Challenges and opportunities in leveraging an existing systematic evidence database for mitigating hazards to the global food system

The global food system, essential for delivering nutritional security to a growing population, is highly vulnerable to diverse hazards. This study investigates the feasibility of leveraging an existing systematic database, specifically the Conservation Evidence database, for mitigating environmental hazards impacting the food system. By focusing on human-wildlife conflict as a case study, we explored the database's potential to inform hazard mitigation strategies. Our analysis revealed significant geographical and taxonomic gaps, varied intervention strategies and differences in study designs across regions. We identified key challenges, such as the need for comprehensive tagging and filtering features, integration of non-academic data and broader stakeholder engagement. The findings underscore the complexity of adapting conservation databases for food system applications but highlight the potential benefits of a free-to-access, systematic, evidence-based approach focusing on food production hazard mitigation. Future work should focus on developing a dedicated food system hazard database, leveraging automation and machine learning to enhance data extraction and application efficacy, ultimately improving global food security and sustainability.