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Publications and Reports
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Implications of Copenhagen for climate action through SLM in Africa
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User Manual (version 2.0) for BACP Online M&E - Ecoagriculture Partners - January 2010
This User Manual has the purpose to guide BACP grantees on how to access, navigate and use the Online M&E System. |
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TerrAfrica-supported NEPAD country flagship programme for climate change Ecoagriculture Partners - December 2009
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A case study on Ecoagriculture activities within Kijabe Landscape of Lari Division in Kiambu West Based on work by Kijabe Environment Volunteers Leah W. Mwangi - November 2009
Presented By: Leah W. Mwangi Thanks to David Kuria, Mwangi Githiru, Nicholas Kinyanjui and Nelson Njihia for the value inputs into this report. |
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Spatial assessment of Agriculture, Wildlife and Poverty in Eastern Africa Laure Collet, Andy Jarvis - November 2009
Final report to Ecoagriculture Partners, August 2008 |
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Allanblackia nuts in tropical Africa A new source for food, oil and ecosystem services Meike S. Andersson - Ecoagriculture Partners - November 2009
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Conceptual underpinnings for market opportunity assessment in ecoagriculture landscapes Report by the Market Program of Ecoagriculture Partners (with substantial contributions by Mark Lundy of the International Center for Tropical Agriculture CIAT) prepared for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Thomas Oberthür, Mark Lundy, Meike Andersson - Ecoagriculture Partners, CIAT, Ecoagricutlure Partners - November 2009
This paper outlines the conceptual elements and processes that are required to develop a decision support tool for the assessment of market opportunities that ecoagriculture landscapes provide. The purpose of the paper is to support the development of a tool for integrative assessment of livelihood opportunities that arise from marketing of both products and ecosystem services from ecoagriculture landscapes. Therefore, the paper introduces first essential background including concepts for marketing and product development within the ecoagriculture framework. Furthermore, specific products and ecosystem services that have potential for marketing are introduced. Secondly, the paper illustrates the process of how to build a portfolio with landscape business opportunities by introducing concepts related to landscape supply potential, marketing potential and the identification of the most promising business options. The last component of this paper introduces the process to operationalize the tool development – a prototyping approach based on joint learning of all actors. |
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Ecoagriculture Landscape Market Opportunity Toolkit A Field Practitioner’s Toolkit Thomas Oberthur - Ecoagriculture Partners - November 2009
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Organic essential oils from lemongrass and rosemary in East Africa Florence Nagawa , Alastair Taylor - AgroEco, Uganda - November 2009
In:Bundling Agricultural Products with Ecosystem Services: Incentives for Ecoagriculture landscapes |
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The market opportunity for bundling bamboo and ecosystem services in Uganda Meike S. Andersson, Byamukama Biryahwaho, Lucy Aliguma, Thomas Oberthür - Ecoagriculture Partners, Nature Harness Initiatives - November 2009
In: Bundling Agricultural Products with Ecosystem Services: Incentives for Ecoagriculture landscapes |
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Markets for ecoagriculture in East Africa, with focus on Kijabe, Kayunga and Kisoro landscapes T. Oberthur, L. Aliguma, B. Biryahwaho, D. Kuria, A. Jarvis, S.G. Anyona, R. Njeri, S. Kamau, N. Kinyanjui - November 2009
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Alimentaçao Do Mundo E Biodiversidade Sara J. Scherr, Jeffrey A. McNeely - Ecoagriculture Partners, IUCN - August 2009
Qual a importância das extensas áreas agrícolas ao redor do globo na conservação e proteção da biodiversidade? É possível conciliar proteção de áreas ameaçadas com a atividade agrícola, especialmente quando a demanda por alimentos cresce nas regiões mais pobres do planeta? Os autores analisaram diversas experiências de coexistência entre hábitats preservados e sistemas agrícolas produtivos. Apesar das dificuldades em manter sistemas agrícolas econômica e ambientalmente sustentáveis, a conclusão a que chegaram é auspiciosa e otimista. |
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Mitigating climate change through food and land use Ecoagriculture Partners, Worldwatch Institute - August 2009
More than 30 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions arise from the land use sector. Thus, no strategy for mitigating global climate change can be complete or successful without reducing emissions from agriculture, forestry, and other land uses. Moreover, only land-based or “terrestrial” carbon sequestration offers the possibility today of large-scale removal of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, through plant photosynthesis. Five major strategies for reducing and sequestering terrestrial greenhouse gas emissions are: enriching soil carbon, farming with perennials, climate-friendly livestock production, protecting natural habitat, and restoring degraded watersheds and rangelands. Recommended policy actions:
This issue of Ecoagriculture Policy Focus is based on our recent report by the same title. |
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Agriculture Bridge Information Flyer
Information flyer on the Agriculture Bridge platform (www.agriculturebridge.org) |
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Ecoagriculture Partners’ Landscape Measures Initiative Toward a Proof of Concept Louise Buck, Jeff Milder, Sara Scherr, Philip Thomas, Patricia Casal - Cornell University and Ecoagriculture Partners, Ecoagricutlure Partners, Generative Change Community - July 2009
Report on the LMI Proof of Concept Planning Workship, 12 May 2009 in Washington, DC |
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Monitoring and Evaluation Plan Biodiversity and Agricultural Commodities Program (BACP) - Ecoagriculture Partners - June 2009
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Monitoring and Evaluating (M&E) Biodiversity Impacts of Certification Systems Biodiversity and Agricultural Commodities Program (BACP) Meike Andersson - Ecoagriculture Partners - June 2009
The Biodiversity and Agricultural Commodities Program (BACP) is a program of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), IFC and several donors, and managed by Chemonics International Inc. The overarching goal of the BACP is to reduce threats posed by commodity agriculture to biodiversity of global importance. Download this flyer to learn more about the BACP project and Ecoagriculture Partners' role in Monitoring and Evaluating. |
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Mitigating Climate Change Through Food and Land Use Purchase now at worldwatch.org Sara J. Scherr, Sajal Sthapit - Ecoagriculture Partners - June 2009
Agriculture, forestry, and other changes in land use are responsible for more than 30 percent of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions. Despite advances in the energy sector, the only method currently available for removing large amounts of carbon from the atmosphere is plant photosynthesis.
