Part One of a two-part series on the report, "Common Good, Common Future: How Eco-agriculture Can Help Feed the World," released by Future Harvest and the World Conservation Union. Part Two (Friday): an in-depth look at eco-agriculture.

Human hunger poses the biggest threat to the world's biodiversity "hotspots," according to a report released Tuesday by Future Harvest and the World Conservation Union.

According to the report, almost half of the world's 17,000 major nature reserves, which are meant to protect wildlife from extinction, are being used for agriculture. For the first time, the report provides a comprehensive summary of the interactions between wild biodiversity and agriculture throughout the world.

"I had no idea of the scale that habitat change is taking place," said co-author of the study Sara Scherr, a professor of agriculture and resource economics at the University of Maryland. [There is no sound science in this statement - yet the UN is basing is actions as if it were FACT (not!)]

More than 1.1 billion people — about 20 percent of the world's population — live within the 25 most threatened, species-rich areas of the world — areas tabbed as biodiversity hotspots by Conservation International. The majority of these hotspots are also located in areas with very high malnutrition and rapid population growth.  [There is no sound science in this statement - yet the UN is basing is actions as if it were FACT (not!)]

According to a recent study by the United Nations Environment Programme, species extinction since 1600 has occurred at a pace 50 to 100 times greater than the natural rate. That pace is expected to accelerate to 1,000 to 10,000 times the natural pace. [There is no sound science in this statement - yet the UN is basing is actions as if it were FACT (not!)]

The loss of biodiversity to agriculture creates a vicious cycle because many wild species aid in farm productivity. Insects and other small animals, for example, help with soil fertility and plant reproduction. Trees help provide clean water and prevent floods.

Some experts predict that the world's demand for food could grow by as much as 60 percent by 2030. If forest clearing for agriculture continues at the present rate, the world's forests could lose more than half of their species over the next 50 years, the researchers warn.  [There is no sound science in this statement - yet the UN is basing is actions as if it were FACT (not!)]

"The gut reaction among many conservation groups has been to stop farming," said Scherr. "Where that's OK in surplus producing regions of the U.S., it's not OK in the Third World."

The report recommends six strategies for farmers in developing countries to protect wild habitat on and near their land while increasing agricultural output.

Dubbed "eco-agriculture" by the researchers, these methods include integrating plants into farming systems that mimic natural habitats; using farming methods that reduce pollution; establishing additional protected area near farmland; and increasing productivity on land already being farmed to curb the conversion of land to agriculture.

The report cites several recent events that underscore the need to increase these methods throughout the world.

For example, in China's Wolong nature reserve, which was established to protect the giant panda, more critical habitat for pandas has been destroyed inside rather than outside the reserve as a burgeoning human population converts forests to farmland.

"For too long, agriculturalists and environmentalists have worked at cross-purposes," said Barbara Rose, executive director of Future Harvest. "We must start working together if we are going to feed the world and protect wildlife. This report signals the beginning of an international effort to raise awareness about farming approaches that are not only highly productive but also preserve the environment upon which all life on Earth depends."

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