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With funding from the Government of Norway, three international organizations have come together to sharpen and enhance the use of GIS for mapping food insecurity, poverty and vulnerability. CIAT representing the CSI (Consoritum on Spatial Information) of the CGIAR Centres (Consultative Group on International Agriculture Research), UNEP-GRID Arendal and FAO will jointly work on establishing a web-based network of individuals and institutions mapping food insecurity, poverty and vulnerability, and on developing improved methods and tools for using map-based information to combat food inseucrity and poverty at all levels.
Their combined institutional and professional strength will make it possible to develop food insecurity and poverty mapping systems that take into consideration biophysical, environmental and socio-economic factors in an integrated manner. Over a three year period the project is expected to result in the following outputs:
The project is expected to promote standardisation of data sets and generate tools that will permit consideration of many more factors together than was the case to date. Application and testing of new methods and tools will be carried out through pilot mapping exercises in six selected countries. The project will also develop a dynamic digital atlas capable of query analysis based on a hetergeneous set of indicators.
At the end of the project improved GIS-based methods and tools are expected to be available for general use, and a sustainable poverty and food insecurity mapping network is expected to be operational, making possible the rapid spread of the techniques and experiences generated by the project.
This joint venture, if successful, will be a model for effective collaboration on the ground amongst international organizations, in the common search for solutions to food insecurity and poverty in the world. It has the potential to contribute to the accelerated accomplishment of the WFS goal, which is to halve the number of undernourished by 2015, as well as to various poverty reduction initiatives that are gaining ground amongst donors. Being shown where and why there are large numbers of vulnerable and food insecure people is an essential precondition to the start of the solution.
For further information on this Project, please see the Project web site:
www.povertymap.net
For a review of the poverty mapping methods, please see:
Choosing a method
for poverty mapping
The TERRASTAT Global Land Resources GIS Models and Databases were created as part of the Poverty and Food Insecurity Mapping Project (GCP/INT/761/NOR) funded by the Government of Norway.
The World Food Summit organized by FAO in 1996 had noted that "...more than 800 million people throughout the World, and particularly in developing countries, do not have enough food to meet their basic nutritional needs. The problems of hunger and food insecurity have global dimensions and are likely to persist, and even increase dramatically in some regions, unless urgent, determined and concerted action is taken, given the anticipated increase in the world's population and the stress on natural resources."
The WFS also noted that "Poverty is a major cause of food insecurity and sustainable progress in poverty eradication is critical to improve access to food. Increased food production, including staple food, must be undertaken. This should happen within the framework of sustainable management of natural resources, elimination of unsustainable patterns of consumption and production."
The countries participating in the WFS also set a target for "achieving food security for all and to eradicate hunger in all countries, with an immediate view to reducing the number of undernourished people to half their present level no later than 2015."
In order to make the necessary analyses and forecasts for assisting in the implementation and monitoring of the plans of action for realisation of the WFS pledge above, a FIVIMS Global GIS Models and Databases called TERRASTAT was created based on earlier work carried out by FAO (Bot et al, 2000). This database will be used mainly for poverty and food insecurity mapping, particularly for analysing where the people live at global scales in relation to:
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For further information please click here to see the TERRASTAT Report (Word - 465 KB)
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