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Agriculture and the Convention on Biological Diversity Guidelines for Applying the Ecosystem Approach Seth Shames, Sara J. Scherr - Ecoagriculture Partners - June 2009
The 9th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to review the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in May 2008 presented a unique opportunity to bring attention to the importance of integrating agricultural issues more fully into the CBD, as well as more broadly within the biodiversity conservation discourse. In 2007 and 2008, Ecoagriculture Partners engaged collaborators to convene an informal working group to raise the profile of, and support for, strategies to implement the CBD’s Ecosystem Approach within an agricultural context. This group included Sara Scherr, Seth Shames, Claire Rhodes and Jenny Nelson of Ecoagriculture Partners; Toby Hodgkin of Bioversity International; Jeff McNeely of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN); Elspeth Halverson of the United Nations Development Program’s (UNDP) Equator Initiative; Nora Ourabah Haddad of the International Federation of Agricultural Producers (IFAP); Delia Catacutan of Landcare International; Victor Archaga of The Nature Conservancy; Mohamed Bakarr of the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) (now at Conservation International); Marieta Sakhalan of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP); Anelissa Grigg of Fauna and Flora International; Benson Venegas of Asociación ANAI, Costa Rica; David Kuria of the Kijabe Environment Volunteers (KENVO), Kenya; Donato Bumacas of the Kalinga Mission, Philippines (KAMICYDI); and Arturo Massol-Deya of Casa Pueblo, Puerto Rico. One of the outputs of this process was a policy brief called Applying the Ecosystem Approach to Biodiversity Conservation in Agricultural Landscapes. The goal of this brief was to provide clear guidelines and real-world examples to aid Parties in their attempts to implement the program of work on agricultural biodiversity. Elements of this brief have been incorporated into section 4. Our participation in the writing of this brief and in the discussions it sparked among CBD stakeholders made clear to us that there is a significant demand within CBD policy circles to explore these policy guidelines in greater depth and place them within a broader political and conceptual context. This paper is an attempt to do that. Seth Shames and Sara J. Scherr, Ecoagriculture Partners |
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Jeffrey C. Milder, Jeffrey A. McNeely, Seth A. Shames, Sara J. Scherr - Ecoagriculture Partners, Cornell University, IUCN, Ecoagriculture Partners - June 2009
Global development of the biofuel sector is proceeding rapidly, driven by national policy mandates, government subsidies, and profit opportunities for farmers, agribusiness and energy companies. To date, most investment in – and dialogue on – biofuels has focused on large-scale production of liquid transport fuels. A smaller set of efforts has explored the potential of biofuels to promote rural development by reducing energy poverty among the world’s two billion poorest people. Here, we consider the potential of these diverse approaches to promote the goals of ecoagriculture: namely, sustainable agricultural production (including biofuel feedstocks), conservation of biodiversity and ecosystem services and viable rural livelihoods. Using a landscape planning framework, we review empirical evidence and identify criteria for designing biofuel production systems that promote this trio of goals. Biofuel development has the greatest potential when biomass production is an ‘interstitial’ activity and when processing and use occurs at the local level. Larger scale production for regional or global liquid fuel markets may be beneficial under some circumstances, but a stronger policy framework is needed to guide this approach. To advance biofuels for sustainable development, while avoiding serious risks, investment must shift to include a variety of ecoagriculture-compatible pathways. Supportive public policies and market incentives must be developed before the biofuel sector develops strong pathdependence toward unsustainable outcomes. |
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Sustainable Land Management in Africa Opportunities for Climate Change Adaptation Sara J. Scherr, Sajal Sthapit, Frank Sperling - Ecoagriculture Partners, World Bank - April 2009
To realize the great potential for using SLM to adapt to climate change, policymakers can:
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Sustainable Land Management in Africa Opportunities for Increasing Agricultural Productivity and Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Sara J. Scherr, Sajal Sthapit, Frank Sperling - Ecoagriculture Partners, World Bank - April 2009
Afforestation activities are already eligible for the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), and REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation) is being considered for inclusion in a post-Kyoto climate regime. But the potential contribution of agricultural land management to climate change mitigation is not recognized. Yet this is the critical element to establish landscape-scale mitigation projects that fully account for land use change. The estimated biophysical GHG mitigation potential of agricultural lands in Africa is over 1,000 MtCO2eq per year by 2030.8 To realize this great potential, policymakers can:
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Holistic Management of Rangelands in Dimbangombe, Zimbabwe Ecoagriculture Snapshots, no. 13
