FAO at the OAS Inter-American Council on Integral Development Meeting
13 June 2023 –The Latin America and Caribbean region faces significant challenges due to climate change, which exacerbates poverty, food insecurity, and inequality. Recognizing the urgency of the situation, the Organization of American States' Inter-American Council on Integral Development (CIDI) recently convened a meeting to raise awareness about climate change's impact and promote the exchange of best practices for action ahead of the OAS Ministerial on Sustainable Development.
During a panel session focused on climate change and poverty, experts from various organizations, including the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) provided insights.
Jocelyn Brown Hall, the Director of FAO's Liaison Office for North America, highlighted the severity of the climate crisis and emphasized the need to reduce emissions from agricultural production while promoting carbon sequestration in biomass. The agricultural sector, she explained, has the potential to make a significant contribution to mitigating the approximately 10 billion tons of CO2 equivalent it produces annually.
Brown Hall highlighted the significance of improving soil health in Central America, where approximately one-third of arable land is covered by degraded soils and 73 percent of the rural population lives in poverty. FAO is working to transition the Central America’ dry corridor to a corridor of opportunities for more than half of the 10 million individuals engaged in agricultural activities through dozens of projects that prioritize resilience, sustainability, poverty reduction, and income generation.
Thanks to a generous $20 million contribution from the United States Government, FAO is undertaking initiatives to enhance soil nutrient mapping in several countries, including Guatemala and Honduras. The objective is to catalyze more efficient use of fertilizers, which will contribute to sustainable agricultural practices and ultimately improve food production.
Furthermore, as part of the UN Decade on Ecosystems Restoration, co-led by United Nations Environment Programme and FAO, six national initiatives received World Restoration Flagship recognition to showcase endeavors to support communities affected by climate change. One initiative aims to restore 300,000 hectares of drought-stricken farmland and forests across Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama.
In closing, Brown Hall underlined the importance of Regional bodies such as the OAS and Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) that provide platforms for sharing and showcasing tools and best practices while facilitating coordinated support for climate action.