Urban agrobiodiversity, health and city climate adaptation plans.

Research Urban agrobiodiversity, health and city climate adaptation plans Mary C Sheehana Objective To identify the scope and nature of agricultural biodiversity actions within the climate adaptation plans of a sample of large world cities. Methods I evaluated data from the 2021 Cities Climate Adaptation Actions database curated by the Carbon Disclosure Project. Cities with a population over 1 million and reporting at least one adaptation action were included. I identified actions involving agriculture and biodiversity using a framework consisting of five agrobiodiversity categories: urban and peri-urban land use and water management, and urban food supply chains, food availability and food environments. I also identified reported health co-benefits and health sector involvement. Findings Of 141 cities reviewed, 61 cities reported actions on agricultural biodiversity, mostly supporting land use or water management. Key health outcomes addressed were illnesses linked to air pollution and excessive heat and vector-borne diseases, corresponding with cities’ major health concerns. Greenhouse gas mitigation was also addressed by many cities. Fewer cities reported actions in food categories or concern for noncommunicable diseases or poor nutrition. Nearly two thirds of cities (40/61) reported health co-benefits or health-sector involvement for at least one intervention. A higher proportion of the 43 cities in low- and middle-income countries reported agrobiodiversity actions and health co-benefits than the 18 cities in high-income countries. Conclusion Cities are key partners in achieving sustainable global agriculture that promotes health and supports climate and biodiversity goals. Cities can enhance this role through climate adaptation plans with strong health engagement, a focus on nature-based solutions and greater emphasis on food and nutrition. Introduction The twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss and their interaction with the agriculture and food system create a complex web of impacts on human and planetary health.1–4 Climate change can harm health in direct ways such as illness from excessive heat, and indirect ways such as losses due to extreme weather that lead to mental illness.2–4 The changing climate is also altering the stability of ecosystems in which humans and other species have thrived for millennia.5 Human health depends on ecosystems with abundant diversity of species for filtering clean air and fresh water, and maintaining productive soils. Deterioration of this diversity can lead to imbalanced ecosystems, resulting in infectious diseases, food insecurity and poor nutrition.6,7 The agricultural and food system is a driver of both climate change and biodiversity loss. Food production is also a major determinant of health since undernutrition in a context of poverty leaves 820 million people hungry, while excess nutrition leaves 2 billion people overweight or obese and at risk of noncommunicable diseases.8 To raise awareness of the interconnected nature of ecosystems and human health, the World Health Organization and the Convention on Biological Diversity, in 2015, drew up a strategic framework providing guidance on sustainable healthy agriculture, food production and nutrition.9 The initiative builds on other long-term work to sustainably improve agriculture and human nutrition by the Consortium of International Agricultural Research Centers and partners such as Bioversity, as well as the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations and others. The initiative also links to other international frameworks, including the Paris Climate Agreement, the Sendai Disaster Risk Reduction Framework and the Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals.10 In 2019, the EAT-Lancet Commission defined strategic goals for a sustainable food system that link to agricultural biodiversity: (i) shifting to healthy diets; (ii) reorienting agriculture towards healthy food production; (iii) sustainable intensification of food production with reduced greenhouse gas emissions; (iv) governance of land and ocean for biodiversity; and (v) halving food loss and waste.8 Urban areas are at the heart of these interacting threats and opportunities. Cities are home to over half the world’s population, and are responsible for about 70% of greenhouse gas emissions.11 While only a small share of food globally is produced in cities, up to 70% is consumed there.12 Agriculture-related deforestation to meet the food needs of urban populations contributes to both greenhouse gas emissions and destruction of the habitat supporting native species.8 Expansion of urban areas is also a driver of biodiversity loss.13 Meanwhile, sufficient contact with nature is so essential to a healthy environment in cities14 that it has been called a public health investment.15 These features are particularly notable in the world’s largest cities. Food consumption in the most populous cities generates an important share of global greenhouse gas emissions,16 in part due to the intensive transport needs of long food supply chains.17 Urban green spaces that are rich in biodiversity more often benefit wealthier areas in large cities.18,19 The informal settlements of some large low- and middle-income country cities also experience more extreme weather-related mortality, morbidity and displacement.20 One way in which cities are addressing agricultural biodiversity is through climate adaptation planning. These adaptation goals often overlap with the sustainable development goals (SDGs), particularly in low- and middle-income country cities, most notably those targeting ending poverty (SDG 1); good health and well-being (SDG 3); clean water and Health Policy and Management Department, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 North Wolfe St, Baltimore, Maryland, 21205 United States of America. Correspondence to Mary C Sheehan (email: ). (Submitted: 1 July 2022 – Revised version received: 7 November 2022 – Accepted: 8 November 2022 – Published online: 1 December 2022 ) a Bull World Health Organ 2023;101:121–129 | doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.2471/BLT.22.288857 121 Research Mary C Sheehan Urban agrobiodiversity health adaptation sanitation (SDG 6); sustainable cities and communities (SDG 11); and climate action (SDG 13).21 A common adaptation strategy is nature-based solutions, which aim to “leverage the power of healthy ecosystems to protect people.”22 Such strategies are supported by a growing evidence base and address multiple climate hazards simultaneously. For example, enhancing urban vegetation, such as extending parks or converting degraded areas to community gardens, supports population health by managing urban heat islands, air pollution and flood risk. The enhancement of urban aquatic environments, such as restoration of wetlands and retention ponds for stormwater run-off, contributes to flood control and water conservation. Both strategies can promote biodiversity and su (...truncated)