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New Directions for Integrating Environment and Development in East Africa Key findings from consultations with stakeholders in Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda Steve Bass, Sara J. Scherr, Yves Renard, Seth Shames - IIED, Ecoagriculture Partners - February 2009
This paper synthesizes the findings of a study carried out by Ecoagriculture Partners and the International Institute for Environment and Development on behalf of the David and Lucile Packard Foundation to explore opportunities for sustainable development in East Africa. It is based on a survey of nearly 200 leaders in environment and development in Ethiopia., Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, as well as international experts, and uses their views and recommendations as a foundation to suggest priorities for action towards sustainable development in East Africa. |
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Paying for Silvopastoral Systems in Matiguás, Nicaragua Ecoagriculture Snapshots, No. 12
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Farming and Land Use to Cool the Planet In: State of the World 2009: Into a Warming World Sara J Scherr, Sajal Sthapit - Ecoagriculture Partners, Ecoagricutlure Partners - January 2009
For more than a decade, thousands of low income farmers in northern Mindanao, the Philippines, who grow crops on steep, deforested slopes, have joined landcare groups to boost food production and incomes while reducing soil erosion, improving soil fertility, and protecting local watersheds. They left strips of natural vegetation to terrace their slopes, enriched their soils, and planted fruit and timber trees for income. And their communities began conserving the remaining forests in the area, home to a rich but threatened biodiversity. Yet these farmers achieved even more their actions not only enriched their landscapes and enhanced food security, they also helped to cool the planet by cutting greenhouse gas emissions and storing carbon in soils and vegetation. If their actions could be repeated by millions of rural communities around the world, climate change would slow down. State of the World 2009: About the Book It is New Year’s Day, 2101. Somehow, humanity survived the worst of global warming — the higher temperatures and sea levels and the more intense droughts and storms — and succeeded in stabilizing Earth’s climate. Atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations peaked a few decades ago and are expected to continue their downward drift throughout the twenty-second century. Global temperatures are slowly returning to their pre-warming levels. The natural world is gradually healing. The social contract largely held. And humanity as a whole is better fed, healthier, and more prosperous today than it was a century ago. What did humanity do in the twenty-first century—and especially in 2009 and the years immediately following — to snatch a threatened world from the jaws of climate change catastrophe? |
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Farming and Land Use to Cool the Planet In: Starke, L., ed. 2009. State of the World 2009: Into a Warming World. NY: W.W. Norton & Co., pp. 30-49. Sara J. Scherr, Sajal Sthapit - EcoAgriculture Partners - January 2009
This chapter in the 2009 State of the World explains why actions on climate change must include agriculture and land systems and highlights some promising ways to “cool the planet” via land use changes. Indeed, there are huge opportunities to shift food and forestry production systems as well as conservation area management to mitigate climate change in ways that also increase sustainability, improve rural incomes, and ease adaptation to a warming world. |
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Biodiversity in Agroecosystems Summary of Chapter 3 of Farming with Nature: The Science and Practice of Ecoagriculture J. Thomson, T. Hodgkin, K. Attah-Krah, D. Jarvis, C. Hoogendoorn, S. Paulosi - December 2008
The health of agriculture and the surrounding ecosystem depends on maintaining the biodiversity of both, with particular attention to protecting, nurturing and using the biodiversity they share |
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arbor vitae Special
IUCN’s newsletter, Arborvitae has published a special issue entitled "Learning from Landscapes" that is based upon work conducted through Ecoagriculture Partner’s Landscape Measures Initiative in collaboration with IUCN’s Livelihoods and Landscapes Initiative under a grant from the Program on Forests (PROFOR). The special issue features a collection of articles that highlight approaches and tools that the two initiatives have created and/or applied in a variety of landscapes where goals for conservation, production and livelihood security are being pursued. The emphasis is on tools that support social learning by multiple stakeholders in negotiating how to manage landscapes to generate multiple desired outcomes. |
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Community Knowledge Service flyer
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Institutionalizing Payments for Ecosystem Services PES brochure
Around the world, widespread interest is emerging in markets and payment schemes that reward actors who conserve or restore the ecosystem services provided by terrestrial, freshwater, and marine ecosystems, while providing a viable and sustainable source of livelihoods for rural communities. |
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Evaluación y conservación de biodiversidad en paisajes fragmentados de Mesoamerica Celia A. Harvey, Joel C. Sáenz - June 2008
Celia Harvey, climate change advisor at Conservation International, and Joel Saenz, director of the International Institute of Wildlife Conservation in Costa Rica, have coordinated the first collection of studies about the status of biodiversity in agricultural landscapes of Mesoamerica.
