Forum global sur la sécurité alimentaire et la nutrition (Forum FSN)

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M. Davy Pouaty Nzembialéla

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Organisation: Association pour le Devenir des Autochtones et de leur Connaissance Originelle (ADACO)
Pays: Gabon
Domaine(s) de spécialisation
I am working on:

Nous avons travaillé en 2021 avec l'équipe des peuples autochtones de la FAO de Genève en contribuant à l'élaboration du 1er livre blanc sur les systèmes alimentaires des peuples autochtones. Et cette année nous contribuons à collaborer dans le même domaine ainsi que sur les autres problématiques qui touchent aux peuples autochtones.

Ce membre a contribué à/au:

    • Monsieur ou Madame, l'ADACO vous fait parvenir, ci-joint, sa contribution relative à l'objet ci-dessus cité. Cordialement.

      ADACO's contributions to the above themes are as follows:

      1. How can FAO and CSOs work together to regain the momentum lost and work jointly to "leave no one behind"?

      Let's start by clarifying the following: the FAO Strategic Framework 2022-2031 has been drawn up in response to the main global and regional challenges in the areas covered by its mandate. It was approved on June 18, 2021, at the forty-second session of the FAO Conference. This Framework aims to support the achievement of the 2030 Agenda by transforming agrifood systems to make them more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable, with a view to improving production, nutrition, the environment and living conditions, without leaving anyone behind. The main pillars of this Strategic Framework are :

      • Improved production: the aim is to establish sustainable consumption and production patterns through efficient and inclusive supply chains in the food and agriculture sectors at local, regional and global level, ensuring the resilience and sustainability of agrifood systems in the context of climate and environmental change.
      • Improving nutrition: eliminating hunger, achieving food security and improving nutrition in all its forms, notably by promoting nutritious foods and increasing access to healthy diets.
      • Environmental improvement: protecting and restoring terrestrial and marine ecosystems, promoting their sustainable use and combating climate change (reduction, reuse, recycling and waste management) through more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems.
      • Improving living conditions: promoting inclusive economic growth by reducing inequalities (between urban and rural areas, rich and poor countries, men and women).

      In addition, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) often holds informal dialogues with civil society organizations (CSOs) from around the world, while exploring ways of improving engagement and achieve greater effectiveness in the field and in regional and global forums. FAO recognizes the important role of CSOs in the fight against hunger and the transformation of agrifood systems, in particular for their wealth of knowledge and expertise and their "strategic and unique presence on the ground, close to those who need it most". FAO has had a long history of working with non-state actors, including CSOs, to strengthen food and nutrition security for all. In line with its mandate to eradicate hunger and malnutrition worldwide, FAO has defined a policy (in 2011 and 2017) aimed at indigenous peoples. It covers the following points:

      • Indigenous communities, which make up a significant proportion of the world's population, are exposed to food insecurity
      • Secondly, respect for the knowledge, cultures and traditional practices of these peoples contributes to the sustainable and equitable development of the planet
      • And finally, the FAO recognizes the benefits that can be derived from closer collaboration with these peoples. These principles respond to the explicit request of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, other UN bodies and indigenous peoples themselves for a framework to ensure that their needs and concerns are effectively taken into account. The aim of this policy is to provide FAO with a framework to guide its work on indigenous peoples' issues. Current activities do not follow a systematic course of action with regard to these issues, and would benefit greatly from a common direction and approach. These principles are also important for the indigenous populations themselves, as they set out and clarify what they are reasonably entitled to expect from the Organization. This policy focuses on certain important areas covered by FAO's mandate, and identifies the motivations and benefits of a partnership between FAO and indigenous peoples. It is the culmination of a series of consultations with indigenous peoples' leaders, the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, the Inter-Agency Support Group on Indigenous Issues and members of the FAO Governing Body.

      In view of the above, we can suggest the following:

      • Consolidate and strengthen the gains made by working directly with civil society organizations (CSOs)
      • Schedule periodic meetings with CSOs to review progress under the new FAO Strategic Framework 2022–2031
      • Give priority to broad inclusion of all CSOs with the aim of leaving no one behind, including indigenous organizations
      • Formalize more inclusive partnerships with CSOs at international, regional and national levels, as some countries do not often call on the expertise of CSOs even though they have real local expertise (on the ground)
      • FAO should facilitate the work of certain CSOs with country and sub-regional offices, as these offices often neglect the expertise of CSOs (this is what ADACO suffered with the FAO sub-regional office in Gabon)
      • Provide financial or technical support to indigenous organizations to help them transform food systems to make them resilient to climate change
      • Enable CSOs to formalize projects based on local approaches
      1. How can CSOs contribute to such transformation to boost impact on the ground? Please propose concrete actions.

