Impact on global biodiversity of agricultural development

Agricultural development is already the largest threat to bird species worldwide. 

One set of solutions involves modifying farming methods so they allow more species to tolerate farmed landscapes. Another set involves producing as much as possible from farmed landscapes and devising economic mechanisms so this reduces pressure on unfarmed natural habitats, which can therefore cover a larger area. These approaches conflict. Research can discover which is best for a particular area or set of species.

• To quantify the trade-offs between land-sparing and wildlife-friendly farming strategies in real-world situations.

Two case studies to establish the types of farming that would allow most species to persist are under way in Ghana and northern India.  These should be completed in 2009.

• Scientific papers

• Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge