News

Global governance of sustainable food and agriculture "key" to kick off the future we want

17.06.2012

Mountain Partnership @ Rio+20

Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) Recognizing the crucial role of the private sector in shaping a new sustainable paradigm, the United Nations Global Compact is the world's largest voluntary corporate responsibility initiative. Under its umbrella, a meeting on “Global Governance of Sustainable Food and Agriculture” was convened on 16 June 2012 at the Windsor Hotel in Rio de Janeiro, on the sidelines of the UNCSD Rio+20 summit. Representatives of FAO as well as regional organizations and private companies discussed how governance arrangements can be reformed to better allow the private sector to invest into sustainable production systems and value chains.

“When we talk about food security and nutrition, we also talk about energy,” said Alexander Müller, Assistant Director General at FAO’s Natural Resources Department. “With a growing world population,” he went on to add “there will be an increasing demand for food and that means, of energy, too. Hence we have to become energy-smart.” In order to respond to the challenges of current policies (possibly, the main cause of hindrance in implementing energy-smart practices), FAO put in place a series of tools and voluntary guidelines through a multi-stakeholder process involving countries, organizations and several other actors. One of the results was the “Sustainable Bioenergy Toolkit: making Bioenergy Work for Climate, Energy and Food Security”. The toolkit succeeded in jointly identifying sustainability indicators according to the three pillars, covering the environmental, social and economic dimensions for the production of bioenergy. “Food security and bioenergy are not a contradiction, however you have to do it in an appropriate way – for instance, by looking at the needs of the local population,” Mr Müller said.

Another important sector contributing to food and nutrition security is healthy fisheries and aquaculture. Altogether, it employs 180 million people and a total of 550 million depend on it, directly or indirectly. “However, its role is often undervalued,” stressed Rolf Willmann, Senior Officer working with FAO’s Fisheries Department. With 0.5% of seabed responsible for up to 70% of carbon permanently stored in marine realms, this is an area where the private sector could start developing schemes. Over the past years, FAO has developed international guidelines on responsible fisheries and these standards are guiding private sector schemes in various countries. “Although a number of voluntary codes of conduct are in place,” warned Mr Willmann, “the issue is how to bring the small-scale actors on board.”

Over 12% of the global population is living in the mountains. And mountains provide fresh water to more than half of humanity – in the highlands and lowlands and also, across countries. “Water is key for agriculture, biodiversity, energy production and well, life on this planet,” said Olman Serrano, Coordinator of the Mountain Partnership Secretariat, a UN voluntary alliance based at FAO. Investing in mountains is also about people, Mr Serrano added – a specific issue given the transboundary nature of mountains and also as historically, mountain people have been marginalized. “That is why for us, investing in mountains is investing in our future.”

Robynne Anderson, Main Representative to the United Nations, World Farmers Organization, presented the work of the Committee on Food Security (CPF). Based at FAO, the CPF has a multidisciplinary approach with a lot of innovation. There is a Bureau for the CFS made of the member states, including civil society, the private sector, science and additional bodies such as international financing institutions. Each of these bodies is fully engaged in the conversation. The newly produced “Voluntary Guidelines on Land Tenure” (adopted in May 2012 after 2 years of work and six more months of negotiation) – is truly unique. It is about having land registries in countries where they do not exist and addressing inequality of women farmers. It also serves to make sure that practices are introduced and how to make them operational.

“These voluntary guidelines provide the first framework on how to deal with land,” said Alexander Müller. “Of course, they will be of no use if they stay seated in some library. Hence we are currently working on a multidonor trust fund to bring together stakeholders for their implementation.”

Javed Mir, a Senior Officer working with the Asian Development Bank reminded the audience of risks related to poor governance. “You have to find a formula that secures benefits to the local communities and regional economies, too – while protecting natural resources. That’s where you have a challenge,” he said.

A “sustainability smart city” is at the heart of Expo 2015, the upcoming universal exhibition to be held in Milan, Italy in 2015. Aiming to stimulate and lead the global discussion on food and nutrition for all, Expo 2015 will involve organization such as FAO side by side with institutions, private foundations and NGOs. Inhabited by 21 million citizens - such is the expected participation quota – “this global event has to leave a legacy in terms of sustainability and well being,” said Lara Maggiore, Head of Global Marketing and Brand for Expo 2015. “It won’t be just an event but a process lasting several years. Agriculture and biodiversity will be important themes explored at the exposition.”

Learn more:

• Voluntary Guidelines on Land Tenure