Asia Regional Synthesis for The State of the World’s Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture

Abstract

This report summarizes the state of biodiversity for food and agriculture in the region, based largely on information provided in eight country reports submitted to FAO as part of the reporting process for the report on The State of the World’s Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture. Asia is one of the world’s most biodiverse regions, including in terms of biodiversity for food and agriculture. However, over the past decades, ithis biodiversity has been declining. Changes in land and water use and management have been one of the main factors leading to this decline. To intensify production, large areas of forest and wetland have been converted into arable land farmed under monoculture systems. Moreover, the use of pesticides, herbicides and mineral fertilizers has been drastically increased. The report suggests that regional collaboration in the field of biodiversity for food and agriculture could be strengthened, particularly with respect to work on micro-organisms, invertebrates, invasive alien species, the application of sustainable management practices, the adoption and implementation of ecosystem approaches and the use of biodiversity in coping with climate change, invasive alien species and natural or human-made disasters.