Ecoagriculture: Integrating Agriculture and Biodiversity Conservation – A Landscape Perspective

1. Ecoagriculture: Integrating Agriculture and Biodiversity Conservation – A Landscape Perspective Sara J. Scherr President, Ecoagriculture Partners Biodiversity Conservation in Agriculture Symposium Punta Cana, Dominican Republic May 31, 2006

2. Managing and Conserving Biodiversity: Our ‘Natural Infrastructure’ Watershed protection and regulation Wild species & habitat protection Plant pollination Carbon sequestration and storage Soil formation and fertility Decomposition of wastes Landscape beauty

3. Importance of Agricultural Landscapes for Biodiversity Conservation

4. Population in Global Biodiversity Hotspots Population in Global Biodiversity Hotspots

5. Dominance of Agricultural Land Use in Major Habitat Types Our Vision

6. Importance of Biodiversity for Agricultural Communities Our Vision • Direct consumption of wild foods, medicines and fuel (and “safety net”) • Farm inputs: wild spp as fodder, fertilizer, packaging, fencing • Income from sale of wildlife, ecosystem services • Crop/stock genetic diversity • Local ecosystem services: water, pollination, soil fertility, pest & disease control, nutrient cycling

7. Agriculture is a key element of rural food security and poverty reduction (UN Millennium Project) Agricultural product demand is growing: 50-100%+  LDC food demand by 2030 Ecological degradation threatens agricultural productivity, livelihoods, health and assets of the poor (Millennium Assessment) Future Trends in Agricultural Landscapes: The Urgency of Integrated Action

8. Example of the Challenge: Lake Victoria Basin, E. Africa Our Vision Agricultural Lands and Habitat

9. Strategic Partnerships Required Between Conservationists and Farm Communities • Producers in, around & linking PA’s • Agricultural regions that are key providers of for biodiversity and ecosystem services • Degraded areas where ecosystem restoration is essential for both biodiversity & production • Agriculture in and around urban areas

10. Ecoagriculture Our Vision Agricultural landscapes where farms and natural areas are managed to enhance rural livelihoods and sustainable agricultural production (of crops, livestock, fish and forest), while conserving or restoring ecosystem services and biodiversity. Putting food security at the heart of conservation; Putting conservation at the heart of food security…

11. Motivations of Farmers and Communities Who Engage in Ecoagriculture • Reduce production costs, raise or • stabilize yields, improve quality • 2) Conserve biodiversity critical to • their own livelihoods • 3) Access product markets seeking • biodiversity-friendly sources • 4) Earn payments for ecosystem • services • 5)Comply with env. regulations • 6) Protect rights to farm/herd/harvest wild products in PA’s • 7) To reduce conflicts with other groups in the landscape • 8) Protect important cultural, spiritual or aesthetic values

12. Developing and Managing an Ecoagriculture Landscape

13. Inter-Dependence of Agriculture, Ecosystems and Livelihoods Our Vision Wild biodiversity Some ecosystem processes and functions help to maintain wild biodiversity. Conservation of biodiversity and ecosystem services • Ecosystem process & function, such as: • Primary production • Decomposition • Nutrient cycling • Gene flow & evolutionary processes • Hydrology Some ecosystem processes and functions benefit humans directly;. These are ecosystem services. Ecosystem services • Beneficial services within landscape, such as: • Pollination • Pest control • Soil fertility • Water quality • Community and household-level benefits such as: • Protection of natural capital • Wild foods, fuel, medicines • Compensation payments for ecosystem services • Beneficial services outside landscape, such as: • Carbon sequestration • Flood protection • Habitat for valued species Sustainable agricultural production Sustainable livelihoods

14. What Wild Species Need in Agricultural Landscapes • Nesting sites: undisturbed areas • Protective cover: diverse perennial cover • Adequate, clean water: few pollutants, source flow/recharge, water access • Access to territory: functional corridors • All-season food access: diverse food sources • Predator-prey balance: diversity, protection • Interdependent species: patches of natural vegetation, avoid unnecessary disturbance How can agricultural landscapes provide these features, while increasing production?