Their edited book, “Evaluación y conservación de biodiversidad en paisajes fragmentados de Mesoamerica” (620 pages, in Spanish), is organized in five parts. The first section provides a conceptual analysis of deforestation and fragmentation impacts on biodiversity, and highlights the importance of extending conservation efforts into the agricultural and fragmented landscapes that dominate Mesoamerica . The second focuses on the types of vegetation existing in fragmented landscapes and their value for biodiversity conservation. It also explores the role of farmers in shaping and maintaining agricultural landscapes and the need to actively involve farmers in conservation efforts. The following two parts provide examples of how different animal taxa respond to fragmented landscapes and examines what factors influence their abundance and diversity. The last chapter synthesizes the current understanding of the biodiversity in agricultural lands of Mesoamerica, identifies gaps in scientific knowledge and provides recommendations for how agricultural and conservation policies can achieve biodiversity conservation within the agricultural landscapes that dominate the region.
With original studies from across the region and contributions from more than 50 authors, the book provides a comprehensive overview of the value of agricultural landscapes for biodiversity conservation. The book is likely to be of interest to a wide audience, ranging from conservation biologists, agronomists and foresters, to farmers and land managers, to decision-makers involved in conservation and land planning. |
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Landscape Measures Resource Center Informational Flyer
The Landscape Measures Initiative (LMI), one of Ecoagriculture Partners’ flagship programs, is aimed at assessing, planning and tracking multistakeholder landscape initiatives. The LMI identifies and field-tests practical indicators for multifunctional landscapes that foster useful communication between local communities and technical service providers including conservation, agriculture and rural development organizations. The LMI focuses on indicators of biodiversity and ecosystem service conservation, agricultural production (crops, livestock, fisheries, forest) and local livelihood security. |
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Evaluating biofuel opportunities from a landscape perspective Ecoagriculture Partners - May 2008
What would a landscape managed for biofuel production look like? This brief describes three systems for biofuel production and identifies opportunities and risks for biodiversity conservation, rural livelihoods and farm production. How can we manage landscapes to produce greener biofuels that are better for the environment and the people? The brief discusses six landscape design principles and four areas for policy development. Ecoagriculture Policy Focus, Volume 1, Issue 2 The Policy Focus series, produced by Ecoagriculture Partners in collaboration with other organizations, highlights issues relevant to policy experts and decision makers in the fields of agriculture, conservation and rural development to promote integrative solutions. |
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Ecoagriculture Leadership Course Uganda 2008 brochure
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Community Knowledge Service Bangalore Meeting Report
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Introduction to Ecoagriculture (version 2) An introductory Powerpoint presentation Sara Scherr - April 2008
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Applying the Ecosystem Approach to Biodiversity Conservation in Agricultural Landscapes Ecoagriculture Partners - April 2008
Biodiversity conservation efforts must engage agriculture more centrally. Nearly a third of the world’s landmass has crops or planted pastures as the dominant land use; another quarter of the land is under extensive livestock grazing. 80 to 90% of lands habitable by humans are affected by some form of production activity and areas critical for the conservation of genetic, species and ecosystem diversity are often most affected. More than 1.1 billion people, most directly dependent on agriculture, live within the world’s 25 biodiversity ‘hotspots’, the most threatened species-rich regions on Earth. Agriculture’s ecological ‘footprint’ will only continue to grow with rapid increases in population, higher levels of meat consumption and the emerging biofuels market. A recent surge in research has revealed a wide range of synergistic relationships between ecological and agricultural systems, and there has been extensive documentation of sustainable practices by farmers, farming communities and agribusinesses that have found ways to maintain ecosystem integrity along with production and livelihood opportunities. This knowledge has substantially deepened our understanding of the production and conservation approaches that together lead to positive-sum interactions in agricultural landscapes, often referred to collectively as ecoagriculture. This brief draws from experience and research in ecoagriculture systems throughout the world to suggest guidelines for national and local implementation of the CBD’s Ecosystem Approach in agricultural regions. |
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Farmer-Based Extension for SLM in Africa Sara J. Scherr, Claire Rhodes, Louise Buck, Cosmas Ochieng, Robin Marsh, Jenny Nelson - Ecoagriculture Partners - April 2008
Produced with support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and TerrAfrica, April 2008 |
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Biodiversity conservation and agricultural sustainability Towards a new paradigm of 'ecoagriculture' landscapes Sara J. Scherr, Jeffrey McNeely - Ecoagriculture Partners, IUCN - March 2008
The dominant late twentieth century model of land use segregated agricultural production from areas managed for biodiversity conservation. This module is no longer adequate in much of the world. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment confirmed that agriculture has dramatically increased its ecological footprint. Rural communities depend on key components of biodiversity and ecosystem services that are found in non-domestic habitats. Fortunately, agricultural landscapes can be designed and managed to host wild biodiversity ofmany types, with neutral or even positive effects on agricultural production and livelihoods. Innovative practitioners, scientists and indigenous land managers are adapting, designing and managing diverse types of ‘ecoagriculture’ landscapes to generate positive co-benefits for production, biodiversity and local people. We assess the potentials and limitations for successful conservation of biodiversity in productive agricultural landscapes, the feasibility of making such approaches financially viable, and the organizational, governance and policy frameworks needed to enable ecoagriculture planning and implementation at a globally significant scale. We conclude that effectively conserving wild biodiversity in agricultural landscapes will require increased research, policy coordination and strategic support to agricultural communities and conservationists. |
