From Commitments to Action – Accountability and Engagement for transformative system change to halt the loss of and restore biodiversity
by Dr QU Dongyu, FAO Director-General
25/05/2021
UN- Environment Management Group (EMG)
Panel discussion:
From Commitments to Action – Accountability and Engagement for transformative system change to halt the loss of and restore biodiversity
Intervention by
Dr. QU Dongyu, FAO Director-General
25 May 2021
Excellencies, Colleagues,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
1. 2021 is the ‘super year for nature’, and it gives us an opportunity to scale up action for greater coherence and ambitions for biodiversity.
2. FAO is committed to the transformation to MORE efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable, agri-food systems to deliver healthy food and prosperity for all while preserving our natural resources.
3. This is fully reflected in the four organizational principles of the new FAO Strategic Framework: better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life.
4. Committed to the importance of biodiversity, FAO Members adopted the FAO Strategy on Mainstreaming Biodiversity across Agricultural Sectors and the 2021-23 Action Plan to implement it.
5. We are proud to be among the first UN agencies to develop such an internal strategy.
6. The Strategy and Action Plan provide a roadmap and building blocks for the Organization to:
- reduce the negative impacts of agricultural practices on biodiversity,
- promote sustainable agricultural practices; and
- conserve, enhance, preserve, restore and sustainably use biodiversity across agricultural sectors, within productive landscapes and seascapes.
7. Furthermore, we are strengthening our approach to environmental and social safeguards in programming.
8. Yesterday, we launched an ambitious FAO Corporate Environmental Responsibility Strategy for the next decade.
9. In it, we commit to reducing the greenhouse gas footprint of our operations by 45% by 2030 - compared to the base year of 2018, in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement.
10. We will also integrate biodiversity considerations in the rollout of environmental management systems in FAO offices worldwide.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
11. FAO is leveraging the potential of agri-food systems transformation for advancing rural development, combating poverty, and eradicating hunger.
12. And biodiversity provides sustainable solutions to multiple challenges faced by agri-food systems and is crucial for their transformation.
13. FAO will continue to highlight the inter-dependence of agri-food systems and biodiversity:
- On one side, the positive contributions of biodiversity to agriculture and food security; and
- On the other side, the important role of agri-food systems for the sustainable use, enhancement, conservation and restoration of biodiversity as a whole.
14. It is important to bring this message across and support the post-2020 global biodiversity framework.
15. This is why FAO will host a Global Dialogue on the Role of Food and Agriculture in the Global Biodiversity Framework on 6 and 7 July, in collaboration with the CBD Secretariat.
16. We look forward to your participation at this event.
17. Biodiversity mainstreaming requires the engagement of farmers, fishers, livestock keepers and foresters.
18. Therefore, FAO brings all its policy guidance and technical expertise on agri-food systems transformation into the pool of UN expertise.
19. FAO has contributed to and supports the UN System Commitment for Action, launched today.
20. We are also working closely with the UN Environmental Management Group on Phase 2 of the
UN Sustainability Strategy 2020-2030.
21. We need to develop synergies between our agencies and avoid duplication.
22. Ensuring complementarity between the Common Approach and the ongoing Consultative Process on the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework is also crucial.
23. We look forward to working with all of you on implementing the Common Approach in the years to come.
24. Thank you