With the 2024 United Nations Biodiversity Conference, or COP16, kicking off in Cali, Colombia, this week, the host country Colombia offers an inspiring example of how agroecology can be a powerful pathway for governments to achieve their biodiversity targets while also moving closer to multiple Sustainable Development Goals, including those related to hunger, poverty, health, inequality, and climate change.
The country’s decision to introduce a new policy aimed at strengthening agroecology, an integrated approach that aims to simultaneously feed populations, conserve nature, and strengthen communities, in agriculture and the national food system at large, and the inclusion of agroecology in its new National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan, or NBSAP, illustrate the strong political momentum that is building for agroecology around the world.
Countries including Brazil, Denmark, Ecuador, France, Mexico, Senegal, Tanzania, and Vietnam have all already launched or renewed agroecology-related policies and strategies. As of August 2024, nine of the 13 NBSAPs submitted to the Convention on Biological Diversity since COP15 include agroecology as an approach, while some incorporate it into specific goals. With 85% of countries still developing or updating their NBSAPs, policymakers have a window of opportunity to integrate agroecological principles and practices into their commitments and plans.
About the authors
Anna Lappé
Anna Lappé is the executive director of the Global Alliance for the Future of Food, a strategic alliance of philanthropic foundations working for food system transformation around the world. The alliance works for a transition to food systems grounded in the principles of equity, diversity, inclusion, interconnectedness, health, renewability, and resilience.
Hans Herren
Hans R. Herren is the president of Biovision Foundation’s board of trustees. He lived and conducted research in Africa for 26 years, leading scientific research in biological pest control. He has been awarded various prizes such as the World Food Prize and the Right Livelihood Award together with the Biovision Foundation.
Marcela Quintero
Marcela Quintero is the associate director general, research strategy, and innovation at Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture. She leads the implementation of the CGIAR agroecology initiative, a transdisciplinary global research initiative that responds to the needs of food system actors in seven countries while aligning with funders priorities. Marcela is an ecologist from the Universidad Javeriana of Colombia and holds a Ph.D. from the University of Florida.
