IPSI Case Study Summary Sheet
Basic Information
Title of case study
Working with nature for a more resilient world to COVID-19: Inspirations from farmer communities in China
Submitting IPSI member organization(s)Center for Chinese Agricultural Policy
Other contributing organization(s) (IPSI members and/or non-members)
UNEP-IEMP, Farmers’ Seed Network (China)
Author(s) and affiliation(s)Yufen Chuang, Xin Song, Yanyan Zhang, Guanqi Li, Yiching SongFormat of case study (manuscript or audiovisual)manuscript
Language
EnglishKeywords
CEL Flagship Programme, Women Empowerment, Ecosystem-based Adaptation, Biodiversity Conservation,
COVID-19
Date of submission (or update, if this is an update of an existing case study)
26/08/2020
Web link (of the case study or lead organization if
http://www.unep-iemp.org/index.php?menu=25&id=202
available for more information)

Geographical Information
Country (where site(s) or activities described in the case study are located – can be multiple, or even “global”)
China
Location(s) (within the country or countries – leave blank if specific location(s) cannot be identified)
North China: Aohan prefecture in Inner Mongolia province, Zhangjiakou county and She county in Hebei
province, Shunyi district in Beijing. East China: Kunshan city in Jiangsu province. West and Southwest China:
Xining city in Qinghai province, Lijiang city in Yunnan province, Nanning city in Guangxi province.
Longitude/latitude or Google Maps link (if location is identified)

Ecosystem(s)ForestGrassland
Agriculturalx
In-land water
CoastalDryland x
Mountainx
Urban/peri-urban x
Other (Please specify)
Socioeconomic and environmental characteristics of the area
The scope of this case study is covering 14 communities in the north, east and southwest China with different
types of landscapes, farming practices and crops including large scale agriculture, emerging organic andcommunity supported agriculture and traditional smallholder farming.

Description of human-nature interactions in the area
The targeted communities and farms are combining the traditional farming practices with modern technology
and innovations to develop ecological agriculture and conserve local farmers’ seeds for a sustainable foodsystem to meet the demand of rural and urban people.

Contents
Status (“ongoing” or “completed”)
Completed
Period (MM/YY to MM/YY)
01/2020-07/2020
Rationale (why activities or policies described, or information shared in the case study are needed)
The COVID-19 crisis has shown that the health and the future of people and nature are intertwined. As global
leaders called for ‘care for nature’ to keep people safe and well, China Farmers’ Seed Network, working with
UNEP-IEMP, collated stories from 14 farming communities in China to show how working with nature can help
people cope better with and recover better from crisis like COVID-19 and climate change.
Objectives (goals of activities or policies described, or of producing the case study)
To reflect on why working with nature to adapt to climate change can offer valuable lessons on how to build
back better from COVID-19.
Activities and/or practices employed

Co-supported by Farmers’ Seed Network (China) and UNEP-IEMP projects, these farmer communities havebeen working with nature to adapt to climate change. Working closely with scientists and drawing on
traditional knowledge, farmers collectively conserve and breed crop varieties that are better adapted toclimate risks like drought. They revive traditional farming techniques for pest control, such as combining
organic rice with duck and fish production. They practice and promote traditional intercropping to increase
biodiversity on farm and better manage soil and water.
Results
As COVID-19 continues to disrupt transportation and travel, those farmers found that working with nature has
made their farming communities more resilient not only to climate change but also to COVID-19 impacts. They
have secure access to seeds as they conserve and breed seeds themselves locally. They grow a diversity of foodon their farms so access to nutritious and affordable food has not been disrupted.
Lessons learned (factors in success or failure, challenges and opportunities)
The stories from those communities’ echoes strongly with UNEP-IEMP research which shows working withnature to adapt to climate change (also known as Ecosystem-based Adaptation) are cost-effective and canbring a wide range of social, economic and environmental benefits to local communities. As governments
consider how to protect food security during COVID-19 and how to build more resilient food system post
COVID-19, they must ensure that recovery policies and investments support integrated solutions for people,nature and the climate and those local actors who are leading the way in implementing them.
Key messages
UNEP-IEMP and FSN carry out comprehensive, multi-level long-term cooperation in action and policy policing
especially at the community level. The Farmers Seed Network and UNEP-IEMP summarize a series of tweets
based on community responses and adaptation to the COVID-19 and climate change, to show how working
with nature can help people cope better with and recover better from the crisis and changes.
Relationship to other IPSI activities (if the case study is related to any other IPSI collaborative activities, case studies, etc.)
Farmers’ Seed Network (FSN) is a pioneering organization in applying participatory action research onagrobiodiversity and natural resource management in the past 2 decades in China. As a non-profit socialorganization, FSN has worked in over 30 rural communities in 10 provinces across the country to support
community-based seed conservation and sustainable utilization, and facilitate collaborations between farmers
and plant scientists for strengthening farmers’ seed systems, improving farmers' livelihoods, enhancing
farmers' dignity, and promoting national seed and food security.
Funding (any relevant information about funding of activities or projects described in the case study)
Flagship Programme on Climate, Ecosystem and Livelihood supported by UNEP-IEMP

Contributions to Global Agendas
CBD Aichi Biodiversity Targets (https://www.cbd.int/sp/targets/)
The table below shows based on the self-evaluation by author(s). ⚫ and ◼ indicates the “direct” or “indirect” contributions to theCBD’s Aichi Biodiversity Targets respectively to which the work described in this case study contributes to.

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UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdgs)
The table below shows based on the self-evaluation by author(s). ⚫ and ◼ indicates the “direct” or “indirect” contributions to theSDGs respectively to which the work described in this case study contributes to.
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