IUCN´s Report on Sustainable Agriculture
Humankind is going through very difficult times, facing the global crisis with COVID-19 and, at the same time, experiencing a large-scale loss of nature and facing global heating[1]. More than ever it is necessary to effectively address the symbiotic environmental and climate challenge in an integrated manner. Sustainable agriculture is a “key human activity that depends intrinsically on natural processes, including soil fertility, water recycling, and pollination, and both nature and agriculture are increasingly suffering the negative impacts of climate change”[2].
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Europe has just launched the report “Approaches to sustainable agriculture: Exploring the pathways towards the future of farming”[3], by Barbara Pia Oberč and Alberto Arroyo Schnell, a referential document for the key approaches, concepts, and practices being considered by practitioners, researchers and policy makers today. IUCN is a membership union composed of both government and civil society organisations, that provides public, private and non-governmental organisations the knowledge and tools to enable human progress, economic development and nature conservation taking place together. [4]
This report comes at a crucial time to help with the implementation of the recently launched EU Green Deal, in particular the Farm to Fork and Biodiversity Strategies.
The big challenge is to use agricultural sustainable practices (precision agriculture, organic farming, agroecology, agroforestry and stricter animal welfare standards) while preserving the environment and providing safe and healthy food for all.