Foreword
Disasters are causing unprecedented levels of destruction across the globe, demanding new approaches to reducing risk, strengthening response capabilities and building resilience capacities.
The year 2023 has broken all existing records for the highest temperatures recorded on our warming planet and episodes of extreme floods, storms, droughts, wildfires, and pest and disease outbreaks are becoming daily features in global headlines. As the effect of the climate crisis unfolds, the frequency and intensity of climate-related disasters are also increasing, inflicting a heavy toll on communities and livelihoods across the world. Agriculture is one of the most highly exposed and vulnerable sectors in the context of disaster risk, given its profound dependence on natural resources and climate conditions. Recurrent disasters have the potential to erode gains in food security and undermine the sustainability of agrifood systems.
With this report, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) presents groundbreaking evidence on the global impact of disasters on agriculture and food security over the last three decades. It was my decision to elevate this report to the level of a flagship publication, to reflect our commitment to investing in evidence-based disaster risk reduction solutions and promoting more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems for a better future all around the world.
The findings of the report are stark. We have lost an estimated USD 3.8 trillion worth of crops and livestock production due to disaster events over the past three decades. This corresponds to more than 5 percent of annual global agricultural GDP, a figure that would be significantly higher if systematic data on losses in the fisheries and aquaculture and forestry subsectors were available. We urgently need better information on the impact of disasters in all subsectors of agriculture to create data systems that can serve as the foundation upon which effective action can be built and informed, and to meet the monitoring requirements of the Sendai Framework on Disaster Risk Reduction and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
In some ways, disaster events represent the tip of the iceberg. There are deeper underlying challenges and vulnerabilities created by social and environmental conditions that generate disastrous outcomes and produce cascading effects across agrifood systems. Poverty, unequal access to resources and governance structures all play a pivotal role in determining the impacts of disasters and crises. Among these, the climate crisis is having a significant effect in amplifying existing risks, but recent pandemics and armed conflicts have also contributed to losses experienced in the agrifood sector. Reducing the impact of disasters will require not only understanding their direct effects, but also necessitates unpacking the overarching conditions that drive risks and the way in which their impacts cascade over sectors, systems and geographical regions.
In a world with limited resources, we need to increase investment in resilience by adopting creative, innovative and scalable solutions that can avoid and reduce losses generated by disasters. Leveraging FAO’s technical expertise, this publication showcases opportunities to proactively address risks in agriculture while demonstrating ways to mainstream disaster risk into agricultural practices and policies. It calls for a deep understanding of the context in which these solutions are implemented, as well as strengthened partnerships and collaboration with all relevant partners.
As part of FAO’s work to support risk-informed agrifood systems, this report is a valuable addition to the knowledge base required for adopting and scaling up innovative approaches to resilient and sustainable agriculture, thus enabling better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life – while leaving no one behind.
Qu Dongyu |
