ScienceDaily: Agricultural Production vs. Biodiversity

Increased land use by the agriculture industry reduces wildlife and biodiversity. A team of German researchers based at Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research relied on global datasets quantifying the needs of major crops with geographical distribution of animals and their other requirements, and “found that 88 percent of the biodiversity that is expected to be lost under future agricultural intensification could be avoided if global land use was spatially optimized,” reports Science Daily. That would require focusing agriculture in areas with fewer species, increasing efficiency with trade, reducing food waste, and strengthening week government institutions. Reducing inefficient agriculture in 10 countries could contribute to reducing global biodiversity loss by one third. The most impact in India, Brazil and Indonesia – three nations with a combined population of 1.8 billion people. Nations and the national agriculture industry can do more to promote sustainability, and global cooperation is required. – YaleGlobal