Abstract
The diversity of living organisms has long been the mainstay of agricultural activity and its innovations. However, since the late nineteenth century, particularly in industrialized countries, increases in yields have been based on radically new technologies which deny the biological reality of agriculture and end up artificializing environments. This greatly intensified agriculture is primarily based on fossil fuels (mainly petroleum). It now finds itself at an impasse because of its impacts on ecosystems and the dramatic increase in the prices of inputs and energy. Social inequalities and massive rural exoduses that it has caused are further reasons for concern. Scientists, politicians and NGOs have striven, mainly over the last 20 years, to come up with alternative approaches for developing countries to overcome these energy, economic and environmental crises, and in order to ensure food security for the most vulnerable populations. There is now a widespread conviction that these countries must develop the capacity to ensure sustainable food security. The intensification of their production is therefore essential but has to be based on new approaches. Often grouped under the all-encompassing term ‘agroecology’, these new approaches rely on both the most modern advances in agricultural sciences and the traditional know-how of rural populations.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Most of the figures mentioner here are from Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. See also: Convention on biological diversity, 2008. Biodiversity and agriculture—Protecting biodiversity and ensuring food security, www.cbd.int (retrieved: 29 November 2012).
- 2.
Friends of the Earth, 2007. Qui tire profit des cultures GM? Monsanto et la « révolution biotechnologique » de l’agriculture menée par les multinationales, 20 p., http://www.foei.org/fr/publications/pdfs/gmocrops2006execsummaryfr.pdf (retrieved: 6 April 2013).
- 3.
Haut Conseil des biotechnologies, comité scientifique, 2011. Avis en réponse à la saisine 100506-coexistence sur la définition des conditions techniques relatives à la mise en culture, la récolte, le stockage et le transport des végétaux génétiquement modifiés, 46 p., http://www.hautconseildesbiotechnologies.fr/IMG/pdf/120117_Coexistence_Avis_CS_HCB.pdf (retrieved: 6 April 2013).
- 4.
FAO, Land Policy and Planning, http://www.fao.org/nr/land/land-policy-and-planning/en/ (retrieved: 6 April 2013).
- 5.
Tela Botanica network, http://www.tela-botanica.org/site:accueil?langue=en/, Pl@ntnet initiative, http://www.plantnet-project.org/papyrus.php?langue=en/ (retrieved: 7 April 2013).
- 6.
Réseau des semences paysannes (Farmers’ Seed Network), http://www.semencespaysannes.org/ (retrieved: 7 April 2013).
References
Abel, S. (2007). Le Laos soumis à la dictature de l’hévéa chinois. Libération, 22 May 2007. Retrieved April 5, 2013 from http://www.liberation.fr/economie/0101102825-le-laos-soumis-a-la-dictature-de-l-hevea-chinois
Altieri, M. A., Funes-Monzote, F. R., & Petersen, P. (2011). Agroecologically efficient agricultural systems for smallholder farmers: contribution to food sovereignty. Agronomy for a Sustainable Development, 32(1), 1–13.
Atlan, H. (1999). La fin du « tout génétique » ? Vers de nouveaux paradigmes en biologie (91 p), Inra, Sciences en question, Éditions Quae
Atlan, H. (2011). Le vivant post-génomique. Ou qu’est-ce que l’auto-organisation? Paris: Odile Jacob.
Batjes, N. (1999). Management options for reducing CO 2 concentration in the atmosphere by increasing carbon sequestration in the soil. NRP Report no. 410 200 031.
Bernoux, M. (2011). Le stockage de carbone dans les sols: quels processus ? Comment le mesurer ? Séminaire « Sols et politiques publiques » , 20 October 2011, Lyon. Retrieved April 5, 2013 from http://www.gessol.fr/content/sol-et-politiques-publiques
Bonneuil, C., Fenzi, M. (2011). Des ressources génétiques à la biodiversité cultivée. La carrière d’un problème public mondial. SAC Revue d’anthropologie des connaissances, 5(2), 206–233.