      CSOs can contribute to this transformation through the following activities:

      • Maintaining gains in terms of capacity building and structuring of CSOs
      • Continued advocacy, awareness-raising, policy monitoring and actions to reinforce democratic values, respect for human rights, good governance, the rule of law, the right to food and local development.

      In addition, CSOs need to improve their operating practices in terms of ethics, accountability and commitment to networking. To this end, FAO could support the financing of micro-projects to develop small-scale farming activities at community or local level, in order to improve living conditions for communities in the areas where these projects are implemented. Let's not forget that CSOs have adopted global standards that should shape these transformations through the implementation of the Istanbul Principles in important areas such as equitable partnerships, solidarity and empowerment of populations. But CSOs are also profoundly affected by the political context in which they work, including donor and government policies and regulations. In July 2021, the OECD Development Assistance Committee adopted the Recommendation on Enabling Civil Society in Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Assistance. It is the first legal policy instrument and common standard for the protection and promotion of civic space, to fully support civil society organizations, including the priority of local development, and to encourage the effectiveness, transparency and accountability of CSOs.

      What's more, the majority of the world's poor population live in rural areas, and agriculture is their primary source of food, employment and income. Around 500 million small farms in low- and middle-income countries support three billion people, who produce most of the food consumed there. Smallholder farming is labor-intensive and often highly efficient: small-scale producers supply 30–34% of the world's food on just 24% of the world's agricultural land. And since most farms are less than one hectare in size, they enable their owners–many of whom are also employers–to improve their diet nutritionally, increase their income and ensure food security in economies often lacking effective and appropriate social protection systems. As incomes rise, the demand for fresh food produced by small farms also follows an upward curve. CSOs could propose the following:

      • Improve profitability and production through greater use of intensive, knowledge-based, circular, sustainable and climate-resilient techniques
      • Go into agricultural services and food processing, transport and marketing
      • Enable farmers, especially women and young people, to enter profitable value chains, rewarding them for the ecosystem services they provide and helping them overcome difficulties in accessing water and land rights, capital, information and new technologies

      Finally, transforming food systems involves paradigm shifts at all stages to make food systems healthy and nutritious, by providing nutritious and affordable diets for good health; inclusive, by enabling sustainable livelihoods for all food system stakeholders; environmentally sustainable, by consuming and producing food within planetary limits; and resilient, by ensuring that people can access food and protect their livelihoods when food systems are affected by extreme events or market shocks, and by political instability or conflict (Ruben et al., 2021). The transformation of food systems has the potential to bring systemic benefits to people and the environment. At the same time, we recognize that food systems do not sufficiently meet people's needs, and that their environmental costs contribute to global climate change and biodiversity loss. Transforming food systems aims to improve human nutrition, promote inclusion, protect biodiversity and contribute to a more sustainable and resilient food system.

      1. How can FAO and CSOs maximize their collective impact in adapting to climate change and/or mitigate its consequences?

      Adaptation to climate change must accompany any effort to promote food security, poverty reduction or the sustainable management and conservation of natural resources. Adaptation to climate change is linked to adjustments to current or predicted variability and to changes in average climatic conditions. The global mitigation target can only be met if the agriculture, forestry and fisheries sectors, which account for a third of greenhouse gas emissions, make a significant contribution to mitigation. FAO therefore gives priority to mitigation activities in these sectors. Its technical knowledge gives it the expertise needed to help members realize their mitigation potential.

      If we are to combat climate change, it is essential to start by implementing measures that address our food and farming systems. We need to look at how we produce our food, how we feed ourselves and how we use our natural resources. Agriculture is responsible for around 25% of greenhouse gas emissions, but it offers many solutions which, if implemented, will help achieve the global targets set in the context of the fight against climate change. To meet this challenge, we need to start by transforming our food and farming systems. We need to restore degraded land and put an end to food wastage, and take measures to help communities adapt to the new pressures they face (population growth, urbanization, etc.), while protecting the planet's resources and biodiversity.

