Shared Messages on Biodiversity & Food Systems

This Shared Messages Brief is the result of an intentional community-owned co-development process called for by the Biodiversity and Food Systems Partnership convened by the Netherlands Food Partnership. 

It lays out a set of shared messages that articulate a common ground across sectors, actors and scales.
Each message is supported by examples of how momentum can be built by different actor groups and
by ‘Stories of Progress’ from the community that depict existing experiences supporting the Shared Messages.

Together, they bring enhanced shared understanding and translate this into concrete entry points for
practice, policy coherence, investment decisions, research agendas, business operations, and community
leadership.

The 3 Shared Messages

• Changing mindsets
  Biodiversity is the foundation of food security while, paradoxically, food systems are the primary driver of biodiversity loss. Let’s do away with the silos and see and address biodiversity and food systems together, as inseparable, in how we think, speak, organize, and act.
• Unlocking opportunities
  The cost of inaction is enormous. At the same time, integrated and careful management can manage risks and unlock opportunities to strengthen food systems while restoring biodiversity.
• Altering the power web
  Concentrated power and wealth are underlying causes of both biodiversity loss and food insecurity. Realising the benefits of addressing the food-biodiversity nexus requires challenging the structures that concentrate benefits and limit change. This calls for actors across sectors and scales to connect and work beyond their comfort zones to reshape systems so that resilience, equity, and sustainability can emerge for people and the planet.
  

How you can use these shared messages

These shared messages are designed as a flexible resource that can be adopted and adapted across contexts while maintaining a coherent collective direction. Their value lies not only in what they say, but in how they are actively used to inspire active use, adaptation, and collective ownership. Below are some practical ways in which the messages in this brief can be used:

• As an advocacy tool
• As a framework tool
• As an engagement tool

More information about how you can use these Shared Messages are shared in the brief. We hope this inspires you to explore the practical ways in which the messages can be used within your own work, context and networks.

How can you be part of this collective effort

These Shared Messages are designed as a flexible resource that can be adopted and adapted across contexts while maintaining a coherent collective direction. Their value lies not only in what they say, but in how they are actively used to inspire dialogue, collaboration, learning, and action.

We invite you to:

• Opt in and become a friend of the Shared Messages;
• Contribute Story of Progress that illustrate how the messages are being translated into practice;
• Use and adapt the messages within your own organisation, network, policy processes, research, advocacy, or engagement activities;
• Share and amplify the messages through your own communication channels and communities.