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Summary of Chapter 13 of Farming with Nature: The Science and Practice of Ecoagriculture D. Molden, R. Tharme, I. Adbullaev, R. Puskur - March 2008
Around the world, water is increasingly at the heart of conflicts over natural resources. We need drastic changes in the way we manage water to ensure we will have enough to irrigate farm fields and also maintain healthy ecosystems. |
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Summary of Chapter 17 of Farming with Nature: The Science and Practice of Ecoagriculture W.J. Jackson, S. Maginnis, S. Sengupta - March 2008
Ecoagriculture approaches provide insight into how to achieve ‘people-centered’ landscapes. |
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Organization and Governance for Fostering Pro-Poor Compensation for Environmental Services ICRAF Working Paper 39 Carina Bracer, Sara J. Scherr, Augusta Molnar, Madhushree Sekher, Benson Owuor Ochieng, Gaya Sriskanthan - March 2008
This paper is the 8th in a series of nine interlinked papers commissioned by the Rural Poverty and Environment
Programme (RPE) of the International Development Research Center (IDRC) as part of a research project
entitled ‘Scoping Study of Compensation for Ecosystem Services’. The purpose of this project is to provide the
RPE with a broader and richer deliberation on the potential for economic instruments (including market,
financial and incentive based instruments) which conserve ecosystem services and at the same time contribute to
poverty reduction in the developing world. |
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Communities, Conservation and Markets flyer A Partnership Between WB Development Grants Facility, Ecoagriculture Partners, and the Katoomba Group
Introduction to the World Bank Development Grants Facility-funded project |
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A Taste of Paradise: Article in IUCN January 2008 newsletter Increased food production and biodiversity conservation can be compatible. Sara Scherr of Sara Scherr - January 2008
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Integrating Strategies to Achieve the Millennium Development Goals Ecoagriculture and MDGs Flyer
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Sustaining world food sources while addressing Climate Change challenges Jeffrey A. McNeely - IUCN - 2008
As the global population increases toward nine billion, and many people become more prosperous, the demand for more food will require more land, water, pesticides, fertilisers and technology. More land cleared for agriculture could lead to more greenhouse gases (GHGs), but agriculture can also store more carbon, and biofuels could provide energy with less GHGs than fossil fuels. An overall land use plan can regulate the amount of land under crops and use as much land as possible for vegetation that sequesters carbon. ‘Ecoagriculture’ can enhance biodiversity at the landscape scale, while at the same time mitigating the impacts of GHGs, enhancing adaptation to climate change and improving rural livelihoods. |
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Estrategias para alimentar al mundo y salvar la biodiversidad silvestre Jeffrey A. McNeely, Sara J. Scherr - 2008
Español: Dos de los expertos principales en la conservación de la naturaleza y el desarrollo agrícola, profundizan en este libro la idea de que los paisajes agrícolas se pueden diseñar de forma más creativa tomando en cuenta las necesidades de las poblaciones humanas mientras que también protegen, o realizan la biodiversidad. Presentan una descripción cuidadosa del concepto innovador de "ecoagricultura" - el manejo de los paisajes para la producción de alimentos y la conservación de la biodiversidad silvestre. El libro: analiza el impacto global de la agricultura en la biodiversidad silvestre; describe el desafío de reconciliar la conservación de la biodiversidad e iniciativas agrícolas; presenta seis estrategias para alcanzar la ecoagricultura; y explora factores criticas para el escalamiento de la ecoagricultura, tales como las políticas, los mercados y las instituciones. El libro ofrece estudios de caso del mundo real que demuestran la aplicabilidad de las ideas discutidas y de cómo los principios pueden ser aplicados, dirigidos a políticos, estudiantes, investigadores, y cualquier persona que tenga que ver con la agricultura, la biodiversidad o el desarrollo rural.
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Agriculture, Environmental Conservation, and Poverty Reduction at a Landscape Scale Sara J. Scherr, Jeffrey A. McNeely, Seth A. Shames - Ecoagriculture Partners, IUCN - 2008
The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) documented the dominant
impacts of agriculture on terrestrial land and freshwater use, and
the critical importance of agricultural landscapes in providing products
for human sustenance, supporting wild species biodiversity and
maintaining ecosystem services (MA, 2005). Yet global demand for
associated agricultural products is projected to rise at least 50 percent
over the next two decades (United Nations Millennium Project, 2005).
The need to reconcile agricultural production and production-dependent
rural livelihoods with healthy ecosystems has prompted widespread
innovation to coordinate landscape and policy action (Acharya,
2006; Jackson and Jackson, 2002; McNeely and Scherr, 2003). However,
the dominant national and global institutions—for policy, business,
conservation, agriculture, and research—have been shaped
largely by mental models that assume and require segregated
approaches.
This chapter will discuss a new paradigm, ecoagriculture, which
calls for integrated conservation-agriculture landscapes, in which biodiversity
conservation is an explicit objective of agriculture, food security,
and rural development, and the latter three are explicitly considered in shaping conservation strategies. This approach is highly
relevant for agricultural systems in environmentally important or
threatened areas worldwide, but the focus of this chapter is particularly
on low-income farming communities.
