This learning brief highlights findings from a systems mapping research study to investigate what drives smallholder farmers to convert natural lands to agriculture production spaces in three high biodiversity regions: Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Southeast Asia.
Globally, agriculture-driven land conversion is one of the most pervasive threats to biodiversity conservation. At the same time, nearly one in three people worldwide did not have access to adequate food in 2020. Reconciling the need for land for agriculture and land for conservation is one of the most significant development challenges we face.
To inform effective programs addressing both needs, USAID commissioned a systems mapping research study to investigate what drives smallholder farmers to convert natural lands to agriculture production spaces.
For more details, the full research paper is available at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2024.103986.
This brief was originally posted on biodiversitylinks.org