COAG/01/Inf.6
|
COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE |
Sixteenth Session |
Rome, 26-30 March 2001, Red Room |
PROGRESS REPORT ON AGENDA 21: HIGHLIGHTS OF FAO'S CONTRIBUTION |
1. Agenda 21 was the centrepiece agreement that emerged from the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), known as the Earth Summit, in 1992. It provides a comprehensive action programme to attain sustainable development and address both environmental and development issues in an integrated manner at global, national and local levels. Although the implementation of Agenda 21 has been below expectations, many countries have formulated national strategies based on Agenda 21 and have taken steps to integrate sustainability issues into their national development policies.
2. FAO, through its normative and operational programme, continues to assist Member Nations in the implementation of Agenda 21 and follow-up of UNCED, and its contribution will be highlighted in selected key areas where FAO is a task manager or major partner.
3. Land and agriculture were among the major topics at the Eighth Session of the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD-8), New York, 25 April- 5 May 2000. FAO played a key role in the preparation of the UN Secretary-General's reports on Chapter 10 (Integrated Planning and Management of Land Resources) and Chapter 14 (Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development: SARD) with inputs from many UN agencies, NGOs and various stakeholders. The report on Chapter 10 included several task manager reports, namely on Chapter 11 (Combating Deforestation) and Chapter 13 (Sustainable Mountain Development), for which FAO is also task manager, as well as on Chapter 12 (Combating Desertification and Drought), and Chapter 15 (Conservation of Biological Diversity). The report on Chapter 14 included addenda on Biotechnology for Sustainable Agriculture, Urbanisation and Sustainable Agricultural Development, and Linkage between Agriculture, Land and Water.
4. These reports served as a basis for consultations and discussion during the Ad Hoc Working Group on Land and Agriculture in February 1999 and later at CSD-8 itself and influenced the decisions taken at CSD-8. As regards Chapter 14, SARD, the Commission agreed to entrust the review of the implementation of SARD to FAO, with the involvement of diverse stakeholders, in preparation for Earth Summit 2002 (Rio+10). In line with this decision, efforts are underway to bring wider civil society participation with the 16th Session of the Committee on Agriculture (COAG).1
5. One of the major debates at CSD-8 was on preparations for the ten-year review of progress in the implementation of UNCED. In this respect, the Commission's decisions emphasised that Agenda 21 should not be renegotiated, and the focus at Rio+10 should be on the review of the implementation of Agenda 21. FAO is expected to undertake a comprehensive review and assessment of the implementation of chapters for which it is task manager and this effort has been launched.
6. FAO is also involved in the implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the Convention to Combat Desertification and Drought (CCD), and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). FAO has carried out an assessment of agricultural biodiversity activities at international and regional levels and, in collaboration with the CBD Secretariat, has proposed elements of a programme of work on agricultural biodiversity for consideration at the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice V (SBSTTA) and decision at the 5th Conference of Parties (COP). FAO has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with IFAD, UNEP and the CCD Secretariat to collaborate in various activities in support of the CCD. FAO became a member of the Facilitation Committee and of the Technical Advisory Group of the Global Mechanism of the UNCCD. It is leading the preparation of a global initiative entitled the Dryland Land Degradation Assessment. FAO has taken an active role in activities related to the UNFCCC and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and new position papers have been prepared. An expert meeting was organized on the "Verification of Country-Level Carbon Stocks and Exchanges".
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