Agrobiodiversity for People and Planet: How Multifunctional Landscapes Safeguard Diversity, Resilience, and Livelihoods

Agriculture and food systems have significantly affected over 75% of Earth’s land surface, polluted more than two-thirds of the oceans, degraded over 85% of wetlands, and now threaten over a billion plant and animal species with extinction. Yet, by restoring degraded land, ecosystems and curbing environmental degradation, greenhouse gas emissions, and biodiversity loss, we could generate economic returns of up to US$140 trillion annually, significantly surpassing global GDP.

In the face of global challenges, scientists and policymakers alike have recognized agrobiodiversity as an “untapped resource” for solving global challenges. From climate change adaptation to nutrition, the diversity of life across agricultural landscapes has far-reaching benefits. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) noted that agricultural adaptation measures based on agroecology “entail enhancement of agrobiodiversity” and “can enhance the sustainability and resilience of agricultural systems by buffering climate extremes, reducing soil degradation, and reversing unsustainable resource use”.

Unlike uniform farms, multifunctional landscapes are characterized by diversified land use and complex mosaics of fields, forests and trees, water bodies, and other natural habitats. The core idea is that more diverse food, fiber, and ecosystem services from the land lead to greater environmental, social, and economic benefits, ultimately bolstering both community and nature’s well-being. In other words, embracing agrobiodiversity – the variety of crops, livestock, aquatic foods, and trees farmers cultivate – can transform agricultural areas into engines of resilience for people and the planet.

 A Global Framework to Halt Biodiversity Loss

The urgency of protecting biodiversity, including agrobiodiversity, has never been clearer. In late 2022, world nations adopted the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, a historic agreement hailed as a “Paris Agreement for Nature.” Its goal is straightforward yet ambitious: halt and reverse nature loss by 2030. The framework lays out 23 global targets, including conserving at least 30% of the planet’s land, inland waters, and oceans by 2030, and restoring 30% of degraded ecosystems in the same timeframe These targets recognize that biodiversity underpins human survival – from crop pollination to clean water – and that decisive action is needed this decade. Achieving such goals will require profound changes in how we manage agricultural landscapes, which cover a large portion of Earth’s land. Rather than being drivers of biodiversity loss, farms and pastures must become part of the solution. By integrating biodiversity considerations and sustainable practices into farming, multifunctional landscapes directly contribute to these global targets, demonstrating how agriculture can align with and accelerate progress toward the Kunming–Montreal commitments.

At the 3rd International Agrobiodiversity Congress (IAC-3), stakeholders from around the globe convened under the theme “Agrobiodiversity for People and Planet” to address how multifunctional landscapes and integrated farming can secure resilient, productive, and sustainable futures. CGIAR’s Multifunctional Landscapes Science Program actively participated, sharing research and insights to support integrated approaches to sustainable farming and biodiversity conservation, and support a coherent science-policy interface.

Here, we highlight how CGIAR Multifunctional Landscapes Science Program efforts in agrobiodiversity and landscape management align with the framework’s call to “Live in harmony with nature”.

Agrobiodiversity: Nature’s Treasure in Farmlands

Agrobiodiversity refers to all the forms of life that make agriculture possible, from the diverse crop varieties and livestock breeds to soil microbes, pollinating insects, and wild relatives of crops that carry valuable genes. This diversity is not just a catalog of species; it’s a lifeline for food security and environmental health. Why? Because diverse systems are inherently more resilient and productive. Different plants and animals play complementary roles; some fix nitrogen in the soil, while others suppress pests. Some thrive in drought, while others prefer wet conditions. Together, they create a balance that single-crop system (monoculture) simply cannot. High agrobiodiversity on a farm means that if one crop fails, others can still provide food or income, and the ecosystem as a whole can better withstand shocks.

