The UN Confronts the World Food Crisis: A New Sense of Urgency
2/24/2010
Peter Mann
A multi-stakeholder dialogue on sustainable development at the UN on February 1, 2010 focused on the multiple crises threatening global food security. Climate change threatens farmers with floods and drought, leading to desertification, land degradation, and water scarcity, with Africa particularly vulnerable. High and volatile food prices, as well as rising energy prices, put food out of the reach of the poor. The economic recession has meant that less capital is available for investing in agriculture, with fewer jobs for agricultural workers. The consequence is that global hunger has increased by 130 million in the last two years to one billion, with the majority of the hungry in Sub-Saharan Africa, in such countries as Congo, Chad, Ethiopia and Eritrea, as well as in South Asia, notably in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. The specter on the horizon is that by 2050 the world’s population will have reached nine billion and ninety percent of the increase will be in Africa and South Asia.
At the same time, imminent crises can concentrate the mind. There was a
sense of urgency that I had not seen before at UN meetings on the food crisis. The focus was on how to
implement the food security decisions we have already made and how to
scale up the success stories and find the policies to
replicate great programs worldwide. One example is urban-rural linkages around food production, where New York and many other cities around the world provide excellent initiatives on regions feeding cities: since Local Authorities are a major group in the multistakeholder dialogues organized by the UN Commission on Sustainable Development, their potential for supporting Regions Feeding Cities worldwide is enormous. Information on some of these urban agriculture initiatives is available at
Cities Feeding People Program (Canada) and the RUAF Foundation (Resource Centres on Urban Agriculture and Food Security) at
www.ruaf.org/.
Another paradigm shift at the UN meeting was that
small-scale agriculture was put forward as part of the solution, as the potential engine for economic growth and rural development. This is particularly important for Africa, where 62% of the rural poor are smallholder farmers, 25% are landless, and 13% are pastoralists. It is increasingly clear worldwide that the rural poor who are most food insecure can become food self-reliant if they are given support in terms of land, credit, and appropriate technologies. The International Land Coalition,
www.landcoalition.org, which took part in the dialogue provided success stories of helping poor rural men and women and their organizations gain and maintain access to productive resources in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and other regions.
Faced with these multiple crises, however, it was clear that
business as usual is no longer possible. In terms of the coming water crisis, we were told that we drink between two to five liters per day, our domestic use is between 20 and 500 liters per day, and we use 500 to 3000 liters in food production, with meat diet at the high end and vegetarian at the lower end. We will not be able to continue wasteful irrigation technologies in crop production: see the WHY Speaks article,
The World Food Crisis Through A Water Lens for more information.
A final urgent theme of the discussion was
information technology as key to sharing sustainability practices, specifically in regard to agriculture. Helpful sources on this would include the UN Division of Sustainable Development which organized the multistakeholder dialogue- their website is
http://www.un.org/esa/dsd/csd/csd_csd17_followup.shtml, the SARD (Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development) website at
www.fao.org/sard/en/int, and USDA’s website
www.eXtension.org.
In the 21st century, our survival depends on saving the environment and achieving the Millennium Development Goals of ending extreme poverty by 2015, getting every child into school, helping communities obtain clean water, fighting AIDS and malaria, and taking other steps toward a more livable and just world. WHY's Global Movements program will continue to participate in and report on UN partnerships with civil society around the rights to food, water, land, credit, employment and gender equality. In conjunction with the Food and Agriculture Organization, Global Movements was a founding civil society partner in the Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development (SARD) Initiative on land management, poverty, food security and sustainable agricultural production.
WHY served on the drafting committee and is also a signatory to this working document on “
Policies and Actions to Eradicate Hunger and Malnutrition,” which has been launched to correspond with the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of teh UN) meetings on global food security currently taking place in Rome. Sign on as an individual or as an organization! It is important to let them all know where we stand.
Live From the CSD
For the first time, the Stakeholder Forum Media and BBC World Service Trust present "Live From the CSD," with podcasts, interviews, articles, and other excellent information from CSD-17. Visit
http://media.stakeholderforum.org for all of the information.
The 17th Session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development: Agriculture, Land, Drought and Africa
New York City 4-15 May 2009
WHY was active in important UN CSD policy meetings from May 4-15, 2009 on agriculture, land, drought, and Africa. These meetings are part of an evolving vision for sustainable development in the 21st century known as Agenda 21 which was launched at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. The threats to food, water, and the environment have become ever more intense, seventeen years after Rio: the CSD (Commission on Sustainable Development) 17 brought together governments, UN agencies and civil society to share policies for change. WHY shared policy initiatives on the global food and water crisis and climate change, and again organized a fantastic city farms tour for UN delegates. For more information on this year's CSD, see
http://www.un.org/esa/dsd/csd/csd_csd17.shtml.
WHY Reports from the UN
The 16th Session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development
New York City 5-16 May 2008
Reports from the UN
What is the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD)?
The United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) was established by the UN General Assembly in late 1992 to ensure effective follow-up of the UN Conference on Environment and Development, popularly known as the Earth Summit, held in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992.
