Tailored policies for perennial woody crops are key to progress on Sustainable Development Goals

MARTINEZ-NUÑEZ, CARLOS ; VELADO-ALONSO, ELENA; AVELINO, JACQUES ; REY, PEDRO J. ; TEN HOOPEN, G. MARTIJN ; PEER, GUY ; ZOU, YI; LIU, YUNHUI ; ANTWI-AGYEI, PHILIP ; RUSCH, ADRIEN; STAVER, CHARLES ; PRIYADARSHANA, THARAKA S. ; SONWA, DENIS J. ; BUCHORI, DAMAYANTI; GARIBALDI, LUCAS A.; CONCEPCIÓN, ELENA D.; LEWIS, OWEN T. ; PERFECTO, IVETTE; BARTOMEUS, IGNASI

Nature Sustainability

Nature Publishing Group

Año: 2024 p. 1 - 9

2398-9629

Perennial woody crops, crucial to our diets and global economies, can play a major role in achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by supporting biodiversity conservation (SDG 15), socioeconomic development (SDG 8), and climate change mitigation (SDG 13). However, insufficient scientific and policy attention and specificity is hindering the realization of this potential. Furthermore, the intensification of perennial crops through monocropping with high levels of external inputs threatens these SDG benefits. We urge scientists and policymakers to develop an agenda that ensures sustainable management of perennial woody crops to harness their benefits and contribution towards the attainment of the SDGs.