‘Received Wisdom’ in agricultural land use policy: 10 years on from Rio

Support needed for agriculture in developing countries has been eroded in the belief that agriculture threatens biodiversity. Preference is now given to environmental research and conservation. Yet there is increasing evidence that much of the ecological criticism of agriculture in developing countries is unfounded. Using the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) as a framework, this paper questions the use of ecological ‘received wisdom’ in international agri-environmental policy over the past 10 years and puts forward a case for productive agriculture and conservation through common-sense land use policies. The paper identifies and then focuses on ‘received wisdom’ surrounding the two CBD objectives of conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity. It presents evidence to question and then reject three major ‘received wisdom’ propositions, namely: the ecosystem approach; the idea that agricultural expansion damages wild biodiversity; and that agricultural biodiversity ensures agricultural sustainability. The paper suggests that future emphasis in the CBD process should be given to three biodiversity-friendly services that agriculture can provide: agricultural intensification to allow land-saving for conserving wild biodiversity off-farm; fields as sustainable models of non-equilibrium ecosystems; and the greater use of the extensive knowledge base generated by agricultural research for developing sound ecological approaches to managing biodiversity.