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Powered by Nature: The IFOAM Biodiversity & Eco-Intensification Campaign |
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Humans are part of nature’s rich diversity and have the power to protect it or destroy it. Biodiversity, the variety of life on Earth, is essential to sustaining the living networks and systems that provide us all with health, wealth, food, fuel and the vital ecosystem services that all our lives depend on. Human activity is causing the diversity to be lost at a greatly accelerated rate. These losses are irreversible, impoverish us all and damage the life support systems we rely on everyday – including nature’s ability to effortlessly capture and store carbon and avoid catastrophic climate change (adapted from cbd website).
Organic Agriculture (OA) contributes to biodiversity by prohibiting the clearance of primary ecosystems, integrating high levels of natural and agricultural biodiversity into the farming system and by avoiding toxic chemical inputs and genetically modified organisms that are harmful to all species. The prohibition of the clearing of primary ecosystems contributes to international efforts to halt deforestation and the other destructive land use changes such as the clearing of savannahs for soy production and the associated loss of ecosystem services – such as climate regulation.
As an ecosystem based sustainable production system OA relies on the utilization of biodiversity and the optimal utilization of ecosystem services. The use of these services is the key to the success of OA. To maximize multi-functional benefits OA utilizes ecological rather than chemical intensification. Ecological intensification optimizes the performance of ecosystem services. These services include pest and disease regulation, water holding and drainage, soil building, soil biology and fertility, nutrient cycling, nitrogen fixation, photosynthesis and carbon sequestration, multiple agricultural crop and animal species, pollination and others.
Eco-Intensification Campaign Activities
As the umbrella organization for the international OA movement and an observer to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), IFOAM is providing input into the UNEP Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity report for local policy makers which will be presented at the UN Biodiversity Conference in Japan in October 2010. IFOAM is a partner in CBD International Year of Biodiversity. IFOAM is also a participating partner in the biodiversity focused SuSCon 2010 conference in June, developing new material on the role of organic eco-intensification in enhancing biodiversity, ecosystem services and productivity and will hold a series of events around the globe to mark the international day of biodiversity - including the launch of position papers on seed and smallholder farms.
Convention on Biological Diversity CoP10 Nagoya – Japan
IFOAM is working with UNEP by contributing case studies to their Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity report for local policy makers which will be launched globally at the high profile CBD Conference in Japan in October 2010. IFOAM will be present in Nagoya to bring to the attention leaders the role of organic eco-intensification in protecting and enhancing biodiversity and ecosystem services and optimizing productivity.
Spearheading the New Green Economy
Faced with the growing threat from climate change governments have started focusing on the need to move towards a low-carbon economy, an economy that minimizes greenhouse gas emissions. There is a need and an opportunity to take this concept a step further towards a truly resource efficient economy- an economy that makes the best use of the biodiversity, ecosystems and resources available without compromising their sustainability (ref: teebweb.org/).
OA is at the forefront of the New Green Economy (or Global Green New Deal). The international OA movement has pioneered the development of markets for sustainable products that protect ecosystems. Millions of consumers around the world purchase certified organic products and many more grow exchange and purchase non-certified organic produce. The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) recognizes the role of OA in spearheading the New Green Economy. The support of OA is one of five UNEP recommendations for transforming the global economy.
While the market for organic products drives the uptake of farming systems that benefit biodiversity, there is great potential for OA to deliver these benefits more broadly. OA is an affordable system for protecting the biodiversity and ecosystem services upon which we all depend for our food supply - especially the world’s 1.5 billion small holder farmers whose livelihoods and their communities’ food security depend directly on their sustainable and productive use of ecosystems and biodiversity. IFOAM is also carrying out advocacy work with FAO, UNFCCC and other UN agencies; national governments and NGOs to increase the integration of OA practices into biodiversity, food security and climate change policies, programs, action plans and mechanisms.
IFOAM Guide to Organic Eco-Intensification – the science of optimizing biodiversity, ecosystem services and productivityOA consciously works with nature and ecosystems services to enhance the multi-functional performance of farming systems including biodiversity and community benefits. OA currently has similar yields to conventional agriculture and often much higher yields in regions of the world where production environments are tough and access to chemical inputs is limited. However there is great potential to significantly increase the productivity and biodiversity of organic farming systems through eco-intensification. Productivity and biodiversity and land use efficiency can be dramatically improved as can the optimization of eco-system services such as carbon sequestration. Farms can be evolved that maximize the balance between species that contribute to ecosystem services and those which also provide food and other outputs that benefit local people and the environment. IFOAM is developing a new publication in conjunction with partners that better describes and codifies eco-intensification. This will be an essential internal and external advocacy tool that will assist the uptake of farming practices that optimize the utilization, enhancement and protection of ecosystem services (including carbon sequestration and food production) and the quantity and quality of natural and agro-biodiversity. This publication will compliment the ‘IFOAM Guide Series’ which aims to bring the multi-functional benefits of OA to the attention of all stakeholders – including policy makers, science providers and consumers.
IFOAM Guides:Organic Agriculture & Biodiversity GuideOrganic Agriculture - a Guide to Climate Change & Food Security
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