      FAO has been working with the Green Climate Fund (GCF) since 2016 to help countries build their resilience to the effects of climate change. The food and agricultural sectors present unique opportunities to create synergies between climate and development programs. Support for agriculture, and in particular for small-scale farmers, is essential if we are to achieve SDG 1 (end poverty) and SDG 2 (zero hunger) in the context of climate change. It also contributes to SDG 13 (climate change), SDG 14 (sustainable management of the oceans) and SDG 15 (life on earth). FAO is fully committed to supporting countries in achieving their targets. The Organization envisions a world in which food and agricultural systems are resilient to the effects of climate change through adaptation measures and mitigation solutions. It recommends large-scale climate financing to support the transformation of agriculture as the key to a more sustainable future.

      Today, the key priority is to build the capacity of the most vulnerable groups and communities to improve their ability to adapt their livelihood systems. Thus, particular attention and support must be given to involving local populations in analyzing their changing situation, identifying possible solutions and deciding on the best way to adapt. This new approach is known as community-based adaptation or CBA. The aim of community-based adaptation (CBA) is to enable communities to decide and engage in development that is sustainable, climate-resilient and sensitive to the changing risks associated with climate change. CBA happens when vulnerable groups and communities have the opportunity to analyze their vulnerabilities, risks and capacities; to strengthen their adaptive capacity; to decide and engage in actions that are sustainable, resilient and responsive to climate information and changing risks; to make choices in uncertain climates; to receive support from local and national actors in terms of capacity building, information systems, services and local policy implementation. CBA is only possible if CSOs intervene alongside these communities to help them adapt to the multiple changes.

      1. Based on your partnering experience, can you share a good example of meaningful engagement with FAO or another UN agency/development partner? Please underline what you think worked well and why.

      Since 2016, ADACO has been operating using its own funds, and for almost 8 years our Executive Board has been seeking partnerships and various collaborations with the United Nations system, in particular FAO, UNESCO and WIPO.

      In 2021, we collaborated directly with the FAO Indigenous Peoples Team in Rome to contribute to the development of the first White Paper on Indigenous Peoples' food systems. This year we continued the same collaboration, contributing to the design of the second white paper on the mobile livelihoods of Indigenous Peoples and their collective rights over land, territories and natural resources, and we're still waiting for FAO to publish it. In 2023, our collaboration with the FAO Indigenous Peoples Team will be formalized. The General Assembly of the States Parties to the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage decided at its 9th session, held at UNESCO headquarters in Paris from July 5 to 7, 2022, that ADACO would be one of the accredited NGOs (Resolution 9.GA 7). The Director-General of UNESCO also invited our organization to the 17th session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, held in Rabat, Morocco, from November 28 to December 3, 2022. In addition, Sandrine Moughola, Secretary General of ADACO (Gabon), was elected to the Electoral Council to organize the elections for members of the PCI NGO Forum Committee in 2022.

      The application for observer status for the Association pour le Devenir des Autochtones et de leur Connaissance Originelle (Association for the Future of Aboriginal People and their Original Knowledge–ADACO) to attend meetings of the Assemblies of the Member States of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the Unions administered by WIPO, was approved by the said bodies at their meetings held at WIPO headquarters in Geneva on July 14–22, 2022. ADACO now appears on the list of national non-governmental organizations invited to attend meetings of WIPO-administered assemblies and unions, as observers in accordance with the applicable principles. This question was dealt with in document A/63/9 entitled Summary report, which is available at https://www.wipo.int/meetings/fr/details.jsp?meeting_id=67908.

      In terms of activities, our organization was invited to the Director General's annual consultation with non-governmental organizations (NGOs), which took place on December 6, 2022, from 9am to 11am at the headquarters of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Geneva. Since 2012, WIPO's Director General has chaired this annual event, which testifies to the importance of NGOs as stakeholders in the intellectual property system. WIPO's Medium-Term Strategic Plan 2022–2026 expresses the vision of a global, balanced and efficient IP ecosystem that benefits everyone, everywhere, and the desire to build a more inclusive IP community that better serves women, youth and small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as the use of innovation to address global challenges such as climate change.