To begin, this chapter will explore the web of relationships between
food security, poverty alleviation, ecosystem services, biodiversity,
and agricultural production. It will also focus on the trends that
are creating a need for shifts to an ecoagriculture paradigm; describe
the ecoagriculture landscape approach; and present real-world cases
of ecoagriculture in low-income farming communities. Furthermore,
it will outline strategic actions required to mobilize and scale-up ecoagriculture
initiatives in these kinds of communities to a level that
would have a meaningful global impact. |
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Louise E. Buck, Seth Shames, Sara J. Scherr - December 2007
Many of the strict protection regimes in protected areas (PAs) in the world’s
highest biodiversity areas are not working. Population growth in the last
remaining wilderness areas is booming at twice the world’s average (Cincotta
and Engleman 2000). Inhibiting local people’s access can be impractical, unaffordable,
and ethically questionable. The international community is beginning
to understand this: The recent Durban Accord from the World Parks Congress
endorses an approach to conserving biodiversity that moves beyond PAs and
seeks to address root causes of biodiversity loss and promote biodiversity at
a landscape scale. The Accord also recognizes the sovereignty of local people
over forest areas considered part of the public domain and their potential role
in determining management regimes. |
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Designing Agricultural Landscapes for Biodiversity Conservation Summary of Chapter 8 of Farming with Nature: The Science and Practice of Ecoagriculture C.A. Harvey - Conservation International - November 2007
Biodiversity can be conserved without sacrificing agricultural production, using this emerging set of principles. |
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Summary of Chapter 9 of Farming with Nature: The Science and Practice of Ecoagriculture B. Gemmil-Herrin, C. Eardley, J. Mburu, W. Kinuthia, D. Martins - November 2007
Crop pollination is critical for food security, and pollinators rely on healthy ecosystems. With pollinator habitat around the world under threat, ecoagriculture practices are needed to restore nature’s ability to provide this essential ecosystem service. |
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Community Leadership in Ecoagriculture Summary of Chapter 16 of Farming with Nature: The Science and Practice of Ecoagriculture D. Bumacas, D.C. Catacutan, G. Chibememe, C. Rhodes - November 2007
Farmers have been conserving natural resources and practicing sustainable agriculture for millennia, but their perspectives are not sufficiently integrated by the programs that aim to help them. How can we support communities to moreeffectively develop ecoagriculture systems? |
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Restructuring the Supply Chain Summary of Chapter 20 of Farming with Nature: The Science and Practice of Ecoagriculture E. Millard - November 2007
Action to translate consumer concerns into market opportunities is crucial for making agriculture sustainable and socially responsible. |
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Sustainable Tea Production in Kericho, Kenya Ecoagriculture Snapshots, No. 7
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Pred Nai Community Forestry Group in Thailand Ecoagriculture Snapshots, No. 8
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The Dehesa and the Montado: Ecoagriculture Land Management Systems in Spain and Portugal Ecoagriculture Snapshots, No. 9
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Ecoagriculture Snapshots, No. 11
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Introduction to Ecoagriculture (version 1) An introductory Powerpoint presentation Sara Scherr - November 2007
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Farming with Nature book flyer
Book flyer announcing the publication of Farming with Nature: The Science and Practice of Ecoagriculture. |
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Farming with Nature: The Science and Practice of Ecoagriculture Sara J. Scherr, Jeffrey A. McNeely - September 2007
A growing body of evidence shows that agricultural landscapes can be managed not only to produce crops but also to support biodiversity and promote ecosystem health. Innovative farmers and scientists, as well as indigenous land managers, are developing diverse types of “ecoagriculture” landscapes to generate co-benefits for production, biodiversity, and local people.
Farming with Nature offers a synthesis of the state of knowledge of key topics in ecoagriculture. The book is a unique collaboration among renowned agricultural and ecological scientists, leading field conservationists, and farm and community leaders to synthesize knowledge and experience across sectors.
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ICRAF Working Paper 40 Sara J. Scherr, Jeffrey C. Milder, Carina Bracer - September 2007
This paper is the 9th paper in a series of nine interlinked papers commissioned by the Rural Poverty
and Environment Programme (RPE) of the International Development Research Center (IDRC) as part
of a research project entitled ‘Scoping Study of Compensation for Ecosystem Services’. The purpose of
this project is to provide the RPE with a broader and richer deliberation on the potential for economic
instruments (including market, financial and incentive based instruments) which conserve ecosystem
services and at the same time contribute to poverty reduction in the developing world.
