Research

The UNESCO Chair on Food, Biodiversity and Sustainability Studies conducts interdisciplinary research that explores how food systems can be strengthened to better respond to environmental, social, and economic challenges. The research examines the relationships between food production, biodiversity, governance, and livelihoods across diverse regional and global contexts, with particular attention to how communities navigate shocks and stresses.

The Chair’s research emphasizes place-based and community-led approaches, drawing on agroecology, food sovereignty, and Indigenous and traditional knowledge systems. Rather than treating these issues in isolation, the work focuses on understanding how different dimensions of food systems interact, and how coordinated action across knowledge systems, policy processes, and lived experience can support more resilient and equitable outcomes.

By synthesizing research across projects and regions, the Chair seeks to identify shared themes, patterns, and pathways for change that can inform decision-making and support collaboration among researchers, practitioners, and policymakers. This approach allows the research to contribute to practical tools, policy-relevant insights, and collective learning aimed at advancing just, resilient, and sustainable food systems.