0000000001324348
AUTHOR
Lynn Dicks
Enabling ecological intensification of agriculture through policy
Ecological intensification is an innovative, knowledge-based approach to agriculture. It combines emerging understanding of how agro-ecosystems function with agronomic knowledge, to manage agricultural ecosystems in a way that secures high yields with reduced environmental impacts. Policy makers have an interest in ecological intensification, as it can help them respond to multiple international targets and strategies implemented this decade to improve sustainability. It can deliver elements of the second Sustainable Development Goal, ‘Zero Hunger’, which includes a target to ‘ensure sustainable food production systems … that increase productivity and production, help maintain ecosystems ………
What does the science say? The diversity of methods to synthesize knowledge
Effective, unbiased and transparent methods of knowledge synthesis are a crucial element of science-policy-society interactions. A vast and rapidly expanding body of knowledge is relevant to many policy decisions. This includes scientific knowledge, technical know-how and experiential knowledge held by experts, and indigenous and local knowledge. Synthesizing knowledge within timescales relevant to policy makers is a real challenge, but many methods are now available to do so. We have identified 21 knowledge synthesis methods that could be used to answer questions from policymakers or other stakeholders [1]. It is not an exhaustive list, but those we consider most useful for current science…