Biodiversity and Agro Biodiverstiy

This publication is a section of the WHH position paper on rural development.

Biodiversity and agro biodiversity are of fundamental importance to sustainable food security. The multitudes of life in fields, meadows, forests, rivers and lakes, on the coasts and in the oceans are essential to human survival, whether directly utilised or not. Biodiversity and agro biodiversity are the basis of the ecosystem services which nature provides. The wide range of natural income sources, the contribution of ecosystems to the purification of air and water and the reservoir of medical substances are all examples of these services.

The destruction of natural habitats and the related loss of species of plants, animals and microorganisms is a cause for great concern. The variety of human food is reduced to a few species of plants and animals and the loss of diversity within the different species of crops and domestic animals limits our possibilities of reacting to food security challenges.