Savoring a sweet papaya or watching a couple of toucans across lush hills, it’s easy to appreciate the gifts of nature that sustain our lives. Plants and animals form ecosystems that provide us with clean water, nutritious food, breathable air, fertile soil, and awe-inspiring beauty that makes life more joyful. Latin America and the Caribbean harbor a treasure trove of biodiversity, with rare species found nowhere else on Earth.
Yet, agriculture and climate change threaten these natural riches that support us. As we explain in our recent publication “Land of the Living: Rethinking Food and Biodiversity Together,” food production is the main driver of deforestation and biodiversity loss. Rising temperatures, shifting rain patterns, and more intense weather add to the pressure on ecosystems across the region. Extended droughts, wildfires, and flooding endanger forests and fragile habitats, putting wildlife at risk. At the same time, heatwaves, erratic rainfall, and extreme events reduce agricultural yields, livestock productivity, and incomes for farmers – jeopardizing food security.
Compounding matters, hunger and deprivation still plague too many households across Latin America and the Caribbean. Pockets of poverty persist in rural areas, particularly among smallholder farmers. Even as the region produces agricultural exports, 37% of its people suffers from food insecurity, 6.5% experiences hunger, and 22.5% cannot afford a healthy diet. This food insecurity, malnutrition, and marginalization of farmers only risks worsening with climate change.
The stakes are extremely high when ecosystems falter. Insects, bats and birds pollinate over 75% of the world’s food crops. Healthy mangrove swamps and coral reefs shelter fisheries that feed millions. Rich microbial communities filter water and create fertile soil to grow our grains and vegetables. Losing these foundational services would devastate food production and livelihoods. If nature continues to be destroyed, the loss of six ecosystem services (pollination, coastal protection, water yield, forestry production, marine fisheries and carbon storage) would generate global losses of almost US$10 trillion by 2050. An IDB study found that climate change alone could cut the region’s farm output by 5% and cost 0.5% of GDP by 2050 if we fail to adapt how we manage land and oceans.
The good news is many proven options exist to safeguard both ecosystems and food security while adapting to climate change. A range of agroecological practices like diversifying species, including trees over crops or pastures (agroforestry and silvopastoralism), managing soil health and habitats, nutrient recycling, and natural pest control not only protect biodiversity but also increase productivity, climate resilience, carbon sequestration, food security and nutrition, and farmer income. For example, a Colombian silvopasture farm had 300% more birds, 100% more ants, and 60% more dung beetles than treeless fields. Water management techniques like drip irrigation also maintain yields with scarce resources. The key is to produce more food and income with less land, water, and harmful agrochemicals, all while preserving tree cover and soil health.
Policy and institutional changes are key to mainstream climate resilience and biodiversity preservation in food production practices. Agricultural subsidies should be reformed: they have been found to be mostly inefficient and inequitable, to have negative consequences on the environment, and to promote unhealthy diets. Payments for nature-positive agriculture could incentivize farmers to implement agroecological practices, on the same model as conservation scheme: In Costa Rica, the government already compensates landowners for maintaining forests instead of clearing them.
Regulation is also important. Belize, for instance, requires permits for developing activities in sensitive mangroves. Spatial planning and corresponding regulations can allocate different zones for conservation, farming, grazing and other activities. Expanding protected areas and restoring degraded habitats gives nature space to recover and withstand mounting pressures.
We have the knowledge and know-how to feed rising populations in a changing climate without decimating nature—but many paradigms much change, and the window of opportunity is closing fast. Read our chapter and join us in championing a future where farms flourish alongside forests instead of replacing them.
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