Urban Food Actions Platform

Food production depends and impacts on ecosystem services and biodiversity, with spillover effects going beyond food. Urban and peri-urban agriculture and food processing can contribute to improving the resilience of territories in the face of climate change, natural disasters and disrupted suppy chains. Urban food consumption can also influence where and how food is produced. 

How can you optimize agriculture production while managing ecosystem services and biodiversity and improving resilience to climate change? Numerous examples are presented, explaining how to implement sustainable urban and peri-urban food production and processing; how these can mitigate the heat island effect, prevent floods, reduce the energy needed for cooling and heating buildings, improve social inclusion, (indirectly) raise awareness on combating food waste, or contribute to better access to healthy, diversified and fresh products. Resources on Urban and Peri-Urban Forestry are also available.

 

Related Resources

Governance and planning, Food production and ecosystem management - Frameworks
The increasing pace of urbanization implies a growing demand for basic goods and services and local administrations are finding it more and more difficult to meet the needs for urban populations. The COVID-19 pandemic has added new challenges, worsening conditions for the most vulnerable. The main objective of the Green...
(Global coverage)
2020 - Coll.
Food production and ecosystem management, Food supply and distribution - Articles
ONLY IN FRENCH This paper analyzes the main effects of lockdown related to the COVID-19 crisis on the food system of Brazzaville in the Republic of Congo.
Congo (Africa)
2020 - Junior Bitsoumanou Nkounkou, Gilles Martin
Food production and ecosystem management - Policy Briefs
The COVID-19 pandemic has put local food systems at risk of disruptions along the entire agri-food value chain. Cities and local governments are currently playing a major role in limiting the spread of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 and in mitigating disruptions to their local food systems. The role of local...
(Global coverage)
2020 - Shulang Fei, Jia Ni, Guido Santini, Makiko Taguchi, Bruno Telemans, Shane Harnett, Gilles Martin, Tamara van’t Wout, Meeta Punjabi Mehta, Kayo Takenoshita, and Kostas Stamoulis
Food production and ecosystem management - Guidelines
ONLY IN FRENCH This guide provides a description of urban agriculture and is intended more specifically for municipalities wishing to integrate its principles in order to encourage its practice on their territory. It presents the advantages and challenges of urban agriculture, as well as the strategies and various planning, regulatory and...
Canada (North America)
2020 - Nicolas Fontaine, Sandrine Jouis, Astrid Martin, Frédéric Otis
Governance and planning, Social and economic equity, Food production and ecosystem management, Food supply and distribution - Policy Briefs
Key results from the FAO Survey “Urban Food Systems and COVID-19"
(Global coverage)
2020 - Cecilia Marocchino; Kostas Stamoulis; Jamie Morrison; Gilles Martin; Meeta Punjabi; Jia Ni;Ana Puhac; Joao Intini; Sara Granados; MariaMagdalenaHeinrich; Kayo Takenoshita; Makiko Taguchi