Agricultural experts and environmentalists from around the world have urged greater international collaboration to safeguard agricultural biodiversity and advance sustainable development during a high-level gathering taking place in southwest China.
The appeal was made at the third International Agrobiodiversity Congress, which opened on Tuesday in Kunming, provincial capital of Yunnan. The event aims to serve as a platform for sharing knowledge, technologies and experiences in agricultural biodiversity, with the goal of fostering a more resilient and sustainable global food system.
"We still have people with food insecurity and malnutrition, and agrobiodiversity is a key element of the solution," said Marcela Quintero, deputy director general of the Alliance of Bioversity International and International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), one of the event organizers. "If we don't put more agrobiodiversity in the plates of people, we are not going to be able to really tackle the issue in an integral way."
The three-day congress focuses on six key areas, including the role of agricultural biodiversity in driving economic growth, mitigating climate change, improving environmental health, promoting healthy diets, advancing gender and social inclusion, and developing effective conservation and management strategies.
Marcela Quintero, deputy director general of the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, addresses the opening ceremony of the congress in Kunming City, Yunnan Province, southwest China, May 20, 2025. /CGTN
Yunnan is one of the most biologically diverse regions in the world. It hosted the first phase of the COP15 conference in 2021, and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, adopted in late 2022, has since laid a foundation for global efforts to tackle the biodiversity crisis. Scientists at the event believe that China's experience – particularly Yunnan's localized practices – can offer valuable insights for other countries.
"China is one of the biggest producers and consumers of the world. It can play a big role in setting examples on how biodiversity conservation can be achieved, and in setting rules and incentives for the rest of the world to follow," said Raquibul Amin, an official with International Union for Conservation of Nature's Asia Regional Office.
Zhu Youyong, a prominent agricultural scientist in Yunnan, also a member of Chinese Academy of Engineering, emphasized Yunnan’s contribution in the field.
"By tapping into the genetic resources of traditional crop varieties, we've developed new rice strains that thrive in dryland conditions while maintaining high yield and quality. This is a significant achievement in the field of agricultural biodiversity," Zhu told CGTN.
An agricultural researcher showcases a kind of medicinal herb cultivated in an innovative farming method on the sidelines of the congress in Kunming City, Yunnan Province, southwest China, May 20, 2025. /CGTN
In light of worsening biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation, participants stressed that enhanced global cooperation is essential.
Yang Zhenhai, party secretary of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), another congress organizer, reiterated China's commitment to joint action.
"CAAS is ready to work with all partners to fully unlock the potential of biodiversity," Yang said. "We will continue to strengthen research on genetic resource conservation and utilization – particularly of wild relatives and locally adapted varieties – while advancing eco-agriculture models that align food production with ecological protection."
A key outcome of the congress will be the release of the 2025 Kunming Declaration: Agrobiodiversity for More Effective Global Food Systems. The declaration will underscore the strategic importance of agricultural biodiversity in tackling the global food crisis and climate change.
It will also propose innovative financing mechanisms and policy recommendations, promote transnational cooperation platforms and support genetic resource sharing, technology transfer, and capacity building, which is expected to inject new momentum into global efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
(Cover: The third International Agrobiodiversity Congress opens in Kunming, southwest China's Yunnan Province, May 20, 2025. /CGTN)
