ACB chief: Consider biodiversity in food systems, gardening trends

The Asean Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) recently called for creative and innovative ways to integrate nature considerations into agriculture, fisheries and even in urban gardening in order to simultaneously conserve nature and boost the resilience of food systems.

“Among the ecosystem services that humans derive from biodiversity are food and nourishment. However, coupled with the further deterioration of food security at the global level, agriculture remains one of the drivers of biodiversity los... Indeed, it is necessary to consider biodiversity when crafting and implementing food program,” ACB Executive Director Theresa Mundita Lim, said in her statement for the recent celebration of the World Food Day.

The ACB joined the international community in celebrating the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, reiterating the vital role that healthy and rich biodiversity plays in the current food systems.

Efforts to mainstream biodiversity considerations into the agriculture and fisheries sector’s development processes in Southeast Asia are among the main thrusts of the ACB.

On 28 August, the ACB, with the European Union, through the Biodiversity Conservation and Management of Protected Areas Project, supported a forum on main streaming biodiversity in agriculture in Thailand.

The forum, organized by Thailand’s Office of the Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and

Planning, highlighted measures to strengthen efforts in the country’s agriculture sector to mainstream biodiversity through strengthening action plans and developing and implementing biodiversity responsive policies.

Citing the 2020 scoping study on biodiversity and health in the region, conducted by the United Nations University- International Institute of Global Health and supported by the ACB and the EU, Lim highlighted the need to enhance agricultural biodiversity, as well as to invest in germplasm conservation.

“This undertaking will ensure the conservation of identified climate- resilient crop varieties and the diversity of fish and livestock resources,” she said.

Limnoted that maximizing effective agrobiodiversity practices will help improve crop diversity and address micronutrient deficiencies affecting the population.

Meanwhile, Lim also suggested improving access to user- friendly national public databases on native and endemic plant species to guide plant enthusiasts and agricultural experts alike on which plants to grow.

The ACB’S Asean Clearing House Mechanism, which provides information on plant species, including their endemism and conservation status, may likewise be accessed by the public.

“With the right information and awarenessraising on propagating native plant species and its short- and long- term ecological and economic benefits, this growing trend on urban gardening may be guided to be more biodiversity- friendly, serving both the public and the environment,” Lim said.