing and protecting marine and coastal ecosystems. Target 15.5 aims to reduce the degradation of natural habitats and prevent the extinction of threatened species.

The article mentions indicators that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets. Indicator 2.4.1 measures the proportion of agricultural area under productive and sustainable agriculture. Indicator 14.2.1 measures the proportion of national exclusive economic zones managed using ecosystem-based approaches. Indicator 15.5.1 measures the Red List Index, which indicates the impacts of agriculture on species extinction risk.

Source: iucn.org