Connecting Global Priorities Biodiversity and Human Health

food security, agricultural productivity and,
potentially, human nutrition.
20. Increasing sustainable production and
meeting the challenges associated with
climate change will require the increased
use of agricultural biodiversity. Climate
change is already having an impact the
nutritional quality and safety of food and
increasing the vulnerability of food insecure
individuals and households. The increased
use of agricultural biodiversity will play an
essential part in the adaptation and mitigation
actions needed to cope with climate change
and ensuring continued sustainable supplies
of healthy food, providing adaptive capacity,
diverse options to cope with future change
and enhanced resilience in food production
systems.
Malnutrition is the single largest contributor to the global
burden of disease affecting citizens of every country in
the world from the least developed to the most. Two
billion people are estimated to be deficient in one or more
micronutrients. At the same time, the consumption of
poor-quality processed foods, together with low physical
activity, has contributed to the dramatic emergence of
obesity and associated chronic diseases.
B. VINCETI / BIOVERSITY
S. PADULOSI / BIOVERSITY
21. Agricultural practices, which make
improved use of agricultural biodiversity,
have been identified and are being used
around the world. Their potential value needs
to be more widely recognized and their adoption
more strongly supported through research and
support for appropriate policy and economic
regimes, including appropriate support to
small-scale producers. Inter-disciplinary
analysis and cross-sectoral collaboration
(among the agriculture, environment, health
and nutrition communities) is essential to
ensure the integration of biodiversity into
policies, programmes and national and
regional plans of action on food and nutrition
security.
A diversity of species, varieties and breeds, as
well as wild sources (fish, plants, bushmeat,
insects and fungi) underpins dietary diversity
and good nutrition. Variety-specific differences
within staple crops can often be the difference
between nutrient adequacy and nutrient
deficiency in populations and individuals.
Significant nutrient content differences in meat
and milk among breeds of the same animal species
have also been documented. Wildlife, from aquatic
and terrestrial ecosystems, is a critical source of
calories, protein and micronutrients like iron and
zinc for more than a billion people. Fish provide
more than 3 billion people with important sources
of protein, vitamins and minerals.
22. Access to wildlife in terrestrial, marine,
and freshwater systems is critical to
human nutrition, and global declines will
present major public health challenges for
resource-dependent human populations,
particularly in low- and middle- income
countries. Even a single portion of local
traditional animal-source foods may result
in significantly increased clinical levels of
energy, protein, vitamin A, vitamin B6/B12,
vitamin D, vitamin E, riboflavin, iron, zinc,
magnesium and fatty acids–thus reducing
the risk of micronutrient deficiency. The use
6 Connecting Global Priorities: Biodiversity and Human Health