Global Dialogue on the Role of Food and Agriculture in the Global Biodiversity Framework Biodiversity in the FAO Strategic Framework 2022-2031
by Dr QU Dongyu, FAO Director-General
06/07/2021
Global Dialogue on the Role of Food and Agriculture in the
Global Biodiversity Framework
Biodiversity in the FAO Strategic Framework 2022-2031
Opening remarks by
Dr QU Dongyu, FAO Director-General
As prepared
6 July 2021
Dear Colleagues,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
1. It is an honour for FAO to co-organize this global dialogue together with the Convention on Biological Diversity.
2. I am hopeful that the event of today will contribute to defining the role of food and agriculture in the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework.
3. Biodiversity is essential for food diversity and food security.
4. Today’s key challenge is two-fold:
• We need to meet the growing demand for agricultural products: food, fibre, feed and fuel; and
• At the same time, we need to conserve biodiversity, sustainably manage natural resources, and protect and restore ecosystems.
5. We cannot do one without the other.
6. There is no healthy food without a healthy environment.
7. The role of agriculture in the sustainable use and conservation of biodiversity has never been so significant.
8. The agricultural world and the environmental world need to listen to each other and collaborate.
9. This Global Dialogue serves exactly that purpose!
10. The sustainable use, restoration, and conservation of biodiversity contribute to MORE efficient, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable agri-food systems.
11. This is our mission for the future, as reflected by the Four Betters that define FAO’s new Strategic Framework: Better Production, Better Nutrition, a Better Environment, and a Better Life.
12. The Four Betters are interdependent:
• To ensure that people everywhere are free from hunger and have access to Better Nutrition, we need Better Production, for an efficient use of natural resources and with less negative impacts on biodiversity.
• A Better Environment, on the other hand, enhances food security and nutrition through the sustainable use and restoration of healthy, productive landscapes and seascapes.
• Consequently, we can ensure a Better Life for all, leaving no one behind!
13. FAO has taken bold steps on biodiversity.
14. Our Members adopted the Strategy on Mainstreaming Biodiversity across Agricultural Sectors, and the 2021-23 Action Plan to implement it.
15. FAO supports a large biodiversity portfolio.
16. More than 800 FAO projects, investing more than 2 billion US Dollars, include biodiversity as a key objective.
Dear Colleagues,
17. The global pandemic is a stark reminder of how connected we are.
18. We depend on each other as a global community, and we collectively depend on nature.
19. In 2021, we are at a critical juncture.
20. In this ‘super year for nature’, we must collectively scale up our ambitions, coordination and actions for biodiversity.
21. The UN Decades of Action on Nutrition, Family Farming and Ecosystem Restoration, together with the negotiations on the post-2020 global biodiversity framework and the upcoming UN Food Systems Summit are all opportunities to shift our path towards sustainability.
22. FAO is committed to working with partners to support the sustainable transformation of our agri-food systems, from production to consumption.
23. We do this using modern scientific approaches, big data and digital applications.
24. However, biodiversity mainstreaming will not take place without the world’s family farmers, Indigenous Peoples, small-scale producers, fisherfolk, livestock keepers and foresters as they are real in situ conservators.
25. Their knowledge, traditions, best practices and innovations are essential.
26. We must listen to them, empower to them and work with them to ensure that no one is left behind.
27. During this Global Dialogue, we will listen to speakers from different backgrounds, sectors, regions, and stakeholder groups.
28. Their diverse experiences will enrich our dialogue on the role of food and agriculture in the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework.
29. I wish you a productive meeting.
30. Thank you.