How biodiversity loss affects society

Roland Ebel, Fabian Menalled, Selena Ahmed, Simone Gingrich, Giulia Maria Baldinelli, Georges F. Félix

    Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

    8 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    The industrialization of agriculture, which has occurred asynchronously in different parts of the world, goes hand in hand with a constant agrobiodiversity decline. The global loss of numerous edible crops and animals, as well as of landraces of still produced species, is not only harming the environmental sustainability of farming systems but has also generated societal consequences. We identify eight fields of consequences of agrobiodiversity loss on society: culture, language, and empirical knowledge; diets and cuisines; health; food environment; societal structures and gender issues; rural life; food security and livelihoods; and resilience of rural communities. We also specify how agrobiodiversity loss impacts society in each of these fields and then provide examples of this impact from as diverse regions as Lake Titicaca in Bolivia, The Pampas of Argentina, the Highlands of Yunnan in China, the Austrian Alps, and Burkina Faso.

    Original languageEnglish
    Title of host publicationHandbook on the Human Impact of Agriculture
    EditorsJames S. Harvey
    Place of PublicationUK/USA
    PublisherEdward Elgar Publishing Ltd.
    Chapter19
    Pages352-376
    Number of pages25
    ISBN (Electronic)9781839101748
    ISBN (Print)9781839101731
    Publication statusPublished - Jun 2021

    Bibliographical note

    Publisher Copyright:
    © Harvey S. James, Jr. 2021.

    Keywords

    • Agrobiodiversity
    • Social impacts
    • Latin America and Caribbean
    • West Africa
    • Farmer innovations
    • Farming

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • General Social Sciences
    • General Agricultural and Biological Sciences
    • Economics, Econometrics and Finance(all)
    • General Business,Management and Accounting

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