Mainstreaming agro-ecology in Southeast Asian higher education for the Sustainable Development Goals: Challenges, opportunities and policy options

Mainstreaming agro-ecology in Southeast Asian higher education for the Sustainable Development Goals: Challenges, opportunities and policy options
Author: Nelles, W., Ferrand, P. (eds.)
Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.
Total Pages: 18
Release: 2021-12-23
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9251355266

This policy brief is one in a series led by Chulalongkorn University with support from the Office of the Higher Education Commission, Ministry of Education, Thailand, in partnership with FAO. The series was initiated to support the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Work Plan on Education, 2016–2020 implementation while Thailand was Chair of ASEAN in 2019 under the theme: “Advancing Partnership for Sustainability.” The Briefs offer critical interdisciplinary perspectives on agri-food systems from social and sustainability sciences. They are fully aligned with the regional initiative on Food System Transformation and are meant to support the work engaged with ASEAN. This brief focuses on the recent efforts that have aimed at documenting, analysing and supporting sustainable agri-food systems among Southeast Asian universities and colleges while achieving the SDGs through regional cooperation. It advocates that with greater support for institutional reforms based on five pillars – curricula, research, extension, policies, and sustainability assessments/reporting – more HEIs could collaborate with FAO and other agencies, regional organizations, governments and donors to scale-up AE innovations and alternatives.

Agrobiodiversity

Agrobiodiversity
Author: Karl S. Zimmerer
Publisher: MIT Press
Total Pages: 403
Release: 2023-10-31
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0262549697

Experts discuss the challenges faced in agrobiodiversity and conservation, integrating disciplines that range from plant and biological sciences to economics and political science. Wide-ranging environmental phenomena—including climate change, extreme weather events, and soil and water availability—combine with such socioeconomic factors as food policies, dietary preferences, and market forces to affect agriculture and food production systems on local, national, and global scales. The increasing simplification of food systems, the continuing decline of plant species, and the ongoing spread of pests and disease threaten biodiversity in agriculture as well as the sustainability of food resources. Complicating the situation further, the multiple systems involved—cultural, economic, environmental, institutional, and technological—are driven by human decision making, which is inevitably informed by diverse knowledge systems. The interactions and linkages that emerge necessitate an integrated assessment if we are to make progress toward sustainable agriculture and food systems. This volume in the Strüngmann Forum Reports series offers insights into the challenges faced in agrobiodiversity and sustainability and proposes an integrative framework to guide future research, scholarship, policy, and practice. The contributors offer perspectives from a range of disciplines, including plant and biological sciences, food systems and nutrition, ecology, economics, plant and animal breeding, anthropology, political science, geography, law, and sociology. Topics covered include evolutionary ecology, food and human health, the governance of agrobiodiversity, and the interactions between agrobiodiversity and climate and demographic change.

Managing Socio-ecological Production Landscapes and Seascapes for Sustainable Communities in Asia

Managing Socio-ecological Production Landscapes and Seascapes for Sustainable Communities in Asia
Author: Osamu Saito
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 188
Release: 2020-02-10
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 9811511330

This open access book presents up-to-date analyses of community-based approaches to sustainable resource management of SEPLS (socio-ecological production landscapes and seascapes) in areas where a harmonious relationship between the natural environment and the people who inhabit it is essential to ensure community and environmental well-being as well as to build resilience in the ecosystems that support this well-being. Understanding SEPLS and the forces of change that can weaken their resilience requires the integration of knowledge across a wide range of academic disciplines as well as from indigenous knowledge and experience. Moreover, given the wide variation in the socio-ecological makeup of SEPLS around the globe, as well as in their political and economic contexts, individual communities will be at the forefront of developing the measures appropriate for their unique circumstances. This in turn requires robust communication systems and broad participatory approaches. Sustainability science (SuS) research is highly integrated, participatory and solutions driven, and as such is well suited to the study of SEPLS. Through case studies, literature reviews and SuS analyses, the book explores various approaches to stakeholder participation, policy development and appropriate action for the future of SEPLS. It provides communities, researchers and decision-makers at various levels with new tools and strategies for exploring scenarios and creating future visions for sustainable societies.

ASEAN Biodiversity Outlook 2

ASEAN Biodiversity Outlook 2
Author:
Publisher:
Total Pages: 220
Release: 2017
Genre: Biodiversity
ISBN: 9789719668022

The Second Edition of the ASEAN Biodiversity Outlook (ABO 2) is based on the Fifth National Reports of the ASEAN Member States and other relevant sources. This midterm update demonstrates how the ASEAN region has fared in conserving biodiversity in the context of implementing the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011 - 2020 and the Aichi Biodiversity Targets.

