18/01/2013 (Bernama) - Expansion of land for crops is one of the main reasons for the continuing loss of biodiversity and threatens to undermine attempts to meet international environmental goal, according to a report by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).

The report, released ahead of the first plenary meeting of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) in Bonn, Germany next week, details how land is being converted or set aside for crops such as rice and maize in some 128 tropical countries.

"Countries which added the greatest area of new cropland were Nigeria, Indonesia, Ethiopia, Sudan and Brazil," Xinhua news agency quoted the report as saying.

"Soybeans and maize are the crops which expanded most in absolute area. Other crops with large increases included rice, sorghum, oil palm, beans, sugar cane, cow peas, wheat and cassava," it said.

The UNEP report analysed data on crop distribution and expansion, assessed changes in area of main crops, and mapped overlaps between conservation priorities and cultivation potential.

"They found that cropland in tropical countries expanded by around 48,000 square km per year from 1999 to 2008. Rice was the single crop grown over the largest area, especially in tropical forest habitats," the report said.

The report warned that such trends, if continued, could derail progress towards meeting the Aichi Biodiversity Targets - a set of 20, measurable goals aimed at halting global biodiversity loss by the middle of the century.

Kenya has borne the brunt of climate variability as evidenced by recurrent droughts, floods, biodiversity loss and a surge in tropical diseases.

Officials of the ministry of environment said that poor early warning systems, inadequate adaptation infrastructure and technical capacity have worsened Kenya's vulnerability to climate change impacts.

Kenya has taken bold moves to enhance adaptation to negative impacts of climate change through the development of comprehensive national climate change action plans.

Kenya's environmental watchdog said the increasing loss of the country's rich biodiversity is caused by increasing population which has led to the encroachment of forests and wetlands.

Due to the effects of climate change, people are moving from agricultural highlands to arid and semi arid lands with negative consequences.

The UNEP-backed report also warned that areas of high biodiversity value may also be vulnerable to similar land conversion patterns in the future, including priority conservation areas such as Frontier Forests and High Biodiversity Wilderness Areas that were previously identified as having "low vulnerability."

The report highlights urgent need for more effective sustainability standards and policies to address production and consumption of tropical commodities, including robust land-use planning, establishment of new protected areas, projects to support forests in places agriculture has not reached, and reduction or elimination of incentives for land-demanding bio-energy feed stocks.

UNEP will launch a campaign against food waste later this month which also aims to lessen the pressure on land not used for agriculture.