      This year, we worked with the FAO (Rome) Partnership Division (PSU) responsible for collaboration with the United Nations to develop Standards of Practice to guide ecosystem restoration. The only drawback here is that our financial resources are insufficient to attend these face-to-face meetings. We always attend these meetings by videoconference. We wish to continue this type of partnership, while further strengthening it through capacity-building, ongoing dialogue, and technical or financial assistance, etc. We also often respond to calls for submissions to consultations published by the Global Forum on Food Security and Nutrition (FSN Forum). ADACO appreciates this type of collaboration, as it is simplified and requires no specific legal constraints. Because quality of a partnership or collaboration requires that the terms of collaboration between the two parties to be simplified and understandable. It will therefore be essential for these partnerships to be more direct and have an impact on the ground for the well-being of local populations.

      What are the most significant challenges CSOs face in their engagement with FAO?

      • The main challenges facing CSOs in their engagement with FAO can be summarized as follows:

       

      CSOs find it difficult to carry out their actions or activities because of the obstacles faced by certain population groups in realizing their right to food. These obstacles may be linked to biological or socio-economic factors, discrimination or stigmatization, etc. The right to food and the principles of equality and non-discrimination imply that particular attention must be paid to different categories of people and population groups within society, especially those in vulnerable situations. These include the following population groups: people living in poverty in rural and urban areas; indigenous peoples; disabled people, women and children, etc. This list is not exhaustive, and other people or population groups may face particular problems in realizing their right to food.

      In addition, people living in poverty cannot fully exercise their right to food because they cannot acquire adequate food or the means to produce it. However, the fact that they lack the means to obtain food is also due to persistent forms of discrimination in access to education and information, in participation in political and social life, and in access to justice. Most indigenous peoples are among the most vulnerable to hunger and malnutrition, largely due to a long history of social, political and economic exclusion, and centuries of expropriation and dispossession of their lands. Understanding what the right to food means for indigenous peoples is more difficult than simply reviewing the statistics on hunger and malnutrition. Indigenous peoples have their own notions of what constitutes adequate food, and their aspirations are far removed from the criteria generally applied to development and economics. Their perception of food security is inseparable from their socio-cultural traditions and the special relationship they have with the land and resources of their ancestors.

      What's more, food, how it is obtained and consumed, is often an important part of their culture, as well as their social, economic and political organization. The realization of indigenous peoples' right to food depends on their access to, and control over, the natural resources found on their ancestral lands, since their food is often derived from cultivating these lands, gathering food, fishing, hunting and raising livestock. The confiscation of land without the free, prior and informed consent of the indigenous peoples concerned, and the lack of legal recognition of land ownership rights, represent serious obstacles to the realization of the right to food. It is therefore important to grant these peoples title to their ancestral lands. According to the International Labour Organization's Convention No. 169 concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries: "Governments shall take steps as necessary to identify the lands which the peoples concerned traditionally occupy, and to guarantee effective protection of their rights of ownership and possession" (paragraph 2, article 14). The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, adopted in 2007, proclaims that indigenous peoples have the right to use and develop the lands they own because they have traditionally owned them (article 26) and that States must take due account of the land tenure systems of these peoples (article 27).

      In Gabon, indigenous peoples meet most of their food requirements through gathering, fishing and game hunting. The latter are semi-sedentary and still represent fairly marginalized groups whose needs are not taken into account in national development master plans. Then, deforestation, human-wildlife conflict and restrictions on the preservation of biodiversity considerably eroded their livelihoods. Evolution and modernity have brought them into contact with other peoples. However, their practices and means of subsistence, such as farming, have transformed their socio-community organization, while keeping their cultural practices intact. Women play an important role in farming, as it highlights their capacity to work (as producers and processors) and their contribution to the social equilibrium of communities. They also play a key role in the resulting exchanges: they are both traders and distributors of food within the household.

