Pacific and REDD+

The Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) has announced that the 3rd Regional Meeting of Ministers of Agriculture and Forestry endorsed the Pacific Islands Regional Policy Framework for REDD+. As reported, the framework aims to support Pacific Island countries (PICs) to address and participate in international regimes on greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction in the forest and trees sector.

Press Release

FAO: Renewed efforts for Plant Genetic Resources

The 2nd Global Plan of Action for Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (PGRFA) has been adopted by the Council of the Food and Agriculture Organization, to accelerate the implementation of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGR); and strengthen conservation and sustainable use of plants and seed systems through:
-  better management of crop diversity in farmers’ fields;
-  developing strategies to protect, collect and conserve crop wild relatives and wild food plants that are under threat,
- support use of a wider range of traits for plant breeding, and
- strengthen seed systems especially of locally adapted varieties.

Publication: Second Global Plan of Action for Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture

FAO Report: Land and Water

"The State of the World’s Land and Water Resources for Food and Agriculture" calls for improved efficiency of water use, better knowledge development and training, the integration of climate-smart production models, increased investment in agricultural development and harmonization of national policies and actions. It also includes examples of successful actions that may be scaled, as well as a broad typology of land systems at risk, including to climate impacts.

Agrobiodiversity and Law: Regulating Genetic Resources, Food Security and Cultural Diversity

This new book analyzes the impact of the legal system on agrobiodiversity and the emergence of the concept and its relationship with food security, nutrition, health, environmental sustainability and climate change. It assesses the impacts of key legal instruments, discussing the interface between the free software movement, the 'commons' movement and seeds, and the role of protected areas.

FAO: REDD+ and Sustainable Agriculture

A new policy brief titled "Building bridges between REDD+ and sustainable agriculture:Addressing agriculture's role as a driver of deforestation" recommends, inter alia: promoting inter-sectoral policies; including integrated landscape approaches in the activities covered under different carbon finance funds; promoting evergreen agriculture, which combines agroforestry with conservation farming; reflecting on tenure rights, governance and other potential socioeconomic impacts during cross-sectoral REDD+ planning processes; and improving methods for landscape level carbon accounting.

Food Security and Climate Change

The Commission on Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change, an independent commission of scientists, has released a summary for policy makers, including a set of seven recommendations calling, inter alia, for significantly raising global investments in sustainable agriculture, intensifying agricultural production on existing land base while reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and reducing losses and waste in the food system.

Post-Conflict Assessment of Rwanda

The UNEP-led comprehensive, national-scale report titled "Rwanda: From Post-Conflict to Environmentally Sustainable Development," analyzes the most pressing environmental issues and offers a series of interventions that would help the country accelerate its sustainable development agenda. It urges, among other things, to create opportunities for a transition towards a green economy including reinforcing policies and investments in large-scale ecosystem rehabilitation, renewable energies, sustainable agriculture and agroforestry. Total cost of the recommendations proposed in the report is estimated to be $US147.35 million.

Mountain Partnership Holds Regional Meetings

Experts from Azerbaijan, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Mongolia and Tajikistan recently convened at a meeting on "Climate Change: Impacts, Adaptation and Development in Mountain Regions" exploring how best to address evidence of climate change impacts on mountain regions in international discussions. Participants highlighted impacts on agriculture, stressing that the climate change negotiations do not adequately consider mountain ecosystems and populations and identified priority challenges and strategic actions related to:
- branding and better communicating the global importance of Central Asian mountains;
- advocating for mountain states to act as one;
- consideration of a variety of renewable energy sources including the advantages and disadvantages of hydropower;
- sustainable use and management of water resources;
- collection of monitoring data and strengthening networks;
- efforts to combat forest degradation;
- identifying appropriate financial mechanisms for climate adaptation;
- improvement of grazing areas; and
- risk prevention of natural disasters.

The meeting is part of a series of three regional meetings on adaptation and development in mountain regions hosted by the Mountain Partnership Secretariat. The meeting for the Latin American region was held in Chile in October 2011, and the meeting for the African region will be held in Mbale (Uganda) from 16-18 November 2011.

Mountain Partnership Meeting Website

New Publication on Biodiversity Law and Policy

The World Future Council (WFC) and the Center for International Sustainable Development Law (CISDL) have published a new report entitled “Crafting Future Just Biodiversity Laws andPolicies”. It includes a survey of the world’s best biodiversity laws from Costa Rica, Norway, Bhutan and South Africa, as well as an analysis of successful sectoral biodiversity policies which address marine, forest and agricultural biodiversity.

AFED: 4th Annual Conference

Meeting from 27-28 October, participants at the 4th Annual Conference of the Arab Forum for Environment and Development (AFED) agreed on recommendations calling on Arab governments to, inter alia:
- give higher priority to environmentally-sustainable agriculture and rural development as a strategic policy objective to achieve food security;
- introduce a policy shift towards water demand management;
- adopt national and regional strategies for energy efficiency;
- promote the development of private sector-led locally-based competitive green technology through economic incentives; and
- promote public awareness campaigns on green economy.

