Coffee Break Seminar: Analyzing possible pathways to align biodiversity conservation with agricultural development in Tanzania.

Short presentation followed by Q&A with Simone Markoff (University of Basel, Switzerland) on Analyzing possible pathways to align biodiversity conservation with agricultural development in Tanzania.

Coffee Break Seminars are a relaxed online learning and discussion platform for our food security community. Talks take place every Friday during term time at 2 pm, UK time. Zoom link to join the seminar can be found here. 

Abstract:

Tanzania has an extraordinarily rich biodiversity¹ and at the same time high ongoing agricultural expansion² and a large potential for agricultural intensification³. However, utilizing either of these strategies to increase agricultural production could potentially adversely affect biodiversity⁴. To our knowledge, the degree to which current cropland can be expanded or to which current cropland use can be intensified, and the threshold to limit negative impacts on biodiversity, is not known.

To address this knowledge gap, we are conducting expert questionnaires and interviews according to the Delphi method^5,6. We gather estimations on future yield and cropland area from local and international experts in the fields of biodiversity and agriculture. These estimations will be used to define scenarios that take into consideration and disregard biodiversity objectives. Our preliminary results suggest that incorporating biodiversity considerations into agricultural practices will result in higher yields in the long-term perspective, emphasizing the importance of biodiversity for sustainable crop production.

List of References:

1. CBD. (2021) United Republic of Tanzania - Main Details. Accessed June 2021.  https://www.cbd.int/countries/profile/?country=tz#facts
2. Kehoe, L., Romero-Muñoz, A., Polaina, E., Estes, L., Kreft, H., & Kuemmerle, T. (2017). Biodiversity at risk under future cropland expansion and intensification. Nature ecology & evolution, 1(8), 1129-1135.
3. Mkonda, M. Y., & He, X. (2018). Agricultural history nexus food security and policy framework in Tanzania. Agriculture & Food Security, 7(1), 1-11.
4. Dudley, N., & Alexander, S. (2017). Agriculture and biodiversity: a review. Biodiversity, 18(2-3), 45-49.
5. Okoli, C., & Pawlowski, S. D. (2004). The Delphi method as a research tool: an example, design considerations and applications. Information & management, 42(1), 15-29.
6. Skulmoski, G. J., Hartman, F. T., & Krahn, J. (2007). The Delphi method for graduate research. Journal of Information Technology Education: Research, 6(1), 1-21.

Speaker:

Simone Markoff