3 March 2021: According to the World Biodiversity Council's 2019 report, around one million species are threatened with extinction. In Germany, too, the trend continues to be negative, as in almost all countries worldwide. Alongside climate change, the loss of biodiversity is one of the greatest challenges of our time - a challenge that can be tackled most effectively together.
A diverse alliance used World Wildlife Day on 3 March as an opportunity to set an example against the trend by founding an association and taking collective action to protect biodiversity in the food industry. The German founding members of "Food for Biodiversity" include the food sector companies REWE Group, Kaufland, Lidl and Nestlé, the standard organizations Fairtrade Deutschland, Rainforest Alliance and Naturland, the environmental associations Global Nature Fund, NABU - Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union Germany, Lake Constance Foundation and the research institute FiBL, as well as the business associations Association of Organic Food Producers (AöL) and the "Biodiversity in Good Company" initiative as supporting members.
The association aims to pave the way for sustainable and future-proof food systems. The protection of biodiversity is to become a central concern of the food industry and its upstream value chains. The members of "Food for Biodiversity" contribute to the achievement of the association's goals by
- Anchoring the protection and promotion of biodiversity in their strategies, guidelines and projects.
- Implementing criteria for the protection and promotion of biodiversity along the supply chain in purchasing and standard specifications. Farmers should be supported in implementing the criteria and corresponding measures.
- Implementing a monitoring of the development of biodiversity on farms. Based on the results, measures to promote biodiversity will be further developed.
- Conducting further training on biodiversity for employees, farmers, agricultural advisors and auditors, sensitize consumers in Germany to the value of biodiversity for food production and promote the supply and demand of corresponding products.
- Last but not least, the members will also advocate for better political framework conditions to strengthen the protection of biodiversity.
The association is open to new members: standard organizations, producer groups and companies that produce, process, trade and certify food, as well as organizations with an interest in promoting the protection of biodiversity in the food sector are welcome to join the association.
BackgroundThe food industry, with agriculture as the most important actor, is identified in the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030 as one of the three economic sectors most dependent on biodiversity and contributing significantly to biodiversity loss through intensive land management. The association "Food for Biodiversity" and its members want to make a relevant contribution to achieve the goals of the German and European Biodiversity Strategy, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The preparations for the founding of the association took place, among other things, within the framework of the "LIFE Food & Biodiversity" project, which was funded by the EU LIFE program and the German Federal Foundation for the Environment.
"Biodiversity is vital - nature provides us with food, medicines or building materials; it offers us recreation and is thus also important for our well-being and health. An intact ecosystem ensures clean air and water and is an ally in the fight against climate change. The transformation of waste into new resources, pollination, fertilization of crops - this and much more would simply be unthinkable without an intact ecosystem," underlines the European Commission in the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030.
For further information, please contact
Stefan Hörmann (GNF)