May 2015: An ongoing study by The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) Initiative is examining some of the key interdependencies among agriculture and food systems, biodiversity and ecosystems with a view to addressing “the economic invisibility of many of these links” and quantifying the benefits of ecosystems to the agriculture sector, as well as to overall human health, livelihoods and well-being.

Launched in 2014, the TEEB Agriculture and Food Study (TEEB-AF) aims to bring together evaluations of ecosystems, and agricultural and food systems, which are usually undertaken in isolation, in order to enhance the ability of policy makers and businesses to “recognize, demonstrate and capture” the values of ecosystem services and mainstream them in decision-making in the agricultural sector.

The TEEB-AF concept note argues that a “double-whammy of economic invisibility” of impacts from both ecosystems and agricultural and food systems is a root cause of increased fragility and lower resilience to shocks in both ecological and human systems. It further notes that while natural capital provides innumerable benefits to the agricultural sector, “regardless of scale or type of production system,” it is particularly critical to the livelihoods of smallholder producers, where it accounts for an estimated 40% – 90% of “the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of the poor.” One of the overall objectives of the TEEB-AF study is therefore to “gather the evidence necessary to identify policy options to facilitate a transition towards more sustainable agricultural practices, with particular emphasis on the role of smallholder farmers.”

Organized in a similar structure to previous TEEB studies, the project will produce four key outputs: an ‘Interim Report’ (due to be published in October 2015) containing “new and compelling evidence” from a global meta-analysis as well as case studies of externalities-heavy agricultural sectors, including livestock, rice and palm oil; a ‘Scientific and Economic Foundations’ report addressing the core theoretical issues and controversies underpinning the evaluation of the nexus between the agri-food sector, biodiversity and ecosystem services and externalities from agriculture on a global scale; a ‘Policies, Production and Consumption’ report focusing on the evaluation of agro-ecological production systems and policies in different socio-economic contexts; and a Synthesis Report that targets a broad audience and contains key messages and recommendations arising from the findings of the core reports.

TEEB-AF is led by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) TEEB Office, with support from the European Commission and members of the Global Alliance for the Future of Food. [TEEB-AF Project] [TEEB-AF Concept Note]