Conserving biodiversity is vital for future food systems and economy, says UNDP official

UNDP’s Dr Angela Lusigi called for united action to conserve biodiversity at a roundtable hosted by ICRISAT. Experts stressed policy reform in agriculture, scientific interventions, and political awareness to align with India’s biodiversity goals and the Kunming-Montreal framework

Sangareddy: Conserving biodiversity is the only way to safeguard the economy, food systems, and the future, said Dr Angela Lusigi, Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), during a high-level roundtable held on Thursday at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in Patancheru.

Dr Lusigi noted that India has begun shifting from biodiversity-negative subsidies in the agriculture sector to biodiversity-positive or neutral investments. “To accelerate this change, we must unite through strong partnerships,” she said, calling upon all stakeholders to work together in advancing nature-positive solutions.

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The roundtable, themed “Repurposing Public Policies and Programmes in Agriculture for Protecting Biodiversity,” was jointly organised by the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) and UNDP’s Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN), in collaboration with ICRISAT.

ICRISAT Director General Dr Himanshu Pathak highlighted the institution’s role in preserving agrobiodiversity, particularly through CGIAR’s 11 international gene banks. He said agriculture’s role today goes beyond ensuring food security and must encompass nutrition security.

Describing the gathering as a historic roundtable, National Biodiversity Authority Chairman C Achalender Reddy, IFS (Retd), stressed the need to sensitise political leaders and policymakers on biodiversity issues. He presented India’s progress in mainstreaming biodiversity, pointing out that the country is among the 46 signatories to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

Reddy added that India has formulated National Biodiversity Targets aligned with international goals, and Telangana was the first state in the country to develop a State Biodiversity Action Plan in line with the new global framework.