Integrated land systems for sustainable food production and biodiversity conservation in the semi-arid to moist tropics: stakeholder perspectives from Andhra Pradesh, India
Land systems must urgently be transformed for social and environmental sustainability, which necessitates a better integration of food system and biodiversity governance. This is particularly pronounced in the south-Indian state Andhra Pradesh, where one of the largest agroecological transitions glo...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems |
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| author | Iris Berger Iris Berger Manan Bhan Rekha Bhangaonkar Abhishek Chaudhary Gopinath R. Mallapu Tanaya Nair Eswarayya Ramireddy Rengalakshmi Raj Vijay Ramprasad Vishnupriya Sankararaman Vartika Singh A. S. Hareesha Parthiba Basu Boraiah Bheemappa Chandrashekhar Biradar Archana Chatterjee Ramdas Dagam Israel Oliver King Edwin Devarathna Reuben Gergan Vinuthna Patibandla Benjamin Paul Vamshi Krishna Pulluri Nandini Rajamani Mounika Ramireddy Imran Siddiqui Sowmithri Vadaganambi Ramachari Farida Tampal Swati Udayraj Tata Venkateswarlu Tata Venkateswarlu Lynn V. Dicks Lynn V. Dicks |
| author_facet | Iris Berger Iris Berger Manan Bhan Rekha Bhangaonkar Abhishek Chaudhary Gopinath R. Mallapu Tanaya Nair Eswarayya Ramireddy Rengalakshmi Raj Vijay Ramprasad Vishnupriya Sankararaman Vartika Singh A. S. Hareesha Parthiba Basu Boraiah Bheemappa Chandrashekhar Biradar Archana Chatterjee Ramdas Dagam Israel Oliver King Edwin Devarathna Reuben Gergan Vinuthna Patibandla Benjamin Paul Vamshi Krishna Pulluri Nandini Rajamani Mounika Ramireddy Imran Siddiqui Sowmithri Vadaganambi Ramachari Farida Tampal Swati Udayraj Tata Venkateswarlu Tata Venkateswarlu Lynn V. Dicks Lynn V. Dicks |
| author_sort | Iris Berger |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Land systems must urgently be transformed for social and environmental sustainability, which necessitates a better integration of food system and biodiversity governance. This is particularly pronounced in the south-Indian state Andhra Pradesh, where one of the largest agroecological transitions globally, namely Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF), is currently underway, but involvement of conservation scientists and practitioners has been minimal and policy spheres are disjunct. Here, we report the results of a multi-stakeholder exercise to ascertain the multi-scalar and multi-institutional transformations needed for Andhra Pradesh ‘s landscapes to deliver both food and biodiversity targets. To achieve a vision of an equitable and sustainable food system and of multifunctional and nature-positive land systems, we advocate for an end to harmful subsidies, improvements in infrastructures and social organisations, dietary shifts, and creation of both supporting financial structures and sustainable and transparent value chains. We stress that approaches should be participatory and link across policy domains and scales, bridging bottom-up and top-down perspectives, and with spatial planning critical to balancing land system objectives. Specifically, we stress that the ZBNF transition needs to be better aligned with state-level conservation strategies to maximise biodiversity benefits. Top priority knowledge needs include quantifying the multidimensional performance and scaling-potential of agroecological systems, the effectiveness of different conservation interventions, and how different land system objectives trade off against each other. Our work highlights a lack of data and capacity sharing, which can be addressed through intersectoral partnerships and collaborative programmes to create effective, research-based policies and land management strategies. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-ecc243a27a384272a9f31b6d495e5b76 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2571-581X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems |
| spelling | doaj-art-ecc243a27a384272a9f31b6d495e5b762025-08-20T03:13:50ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems2571-581X2025-07-01910.3389/fsufs.2025.15943561594356Integrated land systems for sustainable food production and biodiversity conservation in the semi-arid to moist tropics: stakeholder perspectives from Andhra Pradesh, IndiaIris Berger0Iris Berger1Manan Bhan2Rekha Bhangaonkar3Abhishek Chaudhary4Gopinath R. Mallapu5Tanaya Nair6Eswarayya Ramireddy7Rengalakshmi Raj8Vijay Ramprasad9Vishnupriya Sankararaman10Vartika Singh11A. S. Hareesha12Parthiba Basu13Boraiah Bheemappa14Chandrashekhar Biradar15Archana Chatterjee16Ramdas Dagam17Israel Oliver King Edwin Devarathna18Reuben Gergan19Vinuthna Patibandla20Benjamin Paul21Vamshi Krishna Pulluri22Nandini Rajamani23Mounika Ramireddy24Imran Siddiqui25Sowmithri Vadaganambi Ramachari26Farida Tampal27Swati Udayraj28Tata Venkateswarlu29Tata Venkateswarlu30Lynn V. Dicks31Lynn V. Dicks32Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United KingdomUniversity of Cambridge Conservation Research Institute, Cambridge, United KingdomAshoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), Bengaluru, IndiaDepartment of Land Economy, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United KingdomDepartment of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur, Kanpur, IndiaCentre For Economic and Social Studies (CESS), Hyderabad, IndiaEnvironmental Change Institute, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford, United KingdomIndian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Tirupati, IndiaM. