Biodiversity and Agriculture: Implications for Conservation and Development

For too long the agricultural and environmental communities have been at odds with each other over biodiversity when in act they share many concerns. Agriculture is often cast as a homogenization agent on the landscape, obliterating much of the biodiversity to make room for crops and livestock. Some agricultural practices also trigger downstream impacts on biodiversity, such as water pollution with agrochemicals. While it is true that agriculture has caused harm to the environment, agriculture is the key to saving biodiversity and farming livestock practices can be honed to minimize environmental damage. Agriculture and biodiversity are inter-linked. Without biodiversity, agriculture cannot progress. Biodiversity in both wild and managed habitats is a vital resource for crop and livestock improvement. And without improved agriculture, most of the remaining habitats for wildlife will be destroyed to make room for farms, plantations and ranches. Biodiversity is thus much more than the preservation of habitats for unique and interesting plants and animals. People in rural, and even urban, areas are intimately involved in using biodiversity to supply their needs. Most of the earth's surface has been transformed by human activities and how biological resources are treated in cultural landscapes will largely determine how much biodiversity survives in the next century. Both indigenous knowledge and scientific research are needed to meet the challenge of intensifying agriculture in an environment-friendly manner and understanding how the landscape mosaic of cultural habitats could contribute to conservation of biodiversity.