Abstract:

Climate change and biodiversity loss have distorting social and economic impacts on development and cause severe risks for food security, nutrition and livelihoods among rural populations in Europe and Central Asia, most of whom depend directly or indirectly on the agricultural sector. The mutually reinforcing and complex nature of climate change and biodiversity loss requires the consideration of a variety of outcomes and the application of coordinated solutions, including nature-based solutions, that deliver the highest benefits and the fewest trade-offs, effectively mainstreaming them together. All three FAO Regional Initiatives in Europe and Central Asia, through their programmes, contribute to actions that may simultaneously bring benefits to climate change mitigation and adaptation and biodiversity conservation and help fulfil restoration objectives that contribute to enhancing food security.