(BONN, 7 November 2021) – Around a third of global anthropogenic emissions come from our food systems, largely through agricultural practices and land-use change. Meanwhile, world hunger is on the rise, and around 40% of all food produced across the planet is currently lost or wasted. As the global population grows, and food production is increasingly affected by degradation and climate change impacts, it’s clear that widespread change to our system is required.
In that context, and in response to agreements coming out of the COP26, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN) is seeking to strengthen its contribution to the broad-based alliances for change that are critically needed to transform current unequal and unsustainable development pathways – by becoming a Global Landscapes Forum (GLF) charter member.
“We are delighted to be working with the Global Landscapes Forum to help increase advocacy and visibility for the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, as well as FAO’s work towards more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agri-food systems,” said Mette Wilkie, Director of FAO’s Forestry Division.
The FAO will become the 32nd charter member of the GLF, the world’s largest knowledge-led platform on integrated land use, and host to today’s GLF Climate hybrid conference in Glasgow.
In becoming a Charter Member, the FAO joins more than thirty of the world’s leading development, environmental, farmer, rights and research organizations, who have signed the GLF Charter and are committed to the vision of advancing, mainstreaming and implementing the ‘Landscape Approach’ to building landscapes that are productive, prosperous, equitable and resilient.
The official announcement is taking place from 18:15 to 19:30 GMT at the closing plenary of GLF Climate, after interventions from speakers such as Elizabeth Mrema, executive secretary of the UN Convention on Biodiversity, Ibrahim Thiaw, executive director of the UN Convention to combat Desertification, and FAO deputy director-general Maria Helena Semedo.
The synergy between healthy ecosystems and the multiple goods and services that contribute to peoples’ livelihoods was highlighted at the GLF Climate session, Leveraging the Power of Forests and Trees for Climate Resilience, jointly hosted by the FAO and CIFOR-ICRAF. With diverse and concrete examples of adaptation and resilience to climate change, speakers emphasized the role of forests and trees as part of the solution to building resilient societies and a transformative economy of care for people and nature.
“The FAO has been instrumental in the success of the Global Landscape Forum and has been with us since the beginning,” said GLF Managing Director John Colmey. “The Partnership is thrilled to have them join us formally as a Charter Member, bringing with them an unparalleled depth of knowledge in building sustainable farm and forest landscapes across the world.”
For more information, please contact Elena Matviichuk (E.Matviichuk@cgiar.org), Thaís Ferreira Mattos (T.Ferreira@cgiar.org), or Maria DeCristofaro (Maria.DeCristofaro@fao.org).
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