      Indeed, the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic have further accentuated the vulnerability of these groups, exposing them to greater precariousness and creating new challenges, notably by limiting their sales opportunities. As part of its missions in Gabon, the FAO Subregional Office plans to integrate the needs of these indigenous populations into the next technical cooperation framework with the Gabonese Republic. With this in mind, in September 2023, the FAO-Gabon Program has initiated a series of missions to this target group. Community consultations were held in the villages of Matamatsengué, Foungui and Njoye 1 (Ngounie province). The aim was to collect data, identify real needs, particularly those of women and young people, and develop a technical and operational support program, in line with respect for indigenous peoples' right to food. All these exchanges helped us to understand the organization and social structure, to gather useful socio-demographic information and to identify the needs of the population in general and the specific needs of women in the areas of food and vegetable production, fishing, gathering and small-scale crafts. This work sequence follows other missions carried out by the FAO Gabon Office in November 2021 in the Baka community of Minvoul (Woleu Ntem province). The data from these two stages will serve as the basis for a technical support program.

      In addition, the FAO's Sub-regional Office did not deny ADACO's involvement, as it carried out a mission in our intervention zone, in particular to Village Nioye.

      However, the Bureau is aware of our existence. To carry out pilot agricultural activities in this remote region of Gabon (Ikobey, in the village of Nioye 1), it would be necessary to build infrastructures such as the Nioye 1 and 2 schools, which are in a state of complete disrepair, rehabilitate dispensaries, combat human-wildlife conflict and provide sunlight on the road. ADACO had already sent the FAO Country Office in Gabon a document detailing the concerns of the region's Tsogo and Babongo populations. This is an opportunity for ADACO to call on FAO's General Management in Rome to remind FAO's Sub-regional Office in Gabon to involve indigenous peoples' associations at national level in this type of project and activity, without exclusion. It was this approach that led us to work directly with the FAO Bureau in Rome. This is because some country offices (in Gabon) of certain International Organizations (IOs) often fail to adopt the working principles laid down in the Charters or Constituent Acts of these organizations, particularly as regards CSO involvement in the implementation and monitoring of certain projects.

        • What could FAO do to remedy some of these problems? Please provide specific examples.

      Today, it is imperative to re-examine the potential of FAO's partnership with CSOs. The commitment of civil society will be essential if we are to achieve the goal of halving the number of food-insecure people. We need to capitalize on FAO's ability to reach out to a wide range of groups, while reaffirming that it is the responsibility of governments to ensure food security for their citizens. For example, we can commission an in-depth evaluation of cooperation between FAO and NGOs and other civil society organizations (CSOs), in consultation with our technical units and decentralized offices, as well as with external partners. This assessment could enable us to formulate policy and strategy guidelines that are appropriate to the challenges we face in the future.

      So, why should FAO seek to strengthen its links with civil society, and how and in what form should these links be strengthened, and what type of partnership or collaboration should be envisaged?

      Closer collaboration with NGOs and other CSOs should enable fairer and more judicious decision-making under the auspices of FAO, by taking into account the interests of all social sectors and building consensus among all stakeholders. This cooperation should also enrich the Organization's standard-setting activities and enhance the effectiveness of our Field Program by drawing on the skills, experience and knowledge of NGOs and other CSOs. This will help mobilize additional resources to achieve common food security objectives. FAO can provide civil society with invaluable technical, financial and institutional support, helping them to replicate successful NGO approaches and gain better access to information and decision-making processes.

      To this end, we need to identify which organizations within civil society are competent for which type of cooperation, so as to have the necessary basis for choice. FAO must focus its efforts on priority partners such as organizations representing important categories, e.g. farmers and consumers, associations of vulnerable groups such as indigenous peoples, and technically competent intermediary NGOs able to engage in ongoing cooperation with FAO. Whatever the organization, the partnership must be simplified and respect the essential principles of compliance with the FAO mandate. Following this assessment, we will be able to identify the following activities: information sharing and analysis; dialogue on policies and programs in the field; and resource mobilization. These activities should be implemented in consultation with all FAO partners, including CSOs. Similarly, we need to make a strategic choice of partners and activities, encouraging coordination and networking between NGOs and other CSOs so as to increase dialogue and mobilize all players. What's more, these organizations must share responsibility for program planning and implementation, as well as for resource allocation.

      It is also important that FAO country representatives ensure that the national organizations closest to rural populations are not excluded from this process.

       

      See the attachments:

    • Je vous transmets, à toutes fins ut utiles, la modeste contribution de l'ADACO relative à l'objet ci-dessus cité.

      S'il vous plaît voir le commentaire dans le fichier joint.

      Cordialement.

      Davy Pouaty Nzembialela

      See the attachments: