Biodiversity Risk study links global food trade to ecosystem loss

A study published in the journal Ecological Economics has introduced a new metric called ‘Biodiversity Risk’ to more accurately measure the environmental impact of global agricultural trade. Researchers from the University of Turin and the University of Milan developed this indicator to integrate the extent of land conversion with ecological factors such as forest value, species vulnerability, and endemism.

By combining satellite deforestation data with trade flows of 157 agricultural products, the study analyzed the biodiversity impacts of production across 166 countries and the consumption patterns of 195 nations between 2005 and 2022. The findings suggest that measuring only lost forest hectares is insufficient, as the risk must account for both immediate habitat transformation and long-term land occupation by agriculture.