1. Introduction & Objectives

Although agriculture during the Green Revolution, based on improved germplasm and support of irrigation, fertilisers and pesticides, was able to increase food production in the second half of the 20th century, its consequences on human and environment health are of growing concern. Moreover, the steady increase in agricultural productivity has plateaued in many countries. At the same time, to meet the food demand of growing human population, with limited availability of additional arable land (and knowing its consequences on biodiversity and ecosystem services), current agriculture is looking for alternatives. The current challenges of agriculture are to, increase productivity per unit area and utilise inputs more efficiently; develop resilience against climatic variability; improve ecosystem functions/services to partially replace non-renewable inputs and minimise impacts on environment; and contribute to the well-being of rural populations

A new paradigm shift is required to fast track development of sustainable agriculture to overcome above challenges and develop integrated agricultural systems that are efficient, resilient and include agro-ecological techniques that enhance contribution of ecosystem services. Global agriculture also needs to internalise and appreciate the value of ecosystem services into farming. This information then can be used to shape local and global agricultural policies to achieve food security and sustainable development goals.

Therefore Agro-ecosystems sectoral working group aims to bring together the current knowledge about the contribution of ecosystem services, trade-offs and ways to balance provisioning and regulating services by using agro-ecological techniques through case studies from around the globe, representing both developed and developing countries. This will improve our understanding to develop sustainable agriculture that can address long-term sustainability, provide food security and contribute towards the well-being of rural populations. The specific aim and objectives of the group are mentioned below.

      Aim: To internalise the value of ecosystem services (ES) in agriculture and to shape local and global agricultural policies to achieve food security and sustainable development goals.

      Objectives:

• Economic value of ES in global agro-ecosystems – develop database of values
• Analysis of trade-offs associated with agro-ecosystems and ES
• Identify approaches or methods to enhance ES in agro-ecosystems.
• Identify different farming practices that improve ES in farmland
• Develop diversified and sustainable agricultural systems
• Communicate our work to communities at large

     Solutions:

• Long term solution based on ecosystem based approach
• Role of public-private partnerships

2. Lead Team & Members

• Harpinder Sandhu, School of the Environment, Flinders University, Australia. Chair and Coordinator.
• Steve Wratten,  Bio-protection Research Centre, Lincoln University, New Zealand.
• Pushpam Kumar,  Ecosystem Services Economics Unit of Division of Environmental Policy Implementation (DEPI), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Nairobi.
• Mario V.Balzan, Institute of Applied Science, Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology (MCAST)

If you are interested in becoming a member of the Lead team, please contact the current lead team members.

If you are interested in becoming a member of this Working group, please click here.

Members

Name	Institution	E-mail
Natalia Sirina	Centre de Recherches et d’Etudes Interdisciplinaires sur le Développement Durable (CREIDD), Université de technologie de Troyes, France	[email protected]
Estelle J. Dominati	AgResearch, New Zealand	[email protected]
Louise Bellet	Independent Researcher	louise.bellet@gmail
Juan  Pablo Iñamagua Uyaguari	Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza (CATIE), Turrialba, Costa Rica	[email protected]
Kurt Siegmar Thomas	Dresden University of Technology, Germany	[email protected]
Paloma Esteve	Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Spain	[email protected]
Jose M. Rey-Benayas	University of Alcala, Spain	[email protected]
Anderson Oliveira Latini	Universidade Federal de São João del-Rei – UFSJ, Brazil	[email protected]
Uri Ramon	OLI – Open Landscape Institute	[email protected]
David N. Barton	Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA)	[email protected]
Cibele Longo	Federal University of Santa Catarina/UFSC	[email protected]
Abdon Luiz Schmitt	Federal University of Santa Catarina/UFSC	[email protected]
Remco Van Ek	Deltares, Unit Subsurface and Groundwater Systems, AL Utrecht, The Netherlands	[email protected]
Violeta Hevia	Universidad Autónoma de Madrid	[email protected]
G. Ignacio Díaz Gálvez	Universidad Austral de Chile	[email protected]
Fanny Valerie B.	University of Liege – Gembloux, Belgium	[email protected]
Clotilde De Montpellier	University of Namur, Belgium	[email protected]
Bruno Rapidel	CIRAD/CATIE Costa Rica	[email protected]
Paul Hughes	Flinders University Australia	[email protected]
Ando Aulia	Flinders University Australia	[email protected]
Christopher Baldock	Trucost, UK	[email protected]