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ICRAF Working Paper 32 Brent Swallow, Mikkel Kallesoe, Usman Iftikhar, Meine van Noordwijk, Carina Bracer, Sara Scherr, K.V. Raju, Susan Poats, Anantha Duraiappah, Benson Ochieng, Hein Mallee, Rachel Rumley - September 2007
This is the first of a series of nine papers exploring the state of the science and practice of compensation and rewards for environmental services in the developing world. This study has been undertaken to address key questions about the impact and future prospects of compensation and rewards for ecosystem services, and the potential role of research and policy engagement in helping to make these instruments more beneficial to the poor in the developing world. The papers resulting from this study have been prepared by an international group of authors as part of a pan-tropical scoping study for the Rural Poverty and Environment Programme of the International Development Research Centre of Canada. All of the papers focus on the frontiers between the ecosystems that underlie rural livelihoods, the environmental services that those ecosystems generate, and the human well-being of rural populations. |
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Introduction to Ecoagriculture Partners Brochure
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Ecoagriculture Snapshots, No. 10
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Wetland Rehabilitation in the Skagit River Delta, Washington, USA Ecoagriculture Snapshots, No. 1
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Livestock Passage Corridors to Ensure Herd Mobility in Benin, West Africa Ecoagriculture Snapshots, No. 2
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Ecoagriculture Snapshots, No. 3
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Ecoagriculture Snapshots, No. 4
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Enhancing Agricultural Productivity on the Margins of Kakamega Forest, Kenya Ecoagriculture Snapshots, No. 5
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Agroforestry in the Buffer Zone of Sinharaja Forest, Sri Lanka Ecoagriculture Snapshots, No. 6
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Utilizing and conserving agrobiodiversity in agricultural landscapes L.E. Jackson, U. Pascual, T. Hodgkin - Department of Land, Air, and Water Resources, University of California, Davis, USA, Department of Land Economy, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom, International Plant Genetic Resources Institute, Italy - July 2007
A biodiversity-based paradigm for sustainable agriculture is a potential solution for many of the problems associated with intensive, high input agriculture, and for greater resilience to the environmental and socioeconomic risks that may occur in the uncertain future. The challenge is to understand the combined ecological and social functions of agrobiodiversity, determine its contribution to ecosystem goods and services and value for society at large, and evaluate options for the sustainable use and conservation of biodiversity across the agricultural landscape. Agrobiodiversity is most likely to enhance agroecosystem functioning when assemblages of species are added whose presence results in unique or complementary effects on ecosystem functioning, e.g., by planting genotypes with genes for higher yield or pest resistance, mixing specific genotypes of crops, or including functional groups that increase nutrient inputs and cycling. Simply adding more species to most agroecosystems may have little effect on function, given the redundancy in many groups, especially for soil organisms. The adoption of biodiversity-based practices for agriculture, however, is only partially based on the provision of ecosystem goods and services, since individual farmers typically react to the private use value of biodiversity, not the ‘external’ benefits of conservation that accrue to the wider society. Evaluating the actual value associated with goods and services provided by agrobiodiversity requires better communication between ecologists and economists, and the realization of the consequences of either overrating its value based on ‘received wisdom’ about potential services, or underrating it by only acknowledging its future option or quasi-option value. Partnerships between researchers, farmers, and other stakeholders to integrate ecological and socioeconomic research help evaluate ecosystem services, the tradeoffs of different management scenarios, and the potential for recognition or rewards for provision of ecosystem services. This paper considers ways that scientists from different disciplines can collaborate to determine the functions and value of agrobiodiversity for agricultural production, but within the context of understanding how biodiversity can be conserved in landscape mosaics that contain mixtures of land use types. |
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Biodiversity in agricultural landscapes: Investing without losing interest Louise E. Jackson, Unai Pascual, Lijbert Brussaard, Peter de Ruiter, Kamaljit S. Bawa - Dept. of Land, Air, and Water Resources, UC-Davis, Dept. of Land Economy, Univ. of Cambridge, Dept. of Soil Quality, Wageningen Univ., Soil Center, Wageningen Univ. Research Center, Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment and Dept. of Biology, Univ. of Massachusetts - July 2007
Preface to the special Issue |
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Understanding Ecoagriculture: A Framework for Measuring Landscape Performance Ecoagriculture Discussion Paper #2 Louise E. Buck, Jeffrey C. Milder, Thomas A. Gavin, Ishani Mukherjee - March 2007
Ecoagriculture is already being practiced in hundreds of locations worldwide, with promising results for regions where biodiversity conservation, food production, and poverty alleviation are all high priorities. In particular, given that protected areas alone are often inadequate to conserve unique species and ecosystems, ecoagriculture is a promising approach for accommodating significant biodiversity in the inhabited parts of biodiverse regions. Yet our understanding of ecoagricultural systems and our ability to improve them, replicate them, and scale them up is hindered by the lack of a comprehensive framework for measuring and monitoring the performance of ecoagriculture landscapes over time.