CBD (Convention on Biological Diversity) (1992). United nations (p. 3). Retrieved April 1, 2013 from www.cbd.int/doc/legal/cbd-en.pdf
Cohen, I.R., Atlan, H., Efroni, S. (2009). Genetics as explanation: limits to the human genome project. Encyclopedia of Life Sciences [online], December 2009. doi:10.1002/9780470015902.a0005881.pub2.
Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (2010). The second report on the state of the world’s plant genetic resources for food and agriculture. Rome: FAO. Retrieved April 5, 2013 from http://www.fao.org/docrep/013/i1500e/i1500e00.htm
Conference of the Parties (1996). COP3 Decision 3/11: Conservation and sustainable use of agricultural biological diversity, 4–15 November, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Retrieved April 5, 2013, from http://www.cbd.int/decision/cop/?id=7107
Conference of the Parties (2000). COP5 Decision V/5: Agricultural biological diversity: Review of phase I of the program of work and adoption of a multi-year work program, 15–26 May, Nairobi, Kenya. Retrieved April 5, 2013, from http://www.cbd.int/decision/cop/?id=7147
Conklin, H. C. (1957). Hanunóo agriculture: A report on an integral system of shifting cultivation in the philippine. FAO: Rome.
De Schutter, O. (2010). Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development. Report submitted to the Human Rights Council of the United Nations, 16th session, 17 December 2010 (special rapporteur on the right to food).
Demeulenaere, E., Goulet, F. (2012). Du singulier au collectif. Agriculteurs et objets de la nature dans les réseaux d’agricultures alternatives. ENS Cachan. Terrains et travaux, 1(20), 121–138. Retrieved April 5, 2013, from http://www.cairn.info/revue-terrains-et-travaux-2012-1-page-121.htm
Ecological Footprint Atlas (2009). Global footprint network, research and standards department. Retrieved April 5, 2013, from http://www.footprintnetwork.org/
FAO (2008a). New light on a hidden treasure. International year of the potato 2008. End-of-year report, 148 p. (p. 14).
FAO (2008b). The state of the world’s animal genetic resources for food and agriculture. Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Retrieved April 5, 2013, from http://www.fao.org/docrep/010/a1260e/a1260e00.htm
FAO (2010). Biodiversity. Biodiversity for a world without hunger. Retrieved April 5, 2013, from http://www.fao.org/biodiversity/components/animals/en/
FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) (1996). Lessons from the green revolution: Towards a new green revolution. Technical background document. World Food Summit, 13–17 November, Rome, Italy.
Feldmann, P. (2008a). Interactions between human activities and biodiversity in the heart of overseas sustainable development: Stakes for research in managed ecosystems. In: L’Union européenne et l’outre-mer. Stratégies face au changement climatique et à l’érosion de la biodiversité, IUCN/région Réunion/ONERC/État français, la Réunion.
Feldmann, P. (2008b). Biodiversité et agriculture: Services écologiques et impacts des changements globaux. In: Cycle de conférences 2008. Relever le défi de la biodiversité: l’agriculture durable (Ifore, éd.), Ifore-MNHN, Paris, France.
Feldmann, P., Côte, F., Fernandes, P., Jannoyer, M., Langlais, C. (2007). Biodiversité et agriculture aux Antilles. Antilles Agriculture.
François, J.-L., Tissier, J., Legoupil, J.-C., Maraux, F. (2011). Agriculture de conservation et intensification écologique des exploitations familiales tropicales. Quel partenariat entre recherche et développement? (4 p). Cirad-AFD, September 2011.
Franklin, J., & Mortensen, D. A. (2011). A comparison of land-sharing and land-sparing strategies for plant richness conservation in agricultural landscapes. Ecological Applications, 22(2), 459–471.
Griffon, M. (2006). Nourrir la planète: pour une révolution doublement verte (456 p). Odile Jacob.