In simpler terms, planting a variety of crops and integrating farming with natural ecosystems can create a safety net against extreme weather, while maintaining healthy soils and water. Agrobiodiversity also contributes to dietary diversity – providing a range of fruits, vegetables, and grains needed for balanced nutrition – and helps preserve cultural heritage (think of heirloom crop varieties and traditional foods). It’s no wonder that global forums like IAC-3 emphasize agrobiodiversity as foundational to both “people” (secure livelihoods and nutrition) and “planet” (ecosystem health and climate resilience)

Yet, agrobiodiversity has been declining in many parts of the world. Over the last century, agriculture has narrowed to a handful of staple crops; thousands of locally adapted crops and breeds have been pushed to the margins. This erosion of diversity leaves food systems brittle, susceptible to pests, diseases, and climate disruptions. Reversing this trend is urgent. We need to diversify farms and landscapes once again, but in a modern context that meets today’s needs. This is where multifunctional landscapes and integrated farming systems offer a path forward, bridging traditional wisdom and scientific innovation to cultivate diversity at every level.

Multifunctional Landscapes and Integrated Farming: A Holistic Solution

A multifunctional landscape approach treats an entire region, a watershed, or a mixed agricultural zone as one system where agriculture, conservation, and livelihood development happen side by side. Instead of maximizing a single output (like yield of one crop), the goal is to optimize multiple functions: food production, income generation, biodiversity conservation, water regulation, carbon storage, and more. Integrated farming systems are the on-the-ground realization of this, where a farm or a community manages various components (crops, trees, livestock, fish, wildlife habitat) in a complementary way. These concepts go hand-in-hand: by scaling up integrated farming to the landscape level.

At the landscape scale, integration also means connecting different land uses. A multifunctional landscape might include protected forest patches within farming areas, which serve as reservoirs of wild biodiversity, pollinators, and beneficial microbes that spill over into farm fields. It might involve community-managed seed banks conserving dozens of local crop varieties, alongside modern breeding programs – marrying heritage with innovation. Crucially, it involves local governance arrangements where farmers, herders, forest users, and officials coordinate, for example, agreeing on where agriculture should intensify and where to set aside areas as ecological corridors or community forests. By planning at this bigger scale, conflicts (like livestock encroaching into crops, or farms expanding into fragile wetlands) can be managed proactively, and synergies (like using a water reservoir for both irrigation and fish culture) can be fully tapped.

CGIAR Multifunctional Landscapes Science Program aims to harness agrobiodiversity and sustainable practices to benefit both people and the planet. Its high-level vision is “vibrant, diverse, and healthy landscapes that are managed holistically to support sustainable and diverse eco-agrifood systems, resilient livelihoods, and healthy diets – all while remaining within planetary boundaries. “In practical terms, this means developing farming and land-use solutions that simultaneously improve food production, conserve biodiversity, and boost rural incomes. Importantly, CGIAR Multifunctional Landscapes Science Program emphasizes inclusive approaches: local communities, Indigenous peoples, women, and youth are engaged as co-creators and beneficiaries of innovations, ensuring that solutions are equitable and grounded in on-the-ground knowledge. By fostering participatory governance and planning, the program helps stakeholders balance the needs of agriculture with the preservation of forests, wetlands, and other natural ecosystems.

To reach such goals, the program takes an integrated landscape perspective, bridging farm-level practices with broader ecosystem management. It is introducing innovations related to agroecology, agroforestry, and the integration of aquaculture and fisheries into farming systems, linking “source to sea”, from upland watersheds down to coastal areas. By combining food production with conservation and restoration, the initiative generates “multiple wins”: better harvests and incomes, more nutritious diets, and healthier soils, water, and biodiversity all at once.

Crucially, CGIAR’s Multifunctional Landscapes Science Program effort is designed to contribute to international agreements and sustainability goals. It is explicitly aligned with global frameworks, promoting integrated solutions that support not only local communities but also international commitments like the Convention on Biological Diversity’s new framework. In essence, this research program serves as a platform to translate the lofty targets of the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework into practical action on the ground.

Safeguarding Diversity and Resilience through Integrated Farming Systems

Why focus on agrobiodiversity in these landscapes? A growing body of scientific evidence shows that diverse farming systems are more resilient and productive over the long term. For instance, decades of agroforestry research by CIFOR-ICRAF have demonstrated that planting trees alongside crops greatly benefits the environment and farmers. In fact, agroforestry generally supports higher biodiversity than monoculture crops, and it provides the greatest biodiversity gains when used as part of an integrated land-use approach. Trees on farms create habitat for pollinators and soil microbes, improve soil structure, and can even buffer crops against climate extremes. By diversifying farm production (fruits, timber, fodder, etc.), agroforestry also boosts incomes and nutrition for rural families. In Uganda and Kenya, for example, integrating fruit trees into maize fields has both raised farmers’ earnings and increased local bird and insect diversity, illustrating how “multifunctional” agroecosystems support life above and below ground (a key aim echoed by the global biodiversity framework’s call for sustainable use of biodiversity).