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Frequently asked questions (FAQs) about ecoagriculture and Ecoagriculture Partners
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Ecoagriculture Partners' Programs flyer
Summary of the three programs of Ecoagriculture Partners: |
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Ecoagriculture: A Review and Assessment of Its Foundations Ecoagriculture Discussion Paper #1 Louise E. Buck, Thomas A. Gavin, David R. Lee, Norman T. Uphoff - December 2006
Continued population growth and urban expansion are reducing the availability per capita of land for agricultural purposes. Growing water scarcity is threatening agricultural production and creating challenges for farmers. As the severity of these problems increases, the world continues to demand that agriculture: |
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Community Knowledge Service Berlin workshop summary
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Developing Future Ecosystem Service Payments in China: Lessons Learned from International Experience A Report Prepared for the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED) Taskforce on Ecocompensation Sara J. Scherr, Michael T. Bennett, Molly Loughney, Kerstin Canby - July 2006
This paper captures the international evolution and current status of major types of Payments for Ecosystem
Services, summarizes the lessons that international experience provides regarding how best to design and
implement PES schemes, and synthesizes findings especially relevant for China. |
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Article in UNEP publication Our Planet: The magazine of the United Nations Environment Programme Sara J. Scherr, Claire Rhodes - 2006
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Vol. 1 - Conference Proceedings Proceedings of the International Ecoagriculture Conference and Practitioners’ Fair, Sept 25-Oct 1, 2004 Claire Rhodes, Sara J. Scherr - May 2005
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Vol. 3 - Theme and Farming Group Outcomes, Discussions, Recommendations and Proposed Actions Proceedings of the International Ecoagriculture Conference and Practitioners’ Fair, Sept 25-Oct 1, 2004 Claire Rhodes, Sara J. Scherr - May 2005
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Vol. 4 - Conference Annexes (Conference program, participant list, etc.) Proceedings of the International Ecoagriculture Conference and Practitioners’ Fair, Sept 25-Oct 1, 2004 Claire Rhodes, Sara J. Scherr - May 2005
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Proceedings of the International Ecoagriculture Conference and Practitioners’ Fair, Sept 25-Oct 1, 2004 Claire Rhodes, Sara J. Scherr - May 2005
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Vol. 5 - Conference evaluations Proceedings of the International Ecoagriculture Conference and Practitioners’ Fair, Sept 25-Oct 1, 2004 Claire Rhodes, Sara J. Scherr - May 2005
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Who Conserves the World's Forests? Community-Driven Strategies to Protect Forests & Protect Rights Augusta Molnar, Sara J. Scherr, Arvind Khare - 2004
“A large area of the world’s forest is managed and, to varying degrees, conserved by forest communities. This presents both a unique opportunity and a unique challenge to governments, international organizations, the private sector and civil society all fostering more sustainable forest conservation. With global and forest populations increasing, it is timely—indeed urgent— to assist these communities in achieving their development—and conservation—goals.” |
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Who Conserves the World's Forests? Community-Driven Strategies to Protect Forests & Protect Rights Augusta Molnar, Sara J. Scherr, Arvind Khare - September 2003
Presented at the World Parks Congress in Durban, South Africa, September 2003 |
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Ecoagriculture: Strategies to Feed the World and Save Wild Biodiversity Jeffrey A. McNeely, Sara J. Scherr - IUCN, Ecoagriculture Partners - June 2003
Although food-production systems for the world's rural poor typically have had devastating effects on the planet's wealth of genes, species, and ecosystems, that need not be the case in the future. In Ecoagriculture, two of the world's leading experts on conservation and development examine the idea that agricultural landscapes can be designed more creatively to take the needs of human populations into account while also protecting, or even enhancing, biodiversity. They present a thorough overview of the innovative concept of "ecoagriculture" – the management of landscapes for both the production of food and the conservation of wild biodiversity.
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In Conservation and Sustainable Use of Agricultural Biodiversity Sara J. Scherr, Jeffrey A. McNeely - 2003
Conventional wisdom holds that farming is largely
incompatible with wildlife conservation. Thus, policies to protect wildlife typically rely on land use segregation, establishing protected areas from which agriculture is officially excluded. Farmers are perceived as problems by those promoting this view of wildlife conservation.
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Book flyer announcing the publication of Ecoagriculture: Strategies to Feed the World and Save Wild Biodiversity. |
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Reconciling Agriculture and Biodiversity: Policy and Research Challenges of 'Ecoagriculture' International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) policy brief for the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development Sara J. Scherr, Jeffrey A. McNeely - 2002
Conventional wisdom holds that modern farming is largely incompatible with wildlife conservation. Thus policies to protect wildlife typically rely on land use segregation, establishing protected areas from which agriculture is officially excluded. Farmers are seen as problems by those promoting this view of wildlife conservation. This paper argues, however, that enhancing the contribution of farming systems is an essential part of any biodiversity conservation strategy, and requires new technical research, support for local farmer innovation, and adoption of new agricultural and environmental policies at local, national and international levels. |
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How Ecoagriculture Can Help Feed the World and Save Wild Biodiversity Jeffrey McNeely, Sara J. Scherr - IUCN, Ecoagriculture Partners - May 2001
Today, humanity faces a serious challenge. Much of the Earth’s biodiversity—the richness of its many species of flora and fauna—is at risk. The areas that are home to the greatest numbers of at-risk species are also home to large numbers of rural people, many of them desperately poor. Local agriculture, as the chief provider of food and livelihoods to these people, must expand to meet rapidly growing world demand, keep up with burgeoning populations, and prevent hunger. Yet agriculture, as currently practiced, is a chief cause of the destruction of valuable habitats, pushing species towards extinction. Agriculture cannot be curtailed, but if policies are not changed, large numbers of endangered species of all types will be lost in the next fifty years. But there are solutions. Around the world, farmers, scientists, and environmentalists are finding methods to conserve habitats and preserve species while boosting food production and improving the incomes of the poor. These innovations are based on the belief—borne out by empirical evidence—that humans and wild species can share common ground and prosper in a common future. Productive farming and effective conservation can occur on the same land through sound science and policy. It is to those innovators, whose stories are told here, that this report is dedicated. |
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Devolving Natural Resources Management to Local People Book chapter in Farmer-Led Organizations in Natural Resources Management S.J. Scherr, J. Amornsanguasin, M.A.C. Javier, D. Garrity, S. Sunito - 2001
Upland tropical watersheds contribute significantly to the livelihoods
of many poorest rural populations in the world. Large and growing
populations are farming and harvesting forest products in upper
watersheds, even as watershed natural resources—for water supply and
quality, environmental services, habitat for wild biodiversity, and carbon
services—become increasingly important at regional, national and
international scales. |
