BIODIVERSITY, TRADITIONAL LANDSCAPES AND AGROECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT

Biological organisms are the basis of life on our planet. Following re cent evaluations, only 1/20 to 1/60 of the planet species have yet bee n described and most of these will be lost if the rate of destruction of our environment continues at the present rate. Most of the terrestr ial environment, up to 95%, is affected by human activities, including agriculture, and this terrestrial habitat provides up to 98% of human food on the planet. Sustainable strategies in food production in agri culture improve the existing biodiversity and include the following it ems: increased porosity of the landscape through natural vegetation, p roper management, better use and recycling of organic residues, introd uction of integrated farming systems, reduced tillage, rotation, biolo gical control, increased number of biota involved in human foodwebs. A ttention must be paid to non-conventional food such as insects and oth er terrestrial invertebrates in Western countries. Such microlivestock , like the case of palm weevils in Papua New Guinea, can offer a model of sustainable use of rain forests in which most of the diversity on the planet represented by insects is concentrated.