Griffon, M. (2011). Pour des agricultures écologiquement intensives (144 p). L’Aube, Poche Essai.
Heams, T. (2012). Mettons du désordre dans nos idées. Le Monde, tribune Science et Techno (p. 8), 22 September.
Ipcc (2007). Climate change: Impacts, adaptation and vulnerability. Contribution of working group II. IPCC Fourth Assessment Report, Cambridge University Press, Chapter 9.
James, C. (2011). Brief 43: Global status of commercialized biotech/GM crops: 2011. ISAAA Brief no. 43. Ithaca, NY: ISAAA. Retrieved April 5, 2013, from http://www.isaaa.org/resources/publications/briefs/43/
Le Roux, X., Barbault, R., Baudry, J., Burel, F., Doussan, I., Garnier, E., Herzog, F., Lavorel, S., Lifran, R., Roger-Estrade, J., Sarthou, J.-P., Trommetter, M. (2008). Agriculture et biodiversité. Valoriser les synergies (178 p). Expertise scientifique collective Inra, Editions Quae.
Mazoyer, M., Roudart, L. (2002). Histoire des agricultures du monde: du néolithique à la crise contemporaine (705 p), Seuil.
MEA (Millenium Ecosystems Assessment) (2005). Ecosystems and human well-being: Biodiversity synthesis, MA. Retrieved April 5, 2013, from http://www.millenniumassessment.org/documents/document.354.aspx.pdf; see also http://www.maweb.org
Mittermeier, R. A., Goettsch Mittermeier, C. (2005). Megadiversity: Earth’s biologically wealthiest nations (501 p), Cemex.
Paillard, S., Treyer, S., Dorin, B. (2010). Agrimonde. Scénarios et défis pour nourrir le monde en 2050 (296 p), Editions Quae.
Phalan, B., Onial, M., Balmford, A., & Green, R. E. (2011). Reconciling food production and biodiversity conservation: land sharing and land sparing compared. Science, 333(6047), 1289–1291. doi:10.1126/science.1208742.
Pretty, J. N., Noble, A. D., Bossio, D., Dixon, J., Hine, R. E., Penning de Vries, F. W. T., Morison, J. I. L. (2006). Resource-conserving agriculture increases yields in developing countries. Environmental Science and Technology, 40(4), 1114–1119. doi:10.1021/es051670d.
Pretty, J. N., Toulmin, C., & Williams, S. (2011). Sustainable intensification in African agriculture. International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability, 9(1), 5–24.
Ruault, M., Dubarry, M., & Taddei, A. (2008). Re-positioning genes to the nuclear envelope in mammalian cells: Impact on transcription. Trends in Genetics, 24, 574–581.
Sastre, C., Breuil, A., Bernard, J.-F., Feldmann, P., Fournet, J. (2007). Les causes de régression de la flore. In: Plantes, milieux et paysages des Antilles françaises: écologie, biologie, identification, protection et usages (pp. 615–620). Mèze: Biotope.
Snoeck, D., Lacote, R., Kéli, J., Doumbia, A., Chapuset, T., Jagoret, P., Gohet, E. (2013). Association of hevea with other tree crops can be more profitable than hevea monocrop during first 12 years. Industrial Crops and Products, 43, 578–586. Retrieved April 5, 2013, from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0926669012004311
Volper, S. (2011). Du cacao à la vanille, une histoire des plantes coloniales (144 p). Éditions Quae.
WCMC (World Conservation Monitoring Centre). (1992). Global Biodiversity Assessment. United Nations: Chapman and Hall.
World Bank (2008). World development report 2008: Agriculture for development (30 p). Abridged.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2013 Éditions Quæ, 2013
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Hainzelin, É., Nouaille, C. (2013). The Diversity of Living Organisms: The Engine for Ecological Functioning. In: Hainzelin, É. (eds) Cultivating Biodiversity to Transform Agriculture. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7984-6_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7984-6_2
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-007-7983-9
Online ISBN: 978-94-007-7984-6
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)