Ecoagriculture
‘Ecoagriculture’ is a new paradigm for understanding and managing biodiversity, agriculture and rural livelihoods together within a landscape.
The term ecoagriculture is new, but the concept is not; for centuries, rural communities have found ways to integrate their food production with ecosystem stewardship and livelihood development.
Conservation of wild biodiversity and ecosystem services is considered by many to be an ethical imperative. But there is also considerable motivation for agricultural landscape managers to conserve biodiversity since it is fundamental to ecosystem function, and therefore critical to maintaining crop yields, farm inputs and raw material. Ecoagriculture is key to conserving biodiversity in these landscapes. It can incorporate the diversity of approaches, management practices and planning frameworks found in the fields of agriculture, conservation and rural development.
Broadly, ecoagriculture relies on six basic strategies of resource management, three focused on the agricultural parts of the landscape mosaic and three on natural areas. In production areas, farmers can sustainably increase agricultural output and reduce costs using methods that enhance habitat quality and ecosystem services through practices like organic agriculture, agroecology, conservation farming and agroforestry. These approaches minimize agricultural waste and pollution, manage resources in ways that conserve species, water and soils, and use crop, grass and tree combinations that mimic the ecological structure and function of natural habitats.
Source: World Conservation, A world without Biodiversity, A Taste of Paradise - IUCN, 2008
Want to find out more?
- Expert in the field: Sara Scherr
- Suggested source: Farming with Nature, IUCN
- Website: Ecoagriculture Partners
|