Twenty million people die annually due to hunger and its effects.  According to the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, “Agricultural productivity improvement, the cornerstone for poverty reduction strategies…is now seriously threatened by land and water degradation, nutrient mining, [and] extensive ecosystem conversion.”

Biodiversity and Food Security

Wild relatives of agricultural crops have provided genetic enhancements used in plant breeding programs that have helped feed billions of people around the world and are valued at an estimated US$115 billion per year.  The earth’s multitude of species also provides direct food security for the one billion of the world’s poorest people who are directly dependent on local natural resources for survival.  Fresh and salt water fish species, as well as wild terrestrial foods such as diverse fruits, starchy vegetables, honey, and native wildlife are key nutrition sources in many developing countries.  Declining biodiversity in these same regions has resulted in the loss of many food sources globally.  Ninety-five percent of the world’s undernourished people live in developing countries.

Agriculture

Almost 40 perecent of land currently under extensive agriculture is expected to be lost by 2050. A collapse like this would not only mean the financial destruction of the agricultural communities in many countries, but also the destruction of a primary source of food for the people who live there.  Protecting natural resources will allow for sustainable production systems that satisfy livelihood needs, which include agriculture (such as annual crops and domestic animals), as well as perennial/tree crops, non-timber forest products, sustainable harvesting of wild products, and non-consumptive uses of nature, like ecotourism, that provide incomes for many people.

Fisheries

The depletion of fisheries has become an urgent threat. More than three-quarters of fish stocks that are a significant source of protein for two billion people are fully or over exploited.  Breeding grounds for fish have been destroyed or compromised to the point that several fisheries are in danger of total collapse and 60 percent of coral reefs could be lost by 2030.