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, Chennai, India0Environmental Studies Program, Williams College, Williamstown, MA, United States1Wildlife Conservation Society—India, Bengaluru, India2International Food Policy Research Institute, New Delhi, IndiaIndian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Tirupati, India3Department of Zoology and Centre for Agroecology & Pollination Studies, University of Calcutta, Kolkata, India4Research Institute on Organic Farming, University of Agricultural Sciences, GKVK, Bengaluru, India5Global Green Growth, GGGC, Bengaluru, India6IUCN India Country Office, New Delhi, India7Giri Institute of Development Studies (GIDS), Lucknow, IndiaM. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, Chennai, India8UN Environment Programme—India, New Delhi, India9Rainforest Alliance, Guntur, India0Centre for Wildlife Studies—India, Bengaluru, India1World Wide Fund for Nature—India, New Delhi, IndiaIndian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Tirupati, India2Rythu Sadhikara Samastha, APCNF, Guntur, India0Centre for Wildlife Studies—India, Bengaluru, India9Rainforest Alliance, Guntur, India1World Wide Fund for Nature—India, New Delhi, IndiaIndian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Tirupati, India2Rythu Sadhikara Samastha, APCNF, Guntur, India3Indo German Global Academy for Agroecology Research and Learning (IGGAARL), Venkatampalle, IndiaDepartment of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United KingdomUniversity of Cambridge Conservation Research Institute, Cambridge, United KingdomLand systems must urgently be transformed for social and environmental sustainability, which necessitates a better integration of food system and biodiversity governance. This is particularly pronounced in the south-Indian state Andhra Pradesh, where one of the largest agroecological transitions globally, namely Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF), is currently underway, but involvement of conservation scientists and practitioners has been minimal and policy spheres are disjunct. Here, we report the results of a multi-stakeholder exercise to ascertain the multi-scalar and multi-institutional transformations needed for Andhra Pradesh ‘s landscapes to deliver both food and biodiversity targets. To achieve a vision of an equitable and sustainable food system and of multifunctional and nature-positive land systems, we advocate for an end to harmful subsidies, improvements in infrastructures and social organisations, dietary shifts, and creation of both supporting financial structures and sustainable and transparent value chains. We stress that approaches should be participatory and link across policy domains and scales, bridging bottom-up and top-down perspectives, and with spatial planning critical to balancing land system objectives. Specifically, we stress that the ZBNF transition needs to be better aligned with state-level conservation strategies to maximise biodiversity benefits. Top priority knowledge needs include quantifying the multidimensional performance and scaling-potential of agroecological systems, the effectiveness of different conservation interventions, and how different land system objectives trade off against each other. Our work highlights a lack of data and capacity sharing, which can be addressed through intersectoral partnerships and collaborative programmes to create effective, research-based policies and land management strategies.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2025.1594356/fullagroecologybiodiversityfood system sustainabilitytransformative changepolicy coherenceland-use planning |
| spellingShingle | Iris Berger Iris Berger Manan Bhan Rekha Bhangaonkar Abhishek Chaudhary Gopinath R. Mallapu Tanaya Nair Eswarayya Ramireddy Rengalakshmi Raj Vijay Ramprasad Vishnupriya Sankararaman Vartika Singh A. S. Hareesha Parthiba Basu Boraiah Bheemappa Chandrashekhar Biradar Archana Chatterjee Ramdas Dagam Israel Oliver King Edwin Devarathna Reuben Gergan Vinuthna Patibandla Benjamin Paul Vamshi Krishna Pulluri Nandini Rajamani Mounika Ramireddy Imran Siddiqui Sowmithri Vadaganambi Ramachari Farida Tampal Swati Udayraj Tata Venkateswarlu Tata Venkateswarlu Lynn V. Dicks Lynn V. Dicks Integrated land systems for sustainable food production and biodiversity conservation in the semi-arid to moist tropics: stakeholder perspectives from Andhra Pradesh, India Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems agroecology biodiversity food system sustainability transformative change policy coherence land-use planning |
| title | Integrated land systems for sustainable food production and biodiversity conservation in the semi-arid to moist tropics: stakeholder perspectives from Andhra Pradesh, India |
| title_full | Integrated land systems for sustainable food production and biodiversity conservation in the semi-arid to moist tropics: stakeholder perspectives from Andhra Pradesh, India |
| title_fullStr | Integrated land systems for sustainable food production and biodiversity conservation in the semi-arid to moist tropics: stakeholder perspectives from Andhra Pradesh, India |
| title_full_unstemmed | Integrated land systems for sustainable food production and biodiversity conservation in the semi-arid to moist tropics: stakeholder perspectives from Andhra Pradesh, India |
| title_short | Integrated land systems for sustainable food production and biodiversity conservation in the semi-arid to moist tropics: stakeholder perspectives from Andhra Pradesh, India |
| title_sort | integrated land systems for sustainable food production and biodiversity conservation in the semi arid to moist tropics stakeholder perspectives from andhra pradesh india |
| topic | agroecology biodiversity food system sustainability transformative change policy coherence land-use planning |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2025.1594356/full |
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