1. Food Security in the context of Rio+20
Conference
Riccardo Mesiano
Productivity Sectors Section,
Sustainable Development and Productivity Division

2. Outline
• FS, Sustainable Agriculture and Sustainable
Land Management
• FS for the Arab Region: Challenges
• International Commitments on FS
• FS and Rio+20
• Conclusions
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3. Sustainable Development and Food
Security
 Sustainable environment and natural resource
management (ENRM) lies at the heart of
delivering food security and lasting poverty
reduction
 Long-term food security is contingent on the
sustainable and equitable management and
conservation of the world’s natural capital
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4. Food Security, Sustainable Agriculture and
Sustainable Land Management
 Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical and
economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their
dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life. Food
security covers availability, access, utilization and stability issues.
 Sustainable agriculture refers to the capacity of agriculture over time to
contribute to overall welfare by providing sufficient food and other goods
and services in ways that are economically efficient and profitable,
socially responsible, and environmentally sound.
 Sustainable Land Management involves the use of land resources for
the production of goods to meet human needs while ensuring their long-
term productive potential and the maintenance of their environmental
functions
 Par 92 Zero Draft: “We recognize the economic and social significance of land, particularly
its contribution to growth, food security, and poverty eradication, and note that the intensity
of desertification of most of Africa’s arable land is a serious challenge to sustainable
development in the region” 4

5. Per capita land availability in the region
Source: ESCWA based on FAOSTAT (2007) and United Nations Population Division (2006)
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6. Aridity in the Arab region
HyperArid
92%
Dry Sub-
Humid
4%
Semi-Arid Arid
3% 1%
ESCWA; 2007: Land Degradation Assessment and Prevention, ESCWA, Beirut, Lebanon
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7. FS for the Arab Region: Challenges
• Policy /political level: lack of appropriate policies,
legislations &/or incentives, failure to mainstream
Sustainability in planning (including land use) & rural
development; political agenda prevailing over sustainable
development;
• Technical level: low investments in new technologies,
paucity of data for planning, and for M&E;
• Community level: relevance of sustainability importance
not always apparent, difficulty of scaling up & replicating
experiences, unrealistic expectation-building. Need to
maintain livelihoods in rural areas (land is the major or only
asset for many);
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8. FS for the Arab Region: Challenges
• Knowledge & technology: Limited access to easily
understandable and applicable land management and food
security practices
• Governance: No decentralized management and
participatory governance of natural resources
 Economic & financial aspects:
Environmental concerns not mainstreamed into production
programs, policies and cross-cutting sectors. Dependency
of the region to external food markets;
 Social & behavioral motivation:
Rural illiteracy and poor education especially
environmental education
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9. International Commitments on FS
International time-bound and qualitative commitments
in the area of food security and sustainable agriculture
in:
 Agenda 21 (1992) the action plan of the United Nations
Conference of Rio on Environment and Development .
• Chapter 14 of Agenda 21 is dedicated to sustainable agriculture and rural development
(SARD). Ten time‐bound commitments and cross‐references are made to chapter 18,19,
and 21.
 Rome Declaration on World Food Security (1996)
 CSD8 (2000)
 JPOI (2002)
 MDGs (2000)
 CSD17 (2009)
• All reaffirmed the objective of, and called for the implementation of, the World Food
Summit in 1996
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10. Rome Declaration on FS
The Rome Declaration on World Food Security (1996) had
seven detailed commitments (without targets or time limits)
• (1) to provide enabling political, social, and economic environment
• (2) and (4) policies, including trade policies to improve food security
• (3) pursue participatory and sustainable food, agriculture, fisheries,
forestry and rural development policies and practices everywhere and at
all levels
• (5) prevent and be prepared for natural disasters and man‐made
emergencies
• (6) promote optimal allocation and use of public and private investments
to foster human resources, sustainable food, agriculture, fisheries and
forestry systems, and rural development
• (7) implement, monitor, and follow‐up this Plan of Action at all levels in
cooperation with the international community
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11. CSD 17- A new Focus
Until 2009, global delivery of the food security and sustainable
agriculture‐related commitments have been disappointing.
 CSD‐17 reiterated several of the quantitative Agenda 21 objectives. The
summary of the Secretary General Report on Agriculture for CSD‐17
called for “renewed commitment and a new vision for global cooperation
to implement policies that simultaneously aim at increasing agricultural
productivity, creating fair trade regimes, conserving natural resources
and promoting investment in agricultural related infrastructure.”
