Conservation and Restoration of Biological Diversity in Agroecosystems: International, European and Ukrainian Experience of Legal Support
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21564/2414-990X.170.340736Keywords:
Environmental law, Agrarian law, Biodiversity, Agrobiodiversity, Ecosystem, Agroecosystem, Conservation, RestorationAbstract
The relevance of the study is determined by the global challenges of biodiversity loss in agroecosystems, which directly affect the resilience of food systems and the quality of human life. The aim of the article is to analyze the legal framework for the conservation and restoration of agrobiodiversity at the international, European, and national levels. To achieve this aim, a set of methods has been applied, including dialectical, formal-legal, analysis and synthesis, as well as a prognostic method for identifying prospects for the development of legal mechanisms. The results of the study show that international instruments provide universal frameworks for the protection of agrobiodiversity, European strategies and regulations integrate these issues into agricultural policy, while Ukraine is gradually forming its own legal basis, which requires further improvement, taking into account modern international and European trends. It has been demonstrated that strengthening the ecological dimension of agricultural legislation, promoting organic farming, and introducing tools for assessment and monitoring are key directions for improvement. The prospects for further research are related to the development of legal mechanisms for integrating agroecological practices, improving the system of indicators for assessing the state of agroecosystems, and enhancing international cooperation in the field of biodiversity conservation.
References
Hulai, V.V. (2024). Biodiversity conservation: A textbook. Kropyvnytskyi: Central Ukrainian National Technical University.
Furdychko, O.I., Drebot, O.I., Demianiuk, O.S., Tkach, Ye.D., & Bunas, A.A. (2022). Ecology of the agrosphere: A textbook. Kyiv.
García-Vega, D., Dumas, P., Prudhomme, R., Kremen, C., Aubert, P.-M. (2024). A safe agricultural space for biodiversity. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 8:1328800. DOI: 10.3389/fsufs.2024.1328800.
FAO and EU to join forces to preserve biodiversity in agriculture. IAS News Service “Agrarians Together”, 29.06.2020. URL: https://agrarii-razom.com.ua/news-agro/fao-i-es-obednayut-zusillya-dlya-zberejennya-bioriznomanittya-v-apk.
Chaika, V.M., Rybalko, Yu.V., & Minyailo, A.A. (2016). Agroecology: A textbook. Kyiv: National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine.
Kazemi, H., Klug, H., Kamkar, B. (2018). New services and roles of biodiversity in modern agroecosystems: A review. Ecological Indicators, 93, 65–74. DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2018.06.018.
Quintero, I., Daza-Cruz, Y.X., & León-Sicard, T. (2022). Main agro-ecological structure: An index for evaluating agro-biodiversity in agro-ecosystems. Sustainability, 14(21), 13738. DOI: 10.3390/su142113738.
Suietnov, Ye.P. (2025). Legal aspects of the conservation and restoration of biodiversity in agroecosystems. In Legal aspects of agroecological development of Ukraine: Proceedings of the International Scientific and Practical Conference dedicated to the 100th anniversary of academician V. Z. Yanchuk (pp. 68–73). Kyiv: NULES of Ukraine.
FAO. 1999a. Agricultural Biodiversity, Multifunctional Character of Agriculture and Land Conference, Background Paper 1, Maastricht, September 1999.
Thrupp, L.A. (1997). Linking biodiversity and agriculture: Challenges and opportunities for sustainable food security. World Resources Institute, USA.
Feledyn-Szewczyk, B., Kuś, J., Stalenga, J., Berbeć, A.K., Radzikowski, P. (2016). The Role of Biological Diversity in Agroecosystems and Organic Farming. In: Organic Farming – A Promising Way of Food Production / ed. P. Konvalina. IntechOpen. DOI: 10.5772/61353.
Garbach, K., Milder, J.C., Montenegro, M., Karp, D.S., & DeClerck, F.A.J. (2014). Biodiversity and ecosystem services in agroecosystems. In N. Van Alfen (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Agriculture and Food Systems (Vol. 2, pp. 21–41). Elsevier. DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-444-52512-3.00013-9.
Knapp, J., & Sciarretta, A. (2023). Agroecology: protecting, restoring, and promoting biodiversity. BMC Ecology and Evolution, 23, 29. DOI: 10.1186/s12862-023-02140-y.
FAO. 1999b. Women-Users, Preservers and Managers of Agro-Biodiversity. Rome, Italy.
Nonato de Souza, H., Duarte, E.M.G., Aguiar, M.I., Fernandes, R.B.A., Mendonça, E.S., Cardoso, I.M. (2009). Increasing biodiversity in agroecosystems decreases climate change problems. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 6:372034. doi:10.1088/1755-1307/6/37/372034.
