Øget landbrug giver tab af biodiversitet

Forfatter billede

Mere og mere jord bruges til landbrug verden over. Det er en af de vigtigste årsager til tab af biodiversitet og det underminerer opfyldelsen af internationale miljømål, ifølge FNs Miljøprogram (UNEP). Bæredygtigt landbrug og bedre udnyttelse af jorden kan afhjælpe fremtidige tab og imødekomme efterspørgslen på fødevarer.

NAIROBI, 16 January 2013: The report, entitled “Crop Expansion and Conservation Priorities in Tropical Countries”, details how land, which is often rich in biodiversity, is being converted or set aside for crops (afgrøder) like rice and maize (majs) in some 128 tropical countries.

The study warns that such trends, if continued, could derail (forpurre) progress towards meeting the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, a set of 20, time-bound measurable targets aimed at halting (bremse) global biodiversity loss by the middle of the century.

Især dyrkning af ris kræver store arealer

Researchers from UNEP’s World Conservation Monitoring Centre and the Cambridge Conservation Initiative analyzed data on crop distribution and expansion, assessed changes in area of main crops, and mapped overlaps between conservation priorities and cultivation potential.

They found that cropland in tropical countries expanded by around 48,000 km² per year from 1999-2008. Rice was the single crop grown over the largest area, especially in tropical forest habitats.

Presserende behov for bæredygtig udnyttelse af jorden

The report highlights the urgent need for more effective sustainability standards and policies to address production and consumption of tropical commodities, including robust land-use planning, the establishment of new protected areas, projects to support forests (such as Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation, or REDD+) in places agriculture has not yet reached, and the reduction or elimination of incentives for land-demanding bio-energy feed stocks.

Læs videre her:
http://www.unep.org/newscentre/Default.aspx?DocumentID=2702&ArticleID=9370&l=en
Læs videre fra: The report has been published in the run-up to the ….

UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre: www.unep-wcmc.org

Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES): www.ipbes.net