The Global Dialogue on the Role of Food and Agriculture in the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework was convened virtually by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) on 6 and 7 July 2021. This is the summary report of the meeting.

This report concisely introduces FAO’s work on biodiversity mainstreaming, including the regional consultations on the subject that took place in 2018 and 2019. It particularly focuses on the Regional Dialogue on Biodiversity Mainstreaming across Agricultural Sectors in Asia and the Pacific, held in Bangkok, Thailand, in July 2019. It outlines the main topics addressed in its opening, plenary, thematic and closing sessions; and highlights the most relevant regional needs, priorities, and recommendations identified by the meeting participants.

The report concisely introduces FAO’s work on biodiversity mainstreaming, including the regional consultations on the subject that took place in 2018 and 2019. It particularly focuses on the Regional Dialogue on Biodiversity Mainstreaming across Agricultural Sectors in the Near East and North Africa, held in Amman, Jordan, in November 2019. It outlines the main topics addressed in its opening, plenary, and closing sessions; and highlights the most relevant regional needs, priorities, and recommendations identified by the meeting participants.

This report introduces FAO’s work on biodiversity mainstreaming, including the regional consultation process that took place in 2018 and 2019. It particularly focuses on presenting the outcomes of the Regional Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue on Biodiversity Mainstreaming across Agricultural Sectors in the African Region, held in Kigali, Rwanda, in November 2019. This report presents the main topics addressed in its opening, plenary, and closing sessions; and highlights the most relevant regional needs, priorities, and recommendations identified by the meeting participants.

Thirty-one regional fishery bodies (RFBs) participated in the Eighth Meeting of the Regional Fishery Body Secretariats’ Network (RSN-8). The meeting brought together RFBs with diverse mandates from all geographic regions, including FAO and non-FAO regional fishery bodies, marine and inland fishery advisory and management bodies, the UNDOALOS and other invited organizations. The meeting allowed participants to exchange views and discuss both global fisheries management and development issues in aquaculture, as these related to regional and global processes of particular relevance to RFBs. In addition, RSN-8 provided the opportunity to discuss the development and strengthening of the RSN, as well as a space for reflection on the outcomes of COFI 34 and their implications for regional fishery bodies. The meeting had a high level of participation, which underlined the role of the network as a unique forum in which to foster cooperation, facilitate discussion and share experiences.

The Ninth Meeting of the Regional Fishery Body Secretariats’ Network (RSN-9) brought together Secretariats of regional fishery bodies (RFBs) with diverse mandates from all geographic regions, including FAO and non-FAO regional fishery bodies, marine and inland fishery advisory and management bodies and agreements, the United Nations Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea (DOALOS), the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and other invited organizations. RSN-9 took place immediately before and after the Thirty-fifth Session of the Committee on Fisheries (COFI-35), which was held from 5 to 9 September 2022. As was the case with COFI, RSN-9 met in hybrid format, in person and virtually, via videoconference, to facilitate the participation of those who could not assist personally. For the first time, the meeting was convened over three days. The meeting allowed participants to exchange views and discuss global processes of particular relevance to RFBs. In addition, RSN-9 provided the opportunity to discuss the development and strengthening of RSN, which included the adoption of the RSN terms of reference and the subsequent amendment of the RSN rules of procedure, as well as a space for reflection on the outcomes of COFI 35 and their implications for regional fishery bodies. The meeting had a high level of participation, which underlined the role of the Network as a unique forum to foster cooperation, facilitate discussion and share experiences.

In collaboration with its partners, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) leads the integration, in a structured, holistic and coherent manner, of actions for the conservation, sustainable use, management and restoration of biological diversity across agricultural sectors at national, regional and international levels. Against this background, FAO has developed a series of instruments and tools related to biodiversity for food and agriculture (BFA) that can contribute to the implementation of the FAO Global Strategy on Mainstreaming Biodiversity across Agricultural Sectors, Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework and the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021–2030, and in alignment with the mitigation and adaptation agenda of the UNFCCC. In line with its programming and operationalization mandate to address regional priorities, the FAO Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia (REU) via the Regional Initiative n°3 on Managing natural resources sustainably and preserving biodiversity in a changing climate, developed the Regional Action plan for biodiversity mainstreaming across agricultural sectors in 17 programming countries of Europe and Central Asia. During 2022–2023, it aims at addressing the priority regional challenges.

This illustrated volume identifies the challenges and opportunities facing food and agriculture in the context of the 2030 Agenda, presents solutions for a more sustainable world and shows how FAO has been working in recent years to support its Member Nations in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

The 2024 edition of The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture features the Blue Transformation in action, illustrated by activities and initiatives, led by FAO in collaboration with Members, partners and key stakeholders, to integrate aquatic foods into global food security and sustainability, enhance policy advocacy, scientific research and capacity building, disseminate sustainable practices and technological innovations, and support community involvement. Part 1 of this edition of The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture benefits from significant improvements in data collection, analytical and assessment tools and methodologies to present the most up-to-date review of world fisheries and aquaculture production and utilization. Part 2 highlights the role of FAO and its partners to catalyse the transformational changes required to support aquaculture expansion and intensification, effective management of global fisheries and upgrading of aquatic value chains. Part 3 covers the high-impact challenges and opportunities of the untapped potential of utilizing whole fish and by-products to improve food security and nutrition, expounds on the role of aquatic food systems in providing critical climate, biodiversity and environmentally sound solutions, and highlights the importance of their integration into national and multilateral processes. It also presents an outlook on future trends up to 2032 based on projections. The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2024 provides the most up-to-date and evidence-based information, supporting policy, scientific and technical insights on challenges, opportunities and innovations shaping the present and future of the sector, for the benefit of a wide and expanding audience of policymakers, managers, scientists, fishers, farmers, traders, civil society activists and consumers.

This book examines the challenges and impacts of poor diets and nutrition from current food systems and the potential contribution of biodiversity and ecosystem services in addressing these problems. There is a strong need for a multi-level, cross-sectoral approach that connects food biodiversity conservation and sustainable use to address critical problems in our current food systems, including malnutrition. Building on research from the Biodiversity for Food and Nutrition Project (BFN), which aims to better link biodiversity, diets and nutrition, the book presents a multi-country, cross-sectoral analysis of initiatives that have promoted local food biodiversity in four countries: Brazil, Kenya, Turkey and Sri Lanka. This book offers a comprehensive summary of the BFN Project results in each of the four countries along with lessons learned and how this work could be upscaled or applied in other regions. It argues that the strategic promotion and use of food biodiversity is critical in uniting attempts to address conservation, nutrition and livelihood concerns. The book is structured around chapters and case studies encompassing the BFN Project with specific experiences related by partners who played key roles in the work being done in each country. By offering a comparative view capable of furthering dialogue between the respective countries, it is also meant to connect the individual cases for a “greater than the sum of its parts” effect. This means consideration of how localized activities can be adapted to more countries and regions. Therefore, the book addresses global issues with a foot planted firmly in the grounded case study locations. This book will be of great interest to policymakers, practitioners and NGOs working on food and nutrition, as well as students and scholars of agriculture, food systems and sustainable development.