FAO at 75 – Grow, nourish, sustain. Together.

Born in 1945 amid the idealism of post-war reconstruction, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations sets out to increase farm output around the world and make famines a thing of the past. Over the subsequent 75 years, FAO’s outlook and body of work acquire new environmental and sustainability dimensions (FAO, 2020).

By 2020, continued success has required strategic re-invention. As the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbates vulnerabilities linked to conflict and climate change, FAO is looking to advanced research partnerships, digitalization, and wall-to-wall innovation to help end hunger and malnutrition. With ten years to go until the Sustainable Development Goals come due, the race is on for bold answers and dramatic solutions (FAO, 2020).

FAO World Food Day Poster Contest (ages 5-19)
If you are or know someone who is between ages 5 and 19, FAO wants to hear from you! Please consider using your imagination and create a poster showing a world where no one is left behind, and everyone has access to healthy and affordable food (FAO, 2022).

Everything in our world is connected – from our food to our cultures, environment and economies. Today, many people continue to face global challenges like poverty and hunger, climate change, conflict and inequality. Global challenges need global solutions! We can all learn how to be part of these global solutions, for a sustainable future where every person counts. Take a photo or scan your poster and submit your entry by filling out the form on the FAO website (below).

Three winners in each age category will be selected and announced in December. Winners will be promoted by FAO offices around the world and receive a surprise gift bag and Certificate of Recognition. To participate, you must be aged 5 - 19. The deadline for entries is 4 November 2022 (FAO, 2022).
____
https://www.fao.org/home/en
https://hungermap.wfp.org/
https://www.fao.org/world-food-day/contest/en
https://www.fao.org/3/cb1182en/cb1182en.pdf
https://www.fao.org/news/podcast/fao75
https://www.fao.org/news/podcast/fao75-2
https://www.fao.org/news/podcast/fao75-3

Humans have had an unprecedented impact on land – with vast consequences for climate change, food systems and biodiversity, a major new UN report concludes.

It says that human activities have already altered 70% of the Earth’s land surface, degrading up to 40% of it. Four of the nine “planetary boundaries” – limits on how humans can safely use Earth’s resources – have already been exceeded.

In this article, Carbon Brief walks through five key takeaways from the UN’s milestone Global Land Outlook Report.

Natural forests have an important part to play in climate action and adaptation as, when conserved, they contribute significantly to carbon removal; globally, forests represent around 25% of planned emissions reductions by 2030.

The G20 has a strategic role in conserving forests. The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation has stated that eight G20 members are among the top 10 countries with the largest forest area. In 2021, the G20 also declared a commitment to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030.

So how can the sigificant effects of forest conservation be maximised?

Nature-based climate solutions currently being widely touted include the restoration of the world’s degraded forests and other ecosystems in order to store more carbon. But while many restoration pledges have been made by many nations via many initiatives, the monitoring and tracking of their success remains murky. This is because effective and accurate ecosystem restoration tracking requires systems for long-term ground-truthing, for measuring carbon storage over decades, and for improvements in biodiversity and the boosting of local economies.

Read more to find out on how initiatives such as the Bonn Challenge’s Restoration Barometer and the Brazilian Restoration and Reforestation Observatory are striding to better establish an accurate system of global ecosystem restoration tracking.

Perhaps climate change is mostly about home economics...

When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive, to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love. Marcus Aurelius

The very air in which you live is an inspiration. William Henry

Air, an undervalued necessity, that earns your gratitude when you inhale it for the last time. Shaun Neil King

The earth is what we all have in common. Wendell Berry

The earth is the general and equal possession of all humanity and therefore cannot be the property of individuals. Leo Tolstoy

We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect. Aldo Leopold

The health of our waters is the principal measure of how we live on the land. Luna Leopold

Water is fundamental for life and health. The human right to water is indispensable for leading a healthy life in human dignity. It is a prerequisite to the realization of all other human rights. United Nations

The first law of ecology is that everything is related to everything else. Barry Commoner

Relationships are the core message of ecology. Frances Moore Lappé

Ecology is the overall science of which economics is a minor specialty. Garrett Hardin

The economy is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the environment, not the other way around. Gaylord Nelson, Earth Day Founder

The highest function of ecology is the understanding of consequences. Frank Herbert

Probably the most visible example of unintended consequences, is what happens every time humans try to change the natural ecology of a place. Margaret J. Wheatley

We need to renegotiate our contract with nature. Ecology is a unifying force. Gregory Colbert

We won't have a society if we destroy the environment. Margaret Mead

The earth is what we all have in common. Wendell Berry

Touch the earth, feel the earth, her plains, her valleys, her hills, and her seas; rest your spirit in her solitary places. Henry Beston

