Energy has a key role in economic and social development but there is a general lack of rural energy development policies that focus on agriculture. Agriculture has a dual role as an energy user and as an energy supplier in the form of bioenergy. This energy function of agriculture offers important rural development opportunities as well as one means of climate change mitigation by substituting bioenergy for fossil fuels. This report focuses on the challenges and opportunities of advancing modern bioenergy technology, in general, and on the technical, environmental and economic benefits of the energy function of agriculture, in particular. This report has been prepared as a contribution of FAO to the 9th Session of the Commission on Sustainable Development to be held in April 2001 and its follow up, which is expected to accelerate the global move towards more sustainable energy systems.

A number of critical development challenges ahead are disussed. To address environment and sustainability issues, information and decision support tools are essential. Translating the vision of the Digital Earth into actions and the implementation of the Integrated Global Observing Strategy(IGOS) provide an important international framework for scientific and technical cooperation in addressing information needs for sustainable development in the new millennium.

The global climate maps presented here are based on data for mean monthly values of temperature, precipitation and cloudiness prepared in 1991 by R. Leemans and W. Cramer and published by the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA). The IIASA data correspond to an imaginary "net" covering the Earth's surface with a mesh size of 0.5 degrees. This is equivalent to about 60 km - an area of about 3,600 sq. km - at the equator.

Risk definitions: A basic discussion of climate risk and vulnerability applied to agricultural production Risk management: What can be done to reduce the impact of climate variability on agriculture? What are the fundamental differences between developing and developed countries, as far as climate risk is concerned? Impact Losses: A quantification, at the national and global scale, of the losses actually suffered by agriculture due to climate variability

This FAO Guidelines examines issues specific to those sectors, and suggest the processes, information requirements, policy directions, planning tools and possible interventions that are necessary for ICAM (Integrated coastal area management and agriculture).