15. Science Supporting Ecoagriculture • Scientific advances in agroecology, wildlife biology, molecular biology, genetics, hydrology • New research techniques (e.g., remote sensing, systems modeling, biochemical markers) • New tools for ecosystem and landscape analysis • Improved methods for on-farm and landscape-scale action research • New tools to assist multi-stakeholder diagnosis, negotiation, planning and assessment

16. Emerging Principles 1: Terrestrial Habitats • Maintain natural vegetation with adequate patch size and connectivity (depends on sinks, ecological traps, location, configuration, edge effects, boundary zones, ecological compatibility of production areas) • Protect natural fragments that serve as critical habitat on/off farm from anthropic disturbance • Retain tree cover on farms for connectivity • Harvest wild products from natural habitats using low-impact, sustainable methods • Ensure farmers and communities benefit from stewardship of conserved areas

17. Emerging Principles 2: Freshwater Habitats • Maintain or restore native vegetation buffers (in US- width of 25 meters for nutrient and pollutant removal; 30 m for microclimate regulation and sediment removal; 50 m for detrital input and bank stabilization; over 100 m for wildlife habitat functions) • Protect wetlands and maintain critical function zone in natural vegetation (In US- at least 10% of watershed and 6% of any sub-watershed) • Re-establish hydrological connectivity & natural patterns of aquatic ecosystems (incl. flooding) • Protect watersheds with spatial configuration of perennial natural, planted vegetation • Maintain continuous year-round soil cover to enhance rainfall infiltration

18. Emerging Principles 3: Ecologically Compatible Agricultural Production – Intensification without Simplification • Reduce agricultural pollution • Manage pests, diseases, nutrients using ecological principles • Minimize run-off of toxic chemicals, nutrients and wastes • Ecologically manage soil,water,natural vegetation • Maintain biologically healthy soils, and year-round soil cover • Time operations to minimize disturbance to wild species • Manage irrigation systems to save water for wildlife • Use crop mixtures and configurations that mimic the structure and function of natural habitats • Ensure diverse crop mix at a landscape scale • Ensure diverse mix of varieties/breeds at a landscape scale • Use mix of annual and perennial crops that mimic natural vegetation • Maintain diverse land use mosaic • Improve productivity to free other areas of the farm or landscape for nature protection

19. Emerging Principles 4: Achieving Positive Synergies for Agricultural Production • Increase input efficiency • Enhance biological and ecological synergies • Improve spatial organization of land use • Manage wild species to benefit farming • Economies of scale through collective action • Substitute natural capital for financial capital

20. Building on Traditional Production Systems: Multi-Species Agroforests in Indonesia • Benefits:- 70-90% of species • of natural forests • 4 million ha in Indonesia • - Many commercial spp • Mosaic with rice • $2 billion value of • rubber agroforests alone

21. Building on Industrial Production Systems: Biodiversity and Wine Initiative, S. Africa • Benefits: • No loss of habitat • Ecologically compatible practices • Reduced cash costs • Link to market brands and • agri-tourism

22. Institutional Challenges to Implement Ecoagriculture • Collective action within communities • Multi-stakeholder landscape forums • Cross-sectoral knowledge-sharing and research • Marketing chains for biodiverse products • Institutions developed for PES • Coordinated agriculture-conservation policy • Supportive tenure systems for farmland and PAs

23. Building Ecoagriculture Communities of Practice

24. 1) Understand How Ecoagriculture Works • Document Cases of Ecoagriculture • Monitor Ecoagriculture Landscapes • Mobilize Ecoagriculture Research

25. 2) Promote Learning Among • Ecoagriculture Innovators • Community Ecoagriculture Knowledge Service • Ecoagriculture Leadership Course • Ecoagriculture Working Groups

26. 3) Promote Policies and Markets that Support Ecoagriculture • Int’l and National Policies Incorporate Ecoagriculture (incl. MDGs, MEAs) • Product Market • Innovations • Payments for Ecosystem • Services in Ecoagriculture • Landscapes

27. Thank you! For more information….. www.ecoagriculture.org