Agriculture occupies more than 50% of the inhabited land worldwide. It is the major activity responsible for the loss of biodiversity (species, organisms, genetics, ecosystem), and forms the biggest threat at European and global level. For example, agricultural areas in Europe have lost more than 50% of their avifauna in the last 40 years. Respectively, equally alarming results appear in Greece according to the Environmental Status of Greece report published in 2018 and 2019, as well as the recent analysis of the implementation of the National Strategy for Biodiversity in Greece.
Facing the challenges of climate change and the growth of the global population that needs to be fed and will reach 11 billion by 2100, agriculture is no longer just about quantity. It concerns the balanced management and conservation of biodiversity. These are both important pillars for the food resources in agricultural ecosystems and for the preservation of the ecological foundations, necessary for the preservation of life. According to these requirements, the main “managers” of the land and the countryside, the farmers, rise as the most important "protectors" of the conservation of biodiversity, but they will, also, be the first to be affected by its loss.
The main objectives of the European Union and its Member States are to halt the loss of biodiversity and protect natural capital under the new European Green Deal by 2030. Along with these targets comes a transition to a friendly agriculture based on competitive but sustainable management, and new opportunities for an agri-food chain that will respond to consumers’ and producers’ needs but will also protect the climate and the natural environment, according to the new strategy From Farm to Fork.
Respectively, the new Common Agricultural Policy 2023-2027, though it has not succeeded in the past, is committed to contribute in achieving the goals of the European Green Deal and the Farm-to-Fork Strategy.
According to the latest reports from major European organizations and bodies, the European Environment Agency (EEA), the Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the European Commission's Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development (DG AGRI) explicitly point to the need for an urgent shift towards an environmental-friendly agriculture which supports biodiversity and ecosystem services, maintains rural landscape diversity, reduces inflows and activates natural solutions in the agricultural ecosystem.
In this context, the “Association for Management and Conservation of Biodiversity in Agricultural Ecosystems” - "TYTO", comes to realize its vision with specific projects and actions in an effort to contribute to specific Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development, but also to the Aichi Biodiversity Objectives set in Japan in the context of the Global Strategic Plan for Biodiversity, as well as the harmonized national goals of the country.
Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) to which "TYTO" contributes with its projects and values:
End hunger, achieve food security, improve nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture.
Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.
Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.
Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainable management of forests, combat desertification, halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss.
Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development.
Aichi goals to which "TYTO" contributes with its work and values:
People will be aware of the values of biodiversity and the steps they can take to conserve and use it sustainably.
Biodiversity values should be integrated into national, local development, poverty-reduction strategies and planning processes, and should be incorporated into national accounting systems, as appropriate, and national reporting systems.
Incentives, including subsidies, harmful to biodiversity should be eliminated, phased out or reformed in order to minimize or avoid negative impacts, and positive incentives for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity should be developed and applied, consistent and in harmony with the Convention and other relevant international obligations, taking into account national socio-economic conditions.
Governments, businesses and stakeholders at all levels should take steps to achieve or implement plans for sustainable production and consumption and keep the impacts of use of natural resources well within safe ecological limits.
Areas under agriculture, aquaculture and forestry should be managed sustainably, ensuring conservation of biodiversity.
The extinction of known threatened species should be prevented and their conservation status, particularly of those most in decline, should be improved and sustained.
The genetic diversity of cultivated plants and farmed and domesticated animals and of wild relatives, including other socio-economically as well as culturally valuable species, is maintained, and strategies must be developed and implemented for minimizing genetic erosion and safeguarding their genetic diversity.
Ecosystems that provide essential services, including services related to water, and contribute to health, livelihoods and well-being, are restored and safeguarded, taking into account the needs of women, indigenous and local communities, and the poor and vulnerable.
The traditional knowledge, innovations and practices of indigenous and local communities relevant for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, and their customary use of biological resources, are respected, subject to national legislation and relevant international obligations, and fully integrated and reflected in the implementation of the Convention with the full and effective participation of indigenous and local communities, at all relevant levels. με την πλήρη και αποτελεσματική συμμετοχή των τοπικών και αυτόχθονων κοινωνιών σε όλα τα σχετικά επίπεδα.
Knowledge, the base of science, and technologies relating to biodiversity; biodiversity values, function, status and trends, and the consequences of its loss, are improved, widely shared and transferred, and applied.
Useful links
- Find here the 17 Sustainable Development Goals
1) SDG_GR
2) SDG_EN - Find here the 20 Aichi Biodiversity Targets
- Read here for the EU Green Deal
1) GreenDeal_GR
2) GreenDeal_EN
3) GreenDeal_CommisionText - Find here the Strategy From Farm to Fork
1) FromFarmToFork_GR
2) FromFarmToFork_EN
3) FromFarmToFork_CommissionText - Find here the European Biodiversity Strategy
1) EUBiodiversityStrategy_GR
2) EUBiodiversityStrategy_EN
3) EUBiodiversityStrategy_CommissionText - Read here for National Biodiversity Strategy