Conserving agrobiodiversity for sustainable food systems in the Hindu Kush Himalaya

ABSTRACT

The Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) is a rich region in agrobiodiversity. As elsewhere in the world, agrobiodiversity is declining in this region, and this is impacting the functioning of ecosystems and has profound implications for agricultural sustainability and food security. Today, the challenge faced by the global community is how to slow or reverse the present trend of loss of agrobiodiversity to safeguard future food supplies. Taking examples from the HKH, this paper explores the link between agrobiodiversity and food security, identifies the key issues and challenges to maintaining agrobiodiversity, and explores potentials and opportunities for improving agrobiodiversity that are conducive to maintaining and increasing food security, ecosystem services, and agricultural sustainability, and thus building resilience. The paper concludes that urgent action and an integrated landscape approach are required, bringing together multiple stakeholders, and integrates agrobiodiversity in national policies and programmes. Appropriate economic measures should be developed to encourage local people to use the Himalayan biodiversity sustainably as a basis to achieve food security and agricultural sustainability.

KEYWORDS:

• Agrobiodiversity
• ecosystem services
• food security
• agriculture sustainability
• Hindu Kush Himalaya

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank two anonymous reviewers and the handling editor for their constructive input to improve the quality of this article. The authors would also like to thank their colleagues at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) for their highly constructive input. The study benefitted a lot from the work of two landscape initiatives of ICIMOD – Hindu Kush Karakoram Pamir Landscape (HKPL) and the Kailash Sacred Landscape Conservation and Development Initiative (KSLCDI). The views and interpretations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and are not necessarily attributable to ICIMOD.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

This is a review article that mainly relied on published literature. However, we used some raw data on cultivated areas and the production of cereal crops for our analysis. These data were procured from FAOSTAT. Compiled data in an excel sheet are attached with this manuscript.

Additional information

Funding

Financial support for this study was provided by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), Nepal. The authors gratefully acknowledge the support of core donors of ICIMOD: the Governments of Afghanistan, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Norway, Pakistan, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

Notes on contributors

Golam Rasul

Golam Rasul is a Development Economist. He is currently working as a Professor in the Department of Economics at the International University of Business Agriculture and Technology (IUBAT), Dhaka, Bangladesh. Previously, he worked as the Chief Economist at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), Nepal. Dr Rasul holds a PhD in regional and rural development planning from the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Thailand. He has been actively involved in research for last 25 years in areas that include agriculture, food and nutrition security, food-water-energy nexus, natural resource management, poverty alleviation, and sustainable development in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region. His research findings have been published in many international journals. He was also a Coordinating Lead Author of a Chapter on ‘High Mountain Areas’ in the IPCC Special Report (2019) on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate.

Abid Hussain

Abid Hussain is a Development Economist currently working as Senior Economist and Food Systems Specialist at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), Nepal. He has around 18 years of experience of research and policy work focusing on rural finance, food systems, mountain economy, and climate change adaptation. He is among the authors of the Cross-Chapter Paper on ‘Mountains’ in the Working Group II contribution to the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report – Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. He is also a Lead Author of the Biodiversity-Water-Food- Health Nexus Assessment (2021–2024) of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). In addition, he was Lead Author of The Hindu Kush Himalayan Assessment (2019).

Lipy Adhikari

Lipy Adhikari is a PhD student at the University of Queensland, Australia. Prior to this, she worked as a researcher at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) for eight years. During this time, Ms. Adhikari was able to contribute to research topics such as mountain agriculture, food and nutrition security and value-chain development. She has an experience of working with remote mountain communities in countries like Nepal, India, Bhutan and Bangladesh. She has published numerous articles, peer-reviewed papers and book chapters related to her field. She was also a Lead Author of The Hindu Kush Himalayan Assessment (2019).

David James Molden

David James Molden is a Policy Advisor at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), Nepal on the issues of natural resources, transboundary river management, and regional cooperation in the Hindu Kush Himalaya. Dr. Molden is also a former Director General of the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), Nepal. Prior to joining ICIMOD he was the Deputy Director General for Research at the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) based in Sri Lanka. He has around 35 years of experience in designing, planning, executing, and managing programs on water and natural resource management, livelihoods, agriculture and environment, with considerable experience across Asia and Africa. Dr. Molden was awarded a PhD in Civil Engineering from Colorado State University. He has contributed to the publication of nearly 200 works in books, refereed journals, research and project report series, the media, and educational materials. He has received many awards including the Outstanding Scientist Award of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) in 2009.