The CSD meets annually in New York, in two-year cycles, with each cycle focusing on clusters of specific thematic and cross-sectoral issues. 2008 is the first year of a two-year cycle in which agriculture is one of the major themes, along with rural development, land, drought, desertification and Africa.
What are CSD 16-17 doing about agriculture?
Organizers worldwide are making sure that regional efforts to reclaim diversity and integrity in food and farming systems are at the forefront of CSD 16-17.
Most poor people worldwide depend on agriculture for their livelihoods and food security, but the capacity of resources and technologies to satisfy the demands of growing populations for food and other agricultural commodities remains uncertain. Agriculture has to meet this challenge, mainly by increasing production on land already in use and by avoiding further encroachment on land that is only marginally suitable for cultivation.
Major adjustments are needed in agricultural, environmental and macroeconomic policy, at both national and international levels, in developed as well as developing countries, to increase food production and enhance food security in an environmentally sound way so as to contribute to sustainable natural resource management
Why is CSD important to WHY?
The CSD is one of very few international forums in which civil society is recognized as a real partner in achieving sustainability with governments. The CSD recognizes 9 different constituencies in an attempt to make sure that all stakeholders in sustainability have a voice:
*Women
*Children and Youth
*Indigenous People
*NGOs
*Local Authorities
*Workers and Trade Unions
*Business and Industry
*Scientific and Technological Communities
*Farmers
In the US, the representatives of many of these interest groups including WHY have been working on successful models of sustainable agriculture and rural development, many of which are examples of positive collaboration between government and civil society.
What will come out of CSD’s work?
Linking good practice to supportive policies and identifying areas for collaborative action through:
*Major groups contribution to the CSD with case studies and lessons learned, and presenting challenges that enrich the inter-governmental debate.
*UN policy decisions that shape events and policy outcomes on federal, state, and local levels here in North America, in addition to events and policies in developing countries.
*Civil society stakeholders actively engaging with governments and UN agencies to identify examples of progress towards and constraints to achieving sustainable agriculture and rural development.
How is WHY involved in CSD?
Through our participation in CSD, WHY aims to influence the dialogue around food and agriculture to reflect the need for food sovereignty, the right of people to determine their own food and agricultural systems. Among our key issues are the current world food crisis, the food vs. fuel debate, and the building/strengthening of local and regional food systems. In addition to taking part in dialogues and debates within the UN, WHY has connected the international delegates of CSD with our partners in New York City’s thriving urban agriculture community through tours and other exchanges comprising a “City and Farm Linkages CSD Showcase” on the weekend of May 10-11. Stay tuned for updates and reports on CSD by WHY staff.
How can I find out more?
60th Annual DPI/NGO Conference 2007
Climate Change: How It Impacts Us All
From September 5th to 7th, more than 500 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other civil society partners from 62 countries attended "Climate Change: How It Impacts Us All." This is the 60th annual Department of Public Information/Non-Governmental Organization Conference to be held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.
The Conference reviewed the latest scientific evidence on climate change, including its impact on vulnerable populations, water security, land use, and the politics of energy. Additionally, the conference highlighted the interconnection between climate change and other Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
The 2007 DPI/NGO Conference focused on individual action plans that address the growing concerns of climate change and its profound and decisive impact on human well-being. The conference addressed solutions by helping NGOs to develop concrete practices that could be implemented and shared. There was a focus on educating communities of the importance of reducing carbon emissions, the necessity of conservation, and the search for energy-efficient alternative fuel sources.
By the end of the conference, participants put forward a final declaration, noting the severe threats posed by climate change to ecosystems, societies, and individual livelihood. The declaration also began the development of a framework for action that would provide a comprehensive policy framekwork for energetically addressign climate change.
UN Reports
World Food Day 2007: The Right to Food
Peter Mann, WHY Global Movements Co-Director, reports on the growing awareness of this human right.
UN Commission on Sustainable Development – CSD 15 April 30-May 11, 2007.
US NGOs at UN call for greater US responsibility on energy and climate change
As the United Nations wraps up its two-year discussion about climate change, energy, air pollution and industrial development, many are dissatisfied with the outcomes, described by both NGOs and government delegates as “weak.” Citizen groups from around the US, participating in the UN Commission on Sustainable Development, agreed it is time for the US government to acknowledge its responsibility to take immediate and comprehensive action.
Statement from Citizens Network for Sustainable Development
Circulated during the closing days of CSD-15, voicing to the international community the need for the U.S. to take much greater responsibility and action in dealing with the energy and climate change crisis confronting the planet.
Agrofuels/Biofuels: Some Critical Questions
Peter Mann, WHY International Director, reports on this controversial issue.
59th Annual DPI/NGO Conference 2006
Unfinished Business: Effective Partnerships for Human Security and Development
Conference report by Molly Norton, International Intern.
Millenium Development Goals
The Eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – which range from halving extreme poverty to halting the spread of HIV/AIDS and providing universal primary education, all by the target date of 2015 – form a blueprint agreed to by all the world’s countries and all the world’s leading development institutions.
Millenium Development Goals
UN Links
Cooperation with Civil SocietyThe effectiveness and quality of FAO's work in agriculture and the fight against hunger is enhanced by working with Civil Society Organizations (CSOs).