European Commission: Reform of CAP

The Commission's proposal for reform of the Common Agriculutral Policy (CAP) for the period after 2013 aims to strengthen the competitiveness, sustainability and permanence of agriculture throughout the EU. Among many other elements, it is proposed to dedicate 30% of direct payments to farmers for practices enabling optimal use of natural resources such as crop diversification, maintenance of permanent pasture, preservation of ecological reserves and landscapes.

Reflecting on Biofuels and Land Use

A new report commissioned by IUCN and others, titled "Biofuels and indirect land use change," highlights:- findings that expanding biofuel production could displace agricultural production activities onto land with high natural carbon stocks;
- mitigation options considered by the European Commission for dealing with indirect land use change arising from the use of biofuels under the Renewable Energy Directive;
- a range of incentive-related options that could prevent or reduce the risks of indirect land use change for biofuels, but none of the current options encourage producers to adopt practices to reduce risks from indirect land use change.

Ramsar: Looking back at 40 Years

In a paper entitled "The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands: 40 Years of Action," Ramsar Secretary General Anada Tièga reflects on progress Ramsar has made as well as areas where attention is still needed. The article offers an overview of the importance of wetland conservation, climate change and wetlands, interdependencies, impacts of climate change, links between climate change, wetlands and short- and medium-term consequences on agriculture, and the importance of cooperation and partnerships.

New Report Related to Water and Food

UNEP and the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) have released a report titled “An Ecosystems Approach to Water and Food Security," which recommend that policymakers consider farmland, fisheries and other agricultural areas as "agroecosystems." UNEP and IWMI recommend closer collaboration between government authorities in agriculture, environment, forestry, fisheries and other sectors and hightlight the potential role for incentives, including paying farmers to plant and maintain trees on their land, to bolster ecosystem services and thus their contribution to water and food security.

CIPRA: Climate-compatible agriculture

The Commission Internationale pour la Protection des Alps (International Alpine Protection Commission) has released its latest report titled "Agriculture in climate change", which focuses on adaptation and reduction measures while highlighting ways in which these goals can be achieved along with trends, limitations, conflicts and solutions.

FAO: Ecosystem Services in Agriculture

A new publication titled "Payments for Ecosystem Services and Food Security" has been released by FAO examining the role of Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) in agriculture; the relevance of the OECD agri-environmental measures for PES; opportunities and gaps in PES implementation and key areas for further investigation; cost-effective targeting of PES; social and cultural drivers behind the success of PES; landscape labelling approaches to PES through bundling services, products and stewards; enabling conditions and complementary legislative tools; and PES within the context of a green economy.

FAO/CGRFA-13: Outcomes

The 13th regular session of FAO's Commission on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (CGRFA-13) has: adopted the Second Global Plan of Action for Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (PGRFA); established an Ad hoc Technical Working Group on Access and Benefit-sharing (ABS) for genetic resources for food and agriculture (GRFA); and developed a roadmap for climate change and GRFA.

IISD-RS Coverage

EU: Greater Integration of Environment

Environmental policy and climate change action are to be included in all of the EU's main funding instruments including cohesion, agriculture, maritime and fisheries policy, research and innovation and external aid under the proposal for the next Multiannual Financial Framework for the period 2014-2020. It includes a budget of 382 million EUR for sustainable growth, the LIFE+ Programme will be split between the environment (2.4 billion EUR) and climate change (800 million EUR). The Commission proposes to allocate funds for research and development, with the risk of freezing the budget allocated to the Common Agricultural Policy.

UNCSD (Rio+20): Eight Priorities

Sha Zukang, Secretary-General of UNCSD (Rio+20), summarized a recent speech in a new post to his blog elaborating on eight “new and emerging challenges” that States and other stakeholders have highlighted for priority attention.

The challenges are identified as:
1) green jobs and social inclusion, emphasizing the social pillar of sustainable development and the problem of unemployment;
2) energy access and security, noting the problem of energy poverty and calling for endorsement of the initiative for universal energy access by 2030;
3) food security and sustainable agriculture, calling for protecting soils, water, and biodiversity in efforts to feed more people;
4) sound water management, to combat desertification and drought, as well as the risk of conflict over scarce water;
5) urbanization and sustainable cities, noting the potential for cities – through building and transport practices – to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and solve other sustainable development problems;
6) management of the oceans and marine resources, calling for accelerated implementation of Chapter 17 of Agenda 21;
7) enhancing disaster preparedness and resilience, particularly in “vulnerable developing countries;” and
8) means of implementation, on which he noted developing countries’ need for international support to build greener infrastructure and industries, which he suggested could be met through a new public and private financing initiative, such as a global green economy fund.

FAO: Agriculture and Green Economy

During the 37th Session of the FAO Conference, from 25 June-2 July 2011, FAO member countries discussed the scenarios, challenges and policy options outlined in the "Greening the Economy with Agriculture" Concept Note and FAO preparations for UNCSD (Rio+20).