 The difference with previous reviews is the focus on social issues, on
small holder, especially women farmers, who must be at the center of
any intervention. “Reducing the gender gap in access to agricultural
inputs alone would increase women’s yields by 20‐30%.”
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12. L’Aquila and Rome for FS
 G8‐led l’Aquila Food Security Initiative (2009) committed to mobilise
$22 billion over three years to support country‐led plans for agriculture
and food and nutrition security
 Rome World Summit on Food Security (2009):
 The Five Rome Principles for Sustainable Global Food Security and the
High Level Task Force on Global Food Security (principles and a
framework for increased investment in agriculture and food security)
 Improved coordination of international interventions through the updated
Comprehensive Framework for Action (CFA).
 The Committee on Food Security reformed
 Global Strategic Framework for Food Security and Nutrition (GSF) now
provides strategies to foster coordinated and coherent global and
national action
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13. RIO+20 Conference
The Decision to convene UNCSD (Rio+20) was decided in Dec 2009 by
the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 64/236, in 2012 in Rio
de Janeiro in Brazil.
Objectives:
• To secure renewed political commitment for sustainable
development;
• To assess progress and implementation gaps in summit outcomes
on sustainable Development implementation;
• To address new and emerging challenges.
Themes:
I. Institutional framework for sustainable development;
II. A green economy in the context of sustainable development and
poverty eradication.

14. Rio+20: New and Emerging Challenges
New issues facing the Arab region that will be addressed
at Rio+20 Conference:
 Climate change and climate change adaptation;
 Food security;
 Water security;
 Increasing drought and desertification, land degradation;
 Natural disasters and extreme events;
 Diseases and epidemics
 Par 88 Zero Draft :”We reaffirm that climate change is one of the greatest challenges of
our time, and express our deep concern that developing countries are particularly
vulnerable to and are experiencing increased negative impacts from climate change,
which is severely undermining food security and efforts to eradicate poverty”
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15. Food Security and Rio+20: Zero Draft
 64. We reaffirm the right to food and call upon all States to
prioritize sustainable intensification of food production through
increased investment in local food production, improved access to
local and global agri-food markets, and reduced waste throughout the
supply chain, with special attention to women, smallholders, youth,
and indigenous farmers. We are committed to ensuring proper
nutrition for our people.
 65. We call for more transparent and open trading systems
and, where appropriate, practices that contribute to the stability of
food prices and domestic markets; ensure access to land, water and
other resources; and support social protection programmes.
 66. We further support initiatives at all levels that improve
access to information, enhance interactions among farmers and
experts through education and extension services, and increase the
use of appropriate technologies for sustainable agriculture.
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16. Food Security and Rio+20: issues to be
addressed
Governments should work on setting up the following enabling
conditions:
 Increase efficiency in the food system by reducing waste in the production
and distribution of food;
 Address the inequitable distribution of natural resources by actively
promoting changed consumption patterns in high-income countries,
including more balanced diets, which are less rich in meat, fish and dairy
 Promoting pro-poor conservation measures to support the diversification
of rural incomes
 Help break the link between food prices and oil prices by encouraging more
diversified production and consumption as well as reducing the use of
synthetic fertilizers;
 Investing in support to small sustainable farmers in developing
countries for measures that maximize their potential contribution to
food
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17. Food Security and Rio+20: issues to be
addressed
 Reduce the footprint of the agriculture sector by making sustainable food
production central to development and encouraging the treatment and
re-use of wastewater for agricultural purposes;
 Take into account the food-water nexus, especially in a changing climate,
with water availability becoming increasingly unpredictable and extreme
water events, such as floods and droughts, more frequent and intense;
reduce the pressure on land and water resources from agriculture
 Develop frameworks to limit urban sprawl and promote urban agriculture
and sustainable waste water management to support peri-urban
agriculture, thus increasing urban food security and reducing waste of land,
water and nutrients
 Conserve natural habitats such as forests that harbor the genetic origins of
many of today’s agricultural staples and commodities, as a form of insurance
against future disease resistance and as reservoirs for future breeding and
crop development
 Prioritizing the rehabilitation of degraded, abandoned or underperforming
lands rather than farming in new areas
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18. Food Security and Rio+20:Finance, fiscal,
regulation
 Scale up and catalyze new and additional sources of funding, from both public
and private funding with a view to raise the capital necessary to transition
to green economies;
 Finance leapfrogging technologies and refitting programmes with a view
to capture the increased returns inherent in economies that better address
social and environmental concerns;
 Invest in the food, water and energy nexus, particularly on technology
cooperation
 Eliminating all subsidies that undermine sustainable development,
particularly those underpinning fossil fuel use, unsustainable agriculture and
fisheries, taking appropriate action to offset this measures’ regressive impact.