Those who contemplate the beauty of the Earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. Rachel Carson

An understanding of the natural world and what’s in it is a source of not only a great curiosity but great fulfillment. David Attenborough

Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world. Harriet Tubman 
___
https://climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/carbon-dioxide/
https://climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/global-temperature/
https://climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/ice-sheets/
https://climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/arctic-sea-ice/
https://climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/sea-level/
https://www.globalforestwatch.org/
https://climate.nasa.gov/resources/education/
https://climate.nasa.gov/resources/graphics-and-multimedia/?page=0&per_…
https://climate.nasa.gov/climate_resources/215/earth-now-tutorial/
https://climate.nasa.gov/
https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_2495.html
https://earthdata.nasa.gov/learn/sensing-our-planet/checking-earth-s-vi…
https://gpm.nasa.gov/education/interactive/eyes-earth-vital-signs-planet
https://climate.nasa.gov/scientific-consensus/
https://gpm.nasa.gov/education/websites/global-climate-change-vital-sig…
https://eyes.jpl.nasa.gov/eyes-on-the-earth.html
https://worldview.earthdata.nasa.gov/
https://www.esrl.noaa.gov/
https://ocov3.jpl.nasa.gov/science/
https://sealevel.nasa.gov/
https://sealevel.nasa.gov/data_tools/2
https://sealevel.nasa.gov/data_tools/17

Did you know there’s another COP?

With just months to go until UN Biodiversity COP15, countries left Geneva without resolving many of the key elements of the Global Biodiversity Framework. Observers said the talks moved at a “glacial pace”, with some raising concerns that countries are “heading for Copenhagen” – a reference to the 2009 climate summit that was widely perceived to have ended in failure.

Read Elizabeth Mrema, chief of the Convention of Biological Diversity, reflections on the negotiations and her hope - which I personally completely support - climate change and biodiversity loss should be tackled together as one problem at UN summits in future.

Hi everyone! Feedback request | Global Canopy invites all pension fund managers, asset managers, or representatives from financial institutions, non-governmental organisations, and Indigenous peoples and local communities for feedback on guidance for Deforestation-free Pension Funds.

Pension funds have a powerful influence over sectors and industries that are strongly connected to deforestation, conversion, and associated human rights abuses. Pension funds have the ability to help drive change not just within their own investments but across the finance sector more broadly.

To enable pension funds to address their exposure to these issues effectively, and in line with best practice, Global Canopy, alongside partners Make My Money Matter and SYSTEMIQ Ltd., are developing guidance to enable pension funds to identify, address, and eliminate deforestation, conversion, and associated human rights abuses from their investments.

The consultation document linked below is a detailed outline for guidance that is being developed; it is not comprehensive or complete but has been produced to gain feedback from stakeholders on the topics and actions included.

We are asking representatives from pension funds, asset managers, financial institutions, rightsholders, Indigenous peoples, local communities and NGOs for feedback. Please click the link below, follow the instructions and complete the survey by 5th April 2022.

If you do not feel you fit into one of the above groups and would like to review the document, or if you have any questions on this document or the associated surveys please contact the Global Canopy team at [email protected].

Announcing the UN Decade of Family Farming...

The UN Decade of Family Farming 2019-2028 (UNDFF) aims to shed new light on what it means to be a family farmer in a rapidly changing world and highlights more than ever before the important role they play in eradicating hunger and shaping our future of food. Family farming offers a unique opportunity to ensure food security, improve livelihoods, better manage natural resources, protect the environment and achieve sustainable development, particularly in rural areas. Thanks to their wisdom and care for the earth, family farmers are the agents of change we need to achieve Zero Hunger, a more balanced and resilient planet, and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (FAO, 2022).

Through their Global Action Plan UNDFF provides detailed guidance for the international community on collective, coherent and comprehensive actions that can be taken to support family farmers. The Plan is designed around seven mutually reinforcing pillars of work and recommends a series of interconnected actions from the local to the global level (UNDFF, 2022).

UNDFF needs your help to collecting stories that showcase the contributions of family farmers and/or highlight the challenges they face. The stories can come from farmers themselves, but also from the people or institutions that work with farmers. Participants can use the template provided as a basis for stories. Please consider submitting your story with photos to [email protected] to have it featured on the UNDFF’s website!

Long live Family Farms and their Supporters!
___
https://www.fao.org/family-farming-decade/home/en/
https://www.fao.org/3/ca4672en/ca4672en.pdf
https://www.fao.org/family-farming/home/en/
https://www.fao.org/3/cb7496en/cb7496en.pdf

Very happy to join this forum with other focused climate activists. Please see our international video connecting and activating communities in 79 countries using art as the vehicle for change and sustainable actions.