Countries Now View Food Systems as Essential Tools for Biodiversity Protection
Rome, Sunday, 22 February 2026.
A groundbreaking analysis reveals that 35% of national biodiversity actions now directly involve agricultural and food systems, marking a dramatic shift in global conservation strategy. The FAO’s February 18th Rome roundtable exposed how nations are abandoning traditional conservation approaches in favor of integrating sustainable agriculture into their core biodiversity plans. This represents the most significant evolution in environmental policy since the 2022 Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework was adopted, with countries recognizing that protecting nature requires transforming how we produce food.
FAO Analysis Reveals Agricultural Systems Central to Biodiversity Planning
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) presented compelling evidence at its Rome headquarters on February 18, 2026, demonstrating that agrifood systems have become increasingly central to countries’ biodiversity strategies and actions [1]. The analysis of updated National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) shows that 35% of planned actions by countries to meet national biodiversity targets relate directly to agrifood systems [1]. This represents a fundamental shift from traditional conservation models that previously treated agriculture and biodiversity as separate domains. The findings were presented during a high-level roundtable titled “Agrifood systems taking action for nature,” which included senior government representatives and international partners [1][2].
Global Food Security Crisis Drives Policy Integration
The urgency behind this policy transformation becomes clear when examining the scale of biodiversity threats to food production. According to the FAO analysis, 48% of countries report that biodiversity loss is affecting or threatening their agrifood systems, with 33% specifically citing effects on yields and productivity [1]. FAO Director-General QU Dongyu emphasized the critical connection, stating that “Biodiversity is the basis of food diversity, and is critical for ensuring food security and nutrition… Today’s roundtable reaffirms agrifood systems as a strategic entry point for biodiversity conservation, high-quality growth and sustainability” [1]. This data underscores why nations can no longer afford to treat agricultural development and environmental protection as competing priorities.
Business Sector Faces $7.3 Trillion Nature-Negative Investment Reality
The financial dimensions of this biodiversity crisis reveal the scale of transformation required across food systems. The Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) released findings on February 8, 2026, showing that in 2023, $7.3 trillion in global public and private finance flows had directly negative impacts on nature, comprising $4.9 trillion from private finance and $2.4 trillion in environmentally harmful subsidies [5]. In stark contrast, only $220 billion was directed to activities contributing to the conservation and restoration of biodiversity [5]. This 33.182 ratio of approximately 33:1 between nature-negative and nature-positive investments highlights the massive financial realignment needed to support the agrifood system transformation that countries are now prioritizing in their biodiversity strategies.
COP17 Timeline Sets Critical Implementation Deadline
The integration of agrifood systems into biodiversity planning takes on added urgency as countries approach the midpoint assessment of the 2030 biodiversity targets. Hambardzum Matevosyan, Armenia’s Minister of Environment and incoming President of COP17, noted that the upcoming conference “will mark the halfway point toward the 2030 biodiversity targets and emphasized translating commitments into measurable results” [1]. The Convention on Biological Diversity’s Executive Secretary, Astrid Schomaker, reinforced this timeline pressure, warning of declining biodiversity and pollinators while reiterating “the need for concrete implementation of the Global Biodiversity Framework, integrating agrifood systems” [1]. The complete FAO NBSAPs Analysis will be published in the lead-up to COP17 later in 2026, providing countries with detailed guidance for implementing their agrifood-biodiversity strategies [1].