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19. Food Security and Rio+20: Institutions
 At Rio+20 leaders should ensure the effective
integration of the social, economic and environmental
pillars and coordinate synergies with the UN agencies with
sustainable development mandates across the UN system
 Creation of a Sustainable Development Council (SDC).
 The SDC should be granted authority to bring agenda items
to the Security Council
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20. Rio+20: Sustainable Development Goals
• Food Security amongst the proposed Sustainable Development Goals
(Par107 Zero Draft. We propose that the Sustainable Development Goals could include
sustainable consumption and production patterns as well as priority areas such as
oceans; food security and sustainable agriculture; sustainable energy for all; water
access and efficiency; sustainable cities; green jobs, decent work and social inclusion;
and disaster risk reduction and resilience)
 An overarching goal in this area could be universal access to
nutritious foods
 Several specific targets have been proposed in various submissions
to the compilation text for Rio+20:
 (1) zero net land degradation;
 (2) 20% increase in total food supply‐chain efficiency – reducing losses and waste from
field to fork;
 (3) 20% increase in water efficiency in agriculture–more nutrition and crop per drop;
 (4) 70% of irrigated land using technology that increases crop per drop
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21. Rio+20: Sustainable Development Goals
Farmers’ major groups
1. Increase the proportion of ODA focused on agriculture and rural
development to 20%; countries meeting their l’Aquila commitments;
2. Increase yields on women’s farms by 2.5% to 4%.
The Bonn DPI/NGO conference declaration from 1400 Civil Society
Organizations:
1. By 2030, global agricultural production is transformed from industrial
to sustainable. Chemical inputs, herbicides, and pesticides are largely
replaced with organic and biological alternatives. Food for export is
secondary to food for local consumption. Cultivated crop strains are
diversified, as are production techniques and the mix of agricultural
producers.
2. Best management practices reduce erosion by 90% and nitrogen
runoff by 50% or more
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22. Rio+20: Green Economy
• UNEP Definition *:
– “Green economy is an economy that results in
improved human well-being and social equity, while
significantly reducing environmental risks and
ecological scarcities”
*Source: UNEP, 2011, Towards a Green Economy: Pathways to Sustainable Development and Poverty Eradication,
www.unep.org/greeneconomy
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23. Examples: G E Sectors
RENEWABLE ENERGY Solar and wind energy, biofuel, etc.
Green building materials, reducing energy
GREEN BUILDINGS
and water consumption, etc.
SUSTAINABLE
Hybrid cars, public transportation, etc.
TRANSPORTATION
WATER MANAGEMENT Water recycling, rainwater harvesting, etc.
WASTE MANAGEMENT Recycling, toxic waste remediation, etc.
AGRICULTURE/LAND Organic agriculture, soil stabilization,
MANAGEMENT reforestation, habitat conservation, etc.
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C. Palmer for ESCWA Consultative Workshop on Green Economy Principles and Application for Sustainable Development in the
ESCWA Region (Beirut, 6-7 October, 2010)

24. Rio+20: Green Economy
• As Sustainable Land Management and Food Security impact poverty
alleviation, livelihood improvement and ecosystem service, it involves
the 3 dimension of SD (economic, social and environmental) that a
Green Economy aims to address
• Maintaining the social, economic and environmental functions of the
land with a view to support livelihoods and food security…fits within the
globally adopted water-energy-food security nexus and Green Economy
• Need for environmental preservation (to combat degradation) while
responding appropriately to scarcity of resources plaguing the region is
amongst the goal of the Green Economy paradigm
• Par. 25 Zero Draft: “We are convinced that a green economy in the context of sustainable
development and poverty eradication should contribute to meeting key goals – in particular
the priorities of poverty eradication, food security…”
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25. Food Security and Rio+20: Conclusions
Rio+20 comes at the right moment to:
 Address the poor management and regulation of natural
assets and ecosystems (major factor behind food, water and
energy insecurity)
 Deliver a new framework to address the interlinkages
between these common challenges
 Ensure integrated discussions between new and emerging
issues such as economic security, water, security, climate
security, energy security, food security and natural
disasters.
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26. Thank you!
Productive Sectors Section
Sustainable Development and Productivity Division
UN-ESCWA
Tel: +961 1 978 519
Fax: +961 1 981 510
Email: mesiano@un.org
Website: http://www.escwa.un.org
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/unescwa
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/unescwa
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