Biodiversity, at all three levels—genes, species, and ecosystems—is the basis for the sustainability, productivity and resilience of agricultural systems, and is the
foundation of
ecosystem services essential to agriculture and human well being. Biodiversity is the origin of all crops and domesticated livestock (species) and the variety within them (genes).
Agriculture is an integral part of every person’s life as it
provides us with
food, raw materials for goods—such as cotton for clothing, wood for shelter and fuel, roots for medicines—as well as
incomes and
livelihoods for many. From the earliest examples of the domestication of plants and animals,
farmers and their communities have used a rich diversity of wild species to facilitate agriculture and in the process have
modified the diversity of domesticated species, landscapes and environments.
Farmers and farming communities have created a large diversity of agricultural systems ranging for example from the rice paddies of Asia to dryland pastoral systems of Africa and hill farms in the mountains of South America. About
25% of the Earths’ land surface is covered by cultivated systems. The challenge for
farmers and their communities has always been to manage agricultural systems and their associated landscapes in a
sustainable manner, to ensure resources and ecosystem services for future generations.