Food production is the main cause of biodiversity loss., but there are hardly any studies on which countries interfere with which crops and animal and plant species conservation. Japanese researchers have estimated how production and consumption are. 48 essential agricultural and livestock products introduced by 197 countries It conflicts with the conservation priorities of 7,143 species. With all this, they have created an interactive map to assist those responsible for formulating agricultural and environmental policies to conserve biodiversity while maintaining global food security.
The work helps to better understand and manage large-scale transformative exchanges between man and nature. consumption, producing And trade food.
“Demand for food products has put agricultural land use in direct competition with biodiversity. Where do they occur? conflicts and which consumers are responsible is not fully understood. By combining conservation priority maps with agricultural trade data, potential protection risk points current,” the researchers explain.
Among his conclusions, he highlights: One third of the world’s agricultural production takes place in areas of high conservation priority.; that is, at critical points for biodiversity.
Beef, rice, soybean and palm oil biggest threats substitute products such as barley, wheat, sugar beet, pearl millet for areas with high protection priority. The sunflower, or sunflower, comes mainly from low-risk areas, according to the report.
But other basic crops, such as corn, sugarcane, and rubber, are also “troublesome“and deserves “more attention from policymakers,” the scientists warn.
Finding the “balance”
“The findings of this study reveal that consumption of certain essential products such as coffee, cocoa or palm oil by a group of countries drives land use in areas with very high conservation priority.” seeking a “balance” between agriculture and conservationto determine which crop would be more suitable in each area.
China, the United States, India, Japan, and the European Union (EU) show the largest footprints in biodiversity damage in high priority areas.According to the results of the investigation just published in the journal ‘Proceedings of the National Academy of Science’.
The international research team, made up of members from Norway, the Netherlands and Japan, divided farmland into four levels, from lowest to highest, according to their conservation priorities. He then determined which individual agricultural products were produced at each of these levels.
One result the researchers found “surprising”, the effect of the same crop varies greatly depending on its origin. “For example, beef and soybeans are grown in areas of high conservation priority in Brazil, but not in North America. Similarly, wheat is grown in areas of lower conservation priority in Eastern Europe than in Western Europe,” they note.
Coffee and cocoa are mostly grown in equatorial countries in areas of high conservation priority, but are largely consumed in wealthier countries such as the US and EU. “Globally, with its high demand for multiple crops, China has the largest impact on food production in high priority conservation areas,” the researchers conclude.
Effects of climate change
The study shows how nations can have very different biodiversity food footprints. For example, the USA, EU, China and Japan are heavily dependent on imports. to meet your demand for meat and dairy products.
More than a quarter of beef and dairy products come from high priority areas, particularly in Japan. The United States, EU and China are close to ten percent.
“This shows that only by changing our sourcing of food products, food consumption has opportunities to change the biodiversity footprint“, underlines Keiichiro Kanemoto, one of the paper’s main authors.
Looking to the future, scientists believe climate change will change both crop models and existing habitats. The research team analyzed different scenarios to see how the interaction between wildlife biodiversity and agriculture will change with the predicted temperatures for 2070, much higher than today.
“Species likely to colonize new territories “In a warmer world that could lead to the emergence of new high-priority areas for conservation or the easing of conflicts in existing conservation hotspots,” they say.
“Our lifestyles are causing alarming damage to the atmosphere and water resources. “Farmers and governments around the world must pursue policies that protect well-being and minimize irreversible damage to the environment.”
“Sustainable development policies are needed for agriculture. Calculating detailed footprints for food and other agricultural products is crucial to support these policies, Moran said.
Interactive map: https://agriculture.spatialfootprint.com/biodiversity/
Reference report: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2208376120
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