SUMMARY Mainstreaming Agrobiodiversity in Sustainable Food Systems Scientific Foundations for an Agrobiodiversity Index This booklet presents a summary of the key messages and content from the publication Mainstreaming Agrobiodiversity in Sustainable Food Systems: Scientific Foundations for an Agrobiodiversity Index (to be published in 2017). Bioversity International is a global research-for-development organization. We have a vision – that agricultural biodiversity nourishes people and sustains the planet. We deliver scientific evidence, management practices and policy options to use and safeguard agricultural and tree biodiversity to attain sustainable global food and nutrition security. We work with partners in low-income countries in different regions where agricultural and tree biodiversity can contribute to improved nutrition, resilience, productivity and climate change adaptation. Bioversity International is a CGIAR Research Centre. CGIAR is a global research partnership for a food-secure future. Citation Mainstreaming Agrobiodiversity in Sustainable Food Systems: Scientific Foundations for an Agrobiodiversity Index – Summary. Bioversity International, Rome, Italy, 2016 Cover photo Planting rice in Nepal. Credit: Bioversity International/Sriram Subedi, LI-BIRD, Lamjung © Bioversity International 2016 Bioversity International Headquarters Via dei Tre Denari, 472/a 00054 Maccarese (Fiumicino) Italy Tel. (+39) 06 61181 Fax. (+39) 06 6118402
[email protected] www.bioversityinternational.org ISBN: 978-92-9255-059-2 Foreword As the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity (2011-2020) reaches its mid-point, the UN Decade of Action on Nutrition has just begun (2016–2020). This 5-year overlap of global action offers a rare opportunity to bring together biodiversity and nutrition in novel ways for positive benefits to both. When people think of good nutrition, and about the diverse food groups that should be in a balanced diet, they rarely think about where those foods come from.