HIVY ORTIZ CHOUR
BIODIVERSITY IS essential for life on our planet. Despite the technological advances of today's world, human beings will always depend on healthy ecosystems for water, food, medicine, clothing, fuel, shelter and energy, among other essential elements.
Healthy ecosystems are critical for maintaining agricultural, forestry, aquaculture, livestock and food production systems, combating climate change, reducing the risk of pandemics, and protecting livelihoods. Failure to protect biodiversity, especially when agricultural practices that ignore the natural environment are promoted, puts our well-being and future at risk.
This year's celebration of International Biodiversity Day calls on us to "be part of the plan" and seeks to motivate governments, indigenous peoples, local communities, NGOs, legislators, businesses and citizens to actively collaborate in implementing the biodiversity plan approved at COP15, sharing their contributions and committing to the cause. Everyone has an essential role to play and can contribute to the plan's success.
The Convention on Biological Diversity has mandated the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations to integrate biodiversity use and conservation criteria into production systems. This means agricultural systems must be analysed in an integrated manner, considering soil, water, living organisms, biological corridors and pollinators. All of these are essential for achieving efficient production systems that generate well-being for communities.
The FAO must ensure these aspects and the ministers of agriculture at the last regional conference, the main governing body of the organisation in Latin America and the Caribbean, stressed the importance of promoting more sustainable and resilient agriculture.
This issue will undoubtedly be central to the COP16 on Biodiversity, which will begin on October 21 in Cali, Colombia. At the event, the 196 participating countries must commit to the 23 targets of the Kunming-Montreal Global Framework, signed two years ago in Canada, to restore ecosystems.
The FAO promotes a solid work agenda of sustainable production practices in various regions. In Brazil, the REDESER project promotes sustainable agroforestry management to conserve biodiversity and improve local livelihoods. In Chile, the +Bosques project focuses on restoring native biodiversity, reducing emissions, and recovering landscapes. In Guatemala, forested land is being reclaimed and natural forests are being managed.
In Honduras, progress is being made in creating a biological corridor connecting protected areas, facilitating wildlife movement and promoting conservation. With FAO support in Paraguay, the Ava Guarani indigenous people are planting yerba mate trees to preserve their tradition and protect the environment.
In Peru, the FAO is leading projects for sustainable management and restoration of dry forests on the northern coast and initiatives in the Amazon forests. In Venezuela, the project Conservation and the sustainable use o
