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Issue paper

2014

The Water-Energy-Food Nexus. A New Approach in Support of Food Security and Sustainable Agriculture

If a decision is made at the national level to increase the share of bioenergy, what implications does this have for water, land and energy? How do electricity subsidies contribute to groundwater depletion and what can be done about it? How can we ensure that sectoral policies and strategies consider the potential trade-offs for other sectors? Finding answers to these questions is the main challenge of the Water-Energy-Food Nexus. By describing the complex and interrelated nature of our global resource systems, the Nexus approach helps us to better understand and systematically analyze how we can use and manage our resources in light of different, often competing [...]

Report

2014

State of the World’s Forests 2014. Enhancing the Socioeconomic Benefits from Forests

The 2014 edition of the State of the World’s Forests report (also known as SOFO) has been released by FAO, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. This coincides with the opening of the 22nd Session of the FAO Committee on Forestry (COFO) and the World Forest Week. SOFO 2014 deals with the existing knowledge gaps on the socioeconomic benefits provided by forests. It gathers and analyses data already available on the topic. It also makes recommendations to improve this information. The lack of information about the socioeconomic dimension of forests and the need to fill this gap was also one of [...]

Tool

2014

Building a Common Vision for Sustainable Food and Agriculture. Principles and Approaches

Over the coming 35 years, agriculture will face an unprecedented confluence of pressures, including a 30 percent increase in the global population, intensifying competition for increasingly scarce land, water and energy resources, and the existential threat of climate change. To provide for a population projected to reach 9.3 billion in 2050 and support changing dietary patterns, estimates are that food production will need to increase from the current 8.4 billion tonnes to almost 13.5 billion tonnes a year. Achieving that level of production from an already seriously depleted natural resource base will be impossible without profound changes in our food [...]

Issue paper

2013

Food Security and Sovereignty

During the XXXII Regional FAO Conference for Latin America and the Caribbean, held in Buenos Aires in March 2012, one of the issues proposed for the agenda and agreed upon by the participants was that “FAO will organize a broad and dynamic debate with the participation of the civil society and academia to discuss the concept of food sovereignty, the meaning of which has been not been agreed upon by FAO Member States and the United Nations System.” (FAO, 2012, paragraph 25) To this end, this ad h oc document, prepared by the consultant Gustavo Gordillo, contains information and analysis [...]

Issue paper

2013

Tackling Climate Change through Livestock. A global assessment of emissions and mitigation opportunities

As renewed international efforts are needed to curb greenhouse gas emissions, the livestock sector can contribute its part. An important emitter of greenhouse gas, it also has the potential to  significantly reduce its emissions. This report provides a unique global assessment of the magnitude, the sources and pathways of emissions from different livestock production systems and supply chains.  Relying on life cycle assessment, statistical analysis and scenario building, it also prov ides estimates of the sector’s mitigation potential  and identifies concrete options to reduce emissions. The report is a useful resource for stakeholders from livestock producers to policy-makers, researchers and [...]

Tool

2013

Climate-Smart Agriculture Sourcebook

This comprehensive sourcebook on climate-smart agriculture (CSA), produced by the Food and Agriculture Organisation, consists of eighteen modules covering every aspect of planning and implementing CSA policies and projects.  Aimed primarily at developing countries, the opening module outlines the case for CSA (including forestry and fisheries), discussing issues such as food security, resilient systems, and systemic efficiency. The sourcebook argues that if we are to match growing demand whilst simultaneously combating climate change, it is crucial that greater efficiency and resilience is achieved in our food systems to aid climate mitigation and adaptation respectively. This has to happen globally, and in [...]

Training & e-learning

2012

FAO Learning Module 3 on Capacity Development: Good Learning Practices

This Module is the third in a series of four that address capacity development competencies in FAO. It is intended to enhance FAO’s practices in designing, developing, delivering and evaluating its activities in support of learning in Member Countries, while ensuring that learning leads to sustainable capacity development.  Annex 2 has a list of toolboxes for users.

Tool

2012

Policy Instruments to Promote Good Practices in Bioenergy Feedstock Production

Building on FAO’s work on good practices in agriculture and forestry, the Bioenergy and Food Security Criteria and Indicators (BEFSCI) project has compiled a set of good environmental practices that can be implemented by bioenergy feedstock producers in order to minimize the risk of negative environmental impacts from their operations, and to ensure that modern bioenergy contributes to climate change mitigation while safeguarding and possibly fostering food security.  BEFSCI has also compiled a set of good socio-economic practices that can help minimize the risks and increase the opportunities for food security associated with bioenergy operations.  BEFSCI has identified a range of policy instruments that [...]

Tool

2012

Incorporating Climate Change Considerations into Agricultural Investment Programmes. A Guidance Document

This best practices guidance document is intended to help development professionals  and government officials who are involved in agricultural and rural development investment operations to mainstream climate change considerations in programme identification, design and supervision. The link between food security, rural livelihoods and climate change is well recognized, and the idea of mainstreaming climate change into agricultural and rural development investment programmes has become increasingly important. This publication provides practitioners with pertinent information from FAO and external sources, as well as options and good practices on rapid assessments, climate change adaptation and mitigation, and disaster risk reduction.

Issue paper

2012

Developing a Climate-Smart Agriculture Strategy at the Country Level: Lessons from Recent Experience

Since the Global Conference on Climate Change, Food Security and Agriculture held at the Hague in 2010, the concept of climate-smart agriculture (CSA) has gained increasing attention at international and national levels, with several countries initiating related activities. The objective of this paper is to highlight recent experiences with country-level implementation of CSA to identify some key lessons to incorporate in ongoing efforts to expand the use of the approach in developing countries. Examples are presented from Malawi, Zambia, and Vietnam on the issues discussed, and how to use the evidence base to inform investment options and policy actions. Section 1 describes the evolution of the concept [...]