Protected Landscapes and Agrobiodiversity Values

Protected Landscapes and Agrobiodiversity Values
Author: Thora Amend
Publisher: Kasparek Verlag
Total Pages: 144
Release: 2008
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 3925064486

Presents twelve case studies from different parts of the world illustrating the role Protected Landscapes are playing in conserving agrobiodiversity and related knowledge and practices. This title includes a synthesis that focuses on the key lessons to be learned from these case studies

FAO: Challenges and Opportunities in a Global World

FAO: Challenges and Opportunities in a Global World
Author: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.
Total Pages: 325
Release: 2019-05-01
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 925131411X

This illustrated volume identifies the challenges and opportunities facing food and agriculture in the context of the 2030 Agenda, presents solutions for a more sustainable world and shows how FAO has been working in recent years to support its Member Nations in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

The State of the World's Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture

The State of the World's Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture
Author: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.
Total Pages: 576
Release: 2019-03-12
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9251312702

The State of the World's Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture presents the first global assessment of biodiversity for food and agriculture worldwide. Biodiversity for food and agriculture is the diversity of plants, animals and micro-organisms at genetic, species and ecosystem levels, present in and around crop, livestock, forest and aquatic production systems. It is essential to the structure, functions and processes of these systems, to livelihoods and food security, and to the supply of a wide range of ecosystem services. It has been managed or influenced by farmers, livestock keepers, forest dwellers, fish farmers and fisherfolk for hundreds of generations. Prepared through a participatory, country-driven process, the report draws on information from 91 country reports to provide a description of the roles and importance of biodiversity for food and agriculture, the drivers of change affecting it and its current status and trends. It describes the state of efforts to promote the sustainable use and conservation of biodiversity for food and agriculture, including through the development of supporting policies, legal frameworks, institutions and capacities. It concludes with a discussion of needs and challenges in the future management of biodiversity for food and agriculture. The report complements other global assessments prepared under the auspices of the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, which have focused on the state of genetic resources within particular sectors of food and agriculture.

Agrobiodiversity

Agrobiodiversity
Author: David Wood
Publisher: Cabi
Total Pages: 514
Release: 1999
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN:

Why agrobiodiversity?; The origins of agrobiodiversity in agriculture; The nature and role of crop biodiversity; Biodiversity in domesticated animals; The regulation and functional significance of soil biodiversity in sgroecosystems; Pathogen biodiversity: its nature, characterization and consequences; Insect biodiversity in agroecosystems: function, value and optimization: Determinants of agrobiodiversity in the agricultural landscape; Traditional management of agrobiodiversity; Does mplant breeding lead to a loss of genetic diversity?; The effects of pest management strategies on biodiversity in agroecosystems; The effects of alternative tillage systems on biodiversity in agroecosystems; Seed management systems and effects on diversity; Conservation of agrobiodiversity; A conceptual framework for valuing on-farm genetic resources; Regulatory issues; Agrtobiodiversity and natural biodiversity: some parallels; Optimizing biodiversity for productive agriculture.

Tropical Fruit Tree Diversity

Tropical Fruit Tree Diversity
Author: Bhuwon Sthapit
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 457
Release: 2016-05-12
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 1317636228

Farmers have developed a range of agricultural practices to sustainably use and maintain a wide diversity of crop species in many parts of the world. This book documents good practices innovated by farmers and collects key reviews on good practices from global experts, not only from the case study countries but also from Brazil, China and other parts of Asia and Latin America. A good practice for diversity is defined as a system, organization or process that, over time and space, maintains, enhances and creates crop genetic diversity, and ensures its availability to and from farmers and other users. Drawing on experiences from a UNEP-GEF project on "Conservation and Sustainable Use of Wild and Cultivated Tropical Fruit Tree Diversity for Promoting Livelihoods, Food Security and Ecosystem Services", with case studies from India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, the authors show how methods for identifying good practices are still evolving and challenges in scaling-up remain. They identify key principles effective as a strategy for mainstreaming good practice into development efforts. Few books draw principles and lessons learned from good practices. This book fills this gap by combining good practices from the research project on tropical fruit trees with chapters from external experts to broaden its scope and relevance.

Biodiversity: Finance and the Economic and Business Case for Action

Biodiversity: Finance and the Economic and Business Case for Action
Author: OECD
Publisher: OECD Publishing
Total Pages: 125
Release: 2019-12-06
Genre:
ISBN: 9264597042

This report sets the economic and business case for urgent and ambitious action on biodiversity. It presents a preliminary assessment of current biodiversity-related finance flows, and discusses the key data and indicator gaps that need to be addressed to underpin effective monitoring of both the pressures on biodiversity and the actions (i.e. responses) being implemented. The report concludes with ten priority areas where G7 and other countries can prioritise their efforts.