Biodiversity and Agriculture - A review of the impact of agricultural biotechnology on biodiversity
by Prof. Dr. Klaus Ammann
Director, Botanical Garden
University of Bern, Switzerland

Executive Summary

This paper gives an overview of biodiversity and how it is impacted by agricultural biotechnology, building upon chapters on the impact of biotechnology on biodiversity for the European Federation of Biotechnology (Braun & Bennett, 2001) and UNESCO (Braun & Ammann, 2002). Biodiversity encompasses the fundamental bases of life on earth, including genetic, species and ecosystem diversity. There is a need to better understand biodiversity in terms of its fundamental components (genes and taxa), the interrelatedness of these components (ecology), their importance for human life and life in general, and the factors that threaten biodiversity. Within the tropics, Biodiversity is still concentrated in unmanaged habitats. In temperate zones, particularly in the European Union, almost 50% of the landscape is agricultural, and agricultural lands contain a significant portion of the biodiversity in these zones. The greatest threats to biodiversity are destruction and deterioration of habitats, particularly in tropical developing countries, and introductions of exotic species. Maintaining biodiversity requires addressing these threats.

Many of the factors affecting biodiversity are related directly or indirectly to the needs of agricultural production, and it is important to consider how these impacts could be mitigated. Increasing human population and limited arable land have demanded increased agricultural productivity leading to more intensive agricultural practices on a global basis. In response, higher yielding crop varieties have been coupled with increased inputs in the form of fertilizers, irrigation, and pesticides and more intensive practices such as greater tillage of soil and fewer crop rotations and fallows. More recently, technological advances have led to the development of genetically modified (GM) crops with insect resistance and herbicide tolerance that have a demonstrated potential to enhance productivity.

These technologies have been broadly adopted in some farming systems, replacing broad-spectrum insecticides in some systems and facilitating reductions in tillage in others.

Agricultural impacts on biodiversity can be divided into impacts on in-field biodiversity and impacts on natural (off-site) biodiversity. Intensive agriculture has negative impacts on both species and genetic biodiversity within agricultural systems, primarily because of low crop and structural diversity but also through pesticide use and tillage. These impacts can be addressed by encouraging diversification of agricultural systems, and by reducing broad-spectrum insecticide use and tillage, both of which GM crops can achieve in some systems. Agricultural impacts on natural biodiversity primarily stem from conversion of natural habitats into agricultural production and from irrigation. Transport of fertilizers and pesticides into aquatic systems also causes significant habitat deterioration through eutrophication and toxicity. Increasing the efficiency of agricultural production can reduce these impacts, as can minimizing off-site movement of fertilizers and pesticides by reducing tillage and total agricultural inputs.

Technologies such as GM crops are important in this respect. Overall, creating agricultural systems with lower impact on offside biodiversity and maintenance of high levels of inside biodiversity will require us to utilize all available technologies while simultaneously encouraging appropriate farmer practices. This also means that agricultural and conservation policy should work together in order to develop appropriate markets.

The study was supported by the Monsanto Company It has been reviewed by Francesca Tencalla and Graham Head from Monsanto St. Louis and Brussels, Don Doering from the World Resources Institute in Washington, Phil Dale from the John Innes Center in Great Britain, Richard Braun from Biolink Bern, Switzerland, and Detlef Bartsch from the Robert Koch Institute in Berlin.

The complete document is available in PDF format at
http://www.botanischergarten.ch/Biotech-Biodiv/Report-Biodiv-Biotech12.pdf