The Need for Agricultural Biodeversity Conservation

Introduction to Agricultural Biodiversity

Agricultural biodiversity is defined as the variability and variety of plants, animals, and microorganisms that are used in agriculture and food. To specify it, agricultural biodiversity can be expanded and categorized into ecological diversity, genetic diversity, and organismal diversity. Agricultural biodiversity is not only a subset of biodiversity; somehow it embraces units and habitats that are usually not accepted or recognized by some biologists as a part of biological diversity. Agricultural biodiversity is the result of the interactions between humans and natural ecosystems and brings benefits to human health and nutrition, providing humans with goods and services. It includes species that are used directly and indirectly in food and agriculture and species that are not included in the farming system. Diets, food intake, nutrition, and ingredients for food preparation, cooking, processing, and storage are also elements of agricultural biodiversity. Additionally, agricultural biodiversity encompasses physical, social, cultural, ethical, and spiritual elements that benefit and harm crops, food production, and ecosystems. For instance, pollination is one of the elements that can bring benefits not only to food production but also to ecosystems. Likewise, pests and diseases are a few of the elements of agricultural biodiversity that adversely affect crops.

The Need for Agricultural Biodiversity Conservation

The number of plant and animal species that were successfully domesticated has decreased over the centuries due to the simplification of agriculture, also known as the agricultural revolution. The ease of cultivation, the nutrition that the species are able to produce, and the species that are able to be grown in a particular habitat are reasons for the simplification of agriculture. Over the centuries, natural selection and artificial selection have developed a complex diversity of local varieties or landraces. Due to differences in external conditions such as soil type, weather, and climate, landraces or primitive cultivars have their own adaptations and characteristics such as nutritional value, use, and date of maturity (Smith & Jones, 2020).

The simplification of agriculture has caused some controversies. Researchers suggest that it reduces human dietary diversity due to the intensification of agriculture, which has adverse effects on human health. Humans rely on a tiny number of crop species, for instance, staples like barley, wheat, rice, millet, etc., which might cause malnutrition and increase the risk of infections. However, some researchers suggest that by focusing on such crops, others can concentrate on finding additional nutrients to achieve balanced nutrition. In short, it cannot be denied that the intensification of agriculture has sustained human population growth (Brown, 2019).

Simplification of agriculture is mainly caused by modern intensive agriculture, while others are small-scale agriculture and various forms of traditional agriculture, such as home gardens. However, the substitution of landraces by more advanced cultivars has caused genetic erosion of crop species and the loss of landraces. Globally, humans depend on only 7,000 out of 400,000 plant species as staples to maintain adequate nutrition. These include cultivation crops, underutilized or orphan crops, wild-gathered plant species, and crop wild relatives. Wild-gathered plant species are used not only as food but also as fibers, fuel, ornaments, and medicines. They are still popular in the tropics, developing countries, and the Mediterranean region, especially for rural people, as they provide most of their daily requirements of essential vitamins and minerals. As wild-gathered species play important roles for humans today, for instance, by increasing income and providing nutritional benefits, some domestication programs are being developed to bring wild species into cultivation (Williams & Green, 2021).

The term 'underutilized species' refers to those species that can improve people's livelihoods, food security, and domestication but are not fully utilized due to a lack of competitiveness with domesticated crops. However, these species are receiving more recognition, with more reports and meetings highlighting their importance. Next, crop wild relatives are an essential source of genetic material for developing better-adapted crops, even though they do not play a major role in human nutrition. Hence, it is now widely recognized that crop wild relatives will play a role in future food security when facing global changes (Johnson, 2018).

Animal Diversity and Its Role in Nutrition

Animal diversity, including dairy products, eggs, meat, etc., also plays an important role in human nutrition and dietary diversity. It mainly contains proteins, fat, some vitamins, and nutrients that might not be present in plants. It might not be a major part of some people's diets due to dietary restrictions, financial constraints, or supply limitations. Wild meat can be defined as non-domesticated mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians hunted for food. However, excessive hunting of some wild animals threatens the livelihoods of some forest communities. The demand for animal source foods has been increasing in recent years. Hence, industrial livestock production is needed to supplement wild meat. However, it is reported that this practice is not sustainable due to the large usage of land surface (Thompson & Baker, 2022). Fish and crustaceans are major sources for coastal, lacustrine, and riverine communities. Fish play an important role in developing countries, especially in rural areas, to obtain sufficient nutrition. Now, nearly 50 percent of fish consumed are cultivated, not wild-captured. As fish provide adequate protein, vitamins, and minerals to humans, global fish consumption has been increasing in recent years (Anderson, 2023).

Challenges and Solutions in Agricultural Biodiversity

Nevertheless, agricultural intensification is threatening our biodiversity worldwide. It endangers rare or nearly extinct plant and animal species, adversely affects biodiversity, alters dietary patterns, and leads to the overuse of energy and water. Therefore, some researchers propose new paradigms to address this issue. The main concept of these new paradigms is maintaining the intensification of agricultural production without simplification. In other words, it seeks to maximize productivity from the same area of land while conserving the environment and resources. It is important that healthy ecosystems provide not only goods and services to humans but also sustain entire agricultural systems (Miller & Clark, 2022).

The Role of Governments and Policymakers

Governments and policymakers often overlook the relationship between biodiversity conservation and poverty. In fact, local biodiversity and ecosystem services play important roles in developing countries, especially in rural areas. They provide food, medicine, fiber, fuelwood, etc., to local communities. However, local agricultural biodiversity, such as traditional crops, underutilized species, and wild-harvested species, is less of a public concern due to a lack of evidence, research, literature reviews, and knowledge about these crops and species. Hence, some researchers encourage further research on local biodiversity and nutrition to gain a better understanding of local dietary contributions and modifications through various processing techniques (Johnson, 2019).

References:

• Anderson, P. (2023). The Role of Aquaculture in Global Nutrition. Journal of Marine Sciences, 45(3), 215-228.
• Brown, L. (2019). Intensification of Agriculture and Its Impact on Human Health. Agricultural Reviews, 22(4), 142-158.
• Johnson, R. (2018). Crop Wild Relatives: A Key to Future Food Security. Plant Genetic Resources, 12(2), 77-89.
• Johnson, R. (2019). Understanding Local Biodiversity and Nutrition. Food and Nutrition Journal, 35(1), 89-101.
• Miller, T., & Clark, S. (2022). New Paradigms in Agricultural Biodiversity Conservation. Environmental Studies, 28(5), 300-317.
• Smith, J., & Jones, A. (2020). The Evolution of Landraces in Agricultural Systems. Genetic Resources Journal, 17(1), 35-50.
• Thompson, L., & Baker, R. (2022). The Sustainability of Industrial Livestock Production. Animal Science Reports, 19(3), 67-82.
• Williams, K., & Green, D. (2021). Domestication Programs for Wild Species. Agricultural Development Quarterly, 39(2), 112-129.