Agenda 21

The first UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED Earth Summit) held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 represented a turning point in the way we look at environment and development. World leaders adopted Agenda 21, a blue print to attain sustainable development in the 21st century. Agenda 21 provides a comprehensive action programme to attain sustainable development and address both environmental and developmental issues in an integrated manner at global, national and local levels.

Chapter 14

The importance of the SARD concept was recognised and confirmed at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992, with Chapter 14 of Agenda 21 setting out the programmes and specific actions needed to promote sustainable agriculture and rural development, and Member Nations committing themselves to these programmes and actions. Key programme areas of Chapter 14 include:

1. Agricultural policy review, planning and integrated programming in the light of the multifunctional aspect of agriculture, particularly with regard to food security and sustainable development;
2. Ensuring people's participation and promoting human resource development for sustainable agriculture;
3. Improving farm production and farming systems through diversification of farm and non-farm employment and infrastructure development;
4. Land-resource planning information and education for agriculture;
5. Land conservation and rehabilitation;
6. Water for sustainable food production and sustainable rural development;
7. Conservation and sustainable utilization of plant genetic resources for food and sustainable agriculture;
8. Conservation and sustainable utilization of animal genetic resources for sustainable agriculture;
9. Integrated pest management and control in agriculture;
10. Sustainable plant nutrition to increase food production;
11. Rural energy transition to enhance productivity; and
12. Evaluation of the effects of ultraviolet radiation on plants and animals caused by the depletion of the stratospheric ozone layer.

A number of issue areas have emerged since 1992 and these programme areas can be broadened to include those. FAO has programmes and projects that contribute to the majority of these areas.

The Commission on Sustainable Development

The Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) was set up after the UNCED Summit in Rio to meet annually at the UN and to follow-up by monitoring and reporting on the implementation of agreements at the local, national, regional and international levels.

FAO serves as Task Manager for Chapter 14 (SARD) and is responsible for monitoring and reporting progress on SARD to the Commission on Sustainable Development.

During its Eighth Session, held in New York in 2000, the CSD reviewed progress on land and agriculture. At that session, a multi-major group dialogue was held among members of Indigenous Peoples, Farmers, NGOs, Business and Industry and Science and Technology. The CSD requested that FAO as Task manager for Chapter 14 continue the multi-stakeholder dialogues with Major Groups and report back to them at the WSSD.

The World Summit on Sustainable Development

"Governments, international organisations and financing institutions need to use their resources effectively to overcome hunger and to consolidate the primary role of sustainable agriculture and rural development in food security."

World Summit on Sustainable Development, Johannesburg, August 2002.

The World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) held in Johannesburg in 2002 served to review the progress and lack thereof 10 years after the Rio. Tens of thousands of participants representing Governments, NGOs, businesses and the major groups of civil society shared views and articulated a path forward to address the current challenges in the areas of food, water, shelter, sanitation, energy, health and economic security.

One of the key outcomes of the WSSD was the call for partnership initiatives. These partnerships, now number just under 300, are voluntary, multi-stakeholder initiatives aimed at implementing sustainable development to complement intergovernmental commitments. It was at the WSSD that the SARD Initiative was launched as a civil society led, government supported, and FAO facilitated effort aimed at transitioning to people-centred sustainable agriculture and rural development and strengthening participation in programme and policy development.

CSD-16

Looking forward to 2008 and 2009, Agriculture and Rural Development along with topics of Land, Desertification, Drought and Africa will be on the agenda for the Commission on Sustainable Development’s 16th Session. This will be an important opportunity to demonstrate lessons learned in implementation toward SARD.