Agrobiodiversity isn’t just about crops and trees; livestock and aquatic foods are also part of the picture. Mixed farming systems that include animals can close nutrient loops and diversify outputs. The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) has highlighted how silvo-pastoral systems – integrating trees into pastureland, yield multiple benefits. When livestock graze among trees, the trees provide shade and fodder while the animals fertilize and disturb soil in ways that spur plant regeneration. Research in drylands shows that combining animals with trees “creates an integrated agricultural system that can boost the local ecosystem”, representing a transition to more sustainable, climate-resilient livestock farming. Such grazing-with-trees approaches help halt land degradation: they improve soil quality, increase water retention, and even reduce desertification, all while sustaining pastoral livelihoods. In Latin America, farmers who adopted silvo-pastoral techniques (like planting fodder shrubs in pastures) found they needed fewer chemical inputs and saw improved cattle health and milk production – truly win–win outcomes for nature and people. These examples underscore the principle that integrated farming can enhance ecosystem services (like pollination, nutrient cycling, carbon storage) and make communities more resilient to climate shocks, a synergy strongly advocated by global biodiversity and climate frameworks.

Water and aquatic resources are another often overlooked facet of agrobiodiversity. Fish and other aquatic foods contribute enormously to diets and incomes in many farming Landscapes.  The International Water Management Institute (IWMI), another CGIAR Center, has shown that in Southeast Asia, traditional rice paddies are not just for rice – they also harbor fish, snails, and frogs that provide crucial nutrition. In Cambodia and Laos, for example, wild fish and aquatic foods gathered from rice fields comprise a significant portion of rural people’s diets and are the primary source of protein for many communities. Unfortunately, conventional agricultural intensification often drained wetlands and blocked fish migration, harming these food sources. To address this, CGIAR researchers are developing tools to integrate fisheries with farming better. The result is truly multifunctional landscapes: rice fields that produce both grain and fish, improving nutrition and incomes while maintaining biodiversity. Such approaches echo the Global Biodiversity Framework’s emphasis on sustainable use, demonstrating how we can increase food production and biodiversity together.

From Global Commitment to Local Action: Nature-Positive Landscapes for Food Security and Biodiversity

From the forested farms of Africa and Asia to the mosaic landscapes of Latin America, these examples illustrate a paradigm shift in agriculture. Agrobiodiversity-rich, multifunctional landscapes are proving that farming does not have to erode nature – in fact, it can enhance it. By carefully mixing crops, trees, livestock, and fish, farmers and researchers are finding synergies that make agroecosystems more productive, more resilient to climate stresses, and more beneficial for local communities. Crucially, these nature-positive approaches align with global efforts to confront the biodiversity crisis. Each diversified farm and restored field contributes to the larger goal of halting species loss and healing ecosystems by 2030, as outlined in the Kunming–Montreal framework. There is growing recognition that without transforming agriculture, we cannot meet those worldwide targets for conservation and restoration.

The work underway, from CGIAR’s Multifunctional Landscapes Science Program to grassroots farmer initiatives, offers strong evidence that we can feed the world while restoring the planet. Success will depend on supportive policies, investment, social inclusion, and knowledge-sharing to scale up these integrated solutions. But as we have seen, the building blocks are already here: innovations co-created with farmers that increase yields and income, all by enhancing the diversity of life on farms. Embracing agrobiodiversity at the landscape scale can create a virtuous cycle, healthier ecosystems support more robust agriculture, which in turn sustains livelihoods and cultures, reinforcing the imperative to conserve nature. In sum, multifunctional landscapes are more than a theory; they are emerging as a practical pathway to achieve global biodiversity goals while securing food and income for millions. This convergence of local action and global vision is what makes agrobiodiversity such a powerful lever for positive change, truly serving both people and planet.

Authored by Regina Edward – Uwadiale, Cargele Masso, Chris Kettle, and Carlo Fadda on Behalf of CGIAR Multifunctional Landscapes