Vilchynska, L., Plahtiy, D., Puczel, B., Svynarchuk, O., & Sikora, A. (2025). The impact of biodiversity on stability of agroecosystems: Practical aspects for farmers. Scientific Horizons, 28(1), 119–129. DOI: 10.48077/scihor1.2025.119.
Convention on Biological Diversity. URL: https://www.cbd.int.
Report of the Second Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (Jakarta, 6–17 November 1995). Decision II/15: FAO global system for the conservation and utilization of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture, UNEP/CBD/COP/2/19. URL: https://www.cbd.int/decision/cop/default.shtml?id=7088.
Report of the Third Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (Buenos Aires, Argentina 4–15 November 1996). Decision III/11: Conservation and sustainable use of agricultural biological diversity, UNEP/CBD/COP/3/38. URL: https://www.cbd.int/decision/cop/default.shtml?id=7107.
Report of the Fifth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (Nairobi, 15–26 May 2000). Decision V/5: Agricultural biological diversity: review of phase I of the programme of work and adoption of a multi-year work programme, UNEP/CBD/COP/5/23. URL: https://www.cbd.int/decision/cop/default.shtml?id=7147.
Report of the Sixth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (The Hague, 7-19 April 2002). Decision VI/5: Agricultural biological diversity, UNEP/CBD/COP/6/20. URL: https://www.cbd.int/decision/cop/default.shtml?id=7179.
Report of the Eighth Meeting of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (Reissued for technical reasons) (Curitiba, Brazil, 20–31 March 2006). Decision VIII/23: Agricultural biodiversity, UNEP/CBD/COP/8/31. URL: https://www.cbd.int/decision/cop/default.shtml?id=11037.
Report of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity on its Fourteenth Meeting (Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, 17–29 November 2018). Decision XIV/6: Conservation and sustainable use of pollinators, UNEP/CBD/COP/14/14. URL: https://www.cbd.int/doc/decisions/cop-14/cop-14-dec-06-en.pdf.
Report of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity on the Second Part of its Fifteenth Meeting (Montreal, Canada, 7−19 December 2022; Nairobi, 19 and 20 October 2023). Decision XV/28: Biodiversity and agriculture, UNEP/CBD/COP/15/17. URL: https://www.cbd.int/doc/decisions/cop-15/cop-15-dec-28-en.pdf.
Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the European Council, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions. The European Green Deal. COM/2019/640 final. URL: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52019DC0640.
Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions. EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030: Bringing nature back into our lives. COM/2020/380 final. URL: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A52020DC0380.
Regulation (EU) 2024/1991 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 June 2024 on nature restoration and amending Regulation (EU) 2022/869 (Text with EEA relevance). Retrieved from https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32024R1991.
Isbell, F., Adler, P.R., Eisenhauer, N., Fornara, D., Kimmel, K., Kremen, C., Letourneau, D.K., Liebman, M., Polley, H.W., Quijas, S., & Scherer-Lorenzen, M. (2017). Benefits of increasing plant diversity in sustainable agroecosystems. Journal of Ecology, 105(4), 871–879. DOI: 10.1111/1365-2745.12789.
On the ratification of the Convention on the Protection of Biological Diversity: Law of Ukraine No. 257/94-VR of 29.11.1994. URL: https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/257/94-вр#Text.
Association Agreement between Ukraine, of the one part, and the European Union, the European Atomic Energy Community and their Member States, of the other part, dated 27.06.2014. URL: https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/984_011.
On the Concept of Conservation of Biological Diversity of Ukraine: Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated May 12, 1997 No. 439. URL: https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/439-97-п#Text.
On approval of the Concept of the National Biodiversity Conservation Program for 2005-2025: Order of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated September 22, 2004 No. 675-r. URL: : https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/675-2004-р#Text.
On approval of the Procedure for monitoring biological and landscape diversity: Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated January 17, 2025 No. 45. URL: https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/45-2025-п#Text.
On approval of the Concept of balanced development of agroecosystems in Ukraine for the period until 2025: Order of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy of Ukraine dated 20.08.2003 No. 280. URL: https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/rada/show/v0280555-03#Text.
McNeely, J.A. (1995). Biodiversity conservation and traditional agroecosystems. In: V. Domínguez & M. G. Andreu (eds.), Agroecology and biodiversity conservation (pp. xx–xx). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Kucher, O.O. (2018). Ecology of the agrosphere: A textbook. Kharkiv: KhNAU.
Sherstoboieva, O.V., Demianiuk, O.S., & Chabaniuk, Ya.V. (2017). Biodiagnostics and biosafety of soils in agroecosystems. Agroecological Journal, 2, 142–149.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Євгеній Суєтнов, Ельбіс Туліна
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
