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FAO: global biodiversity gradually disappearing
22.02.2019 22:38 "Agro Perspectiva" (Kyiv) —
As of today, FAO (UN Food and Agriculture Organization) has issued its first-ever report on global biodiversity State of the World’s Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture, FAO reports.
It is to be admitted, the report presents a growing and worrying evidence that the biodiversity that supports our food systems is disappearing - putting the future of our foods, livelihoods, health and environment under a severe threat.
The report reminds that the biodiversity for foods and agriculture (i.e. all the species that support our foods systems and sustain the people who grow and/or provide our food) cannot be recovered.
As to the report, the Biodiversity for food and agriculture is all the plants and animals - wild and domesticated - that provide foods, feeds, fuel and fibre. It is also the myriad of organisms that support foods’ output through ecosystem services - called «associated biodiversity». This includes all the plants, animals and micro-organisms (such as insects, bats, birds, mangroves, corals, seagrasses, earthworms, soil-dwelling fungi and bacteria) that keep soils fertile, pollinate plants, purify water and air, keep fish and trees healthy, and fight crop and livestock pests and diseases.
The report looks at all these elements. It is based on information provided specifically for this report by 91 countries, and the analysis of the latest global data.
The FAO report calls on governments and the international community to do more to strengthen enabling frameworks, create incentives and benefit-sharing measures, promote pro-biodiversity initiatives and address the core drivers of biodiversity loss. The report also highlights the role the general public can play in order to reduce pressures on biodiversity for foods and agriculture.
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