Monday, November 22 - 2004 at 15:57 - The habitats of several worldspecies are being devastated by agriculture. For example, palm oil posesthe biggest threat to endangered large mammals. Asian elephant, Sumatranrhinoceros, orangutan and tiger populations are declining because palm oilplantations are encroaching on their habitats.

Agriculture, the largest industry in the world is one of the biggestthreats to the environment. It may employ some 1.3 billion people andproduce about $1.3 trillion worth of goods annually, but it alsocontributes to serious environmental, social and economic problems. Theseissues are discussed in a WWF book, 'World Agriculture and theEnvironment' by Dr Jason Clay, Vice President, Center for Conservation atWWF US.

Agriculture uses more than 50% of the habitable area of the planetincluding land not suitable for it. A forest area more than four times thesize of Switzerland is destroyed each year on account of agriculture.Impacted are critical habitats such as wetlands, montane areas andsavannahs; and the wildlife these support.

The colossal wastage of water is a serious concern. Agriculture wastes 60%or 1,500 trillion litres of the 2,500 trillion litres of water that ituses each year. Water resources are already being used close to or beyondtheir limit, particularly in the Arabian Peninsula, the Americas, Chinaand India. The impacts of global warming are likely to further disruptwater supplies.

'Agriculture has had a larger environmental impact than any other humanactivity and, today, it threatens the very systems we need to meet ourfood and textile needs,' said Dr Clay. 'New kinds of agriculture canproduce the food needed to feed an increasing population and stillaccommodate all the other life forms on the planet.'

The book warns that government subsidies currently encourage intensivemonoculture farming practices, which use chemicals and heavy machineryharmful to the environment. In England, for example, this has led to a 77per cent decrease in bird populations over the past 30 years.

The book recommends that governments especially those of big consumingcountries like China, Japan, the United States, and the EU redirectfunding from subsidies and market barriers that promote unfair competitiontowards the adoption of better management practices. These includegovernment payments for environmental services that farmers provide, suchas watershed protection, erosion prevention, clean water, and carbonsequestration.

The book further recommends that governments must work with farmers andthe food industry to develop better management practices in order toincrease efficiency and reduce damage to the environment. WWF and theWorld Bank are exploring financial incentives that encourage farmers andinvestors to adopt better management practices, for example ecolabelspromoting environmentally-friendly products and offering a reduction infinancial risks.