UNITED NATIONS EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATION

Transcription

1 SC-09/CONF.207/INF.7 Paris, 20 May 2009 Original: French UNITED NATIONS EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATION International Coordinating Council of the Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme Twenty-first session Jeju Kal Hotel, Grand Ballroom, Jeju May URL_ID=7418&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html Proposal on a new theme on agro-ecosystems under the MAB Programme I. Introduction In the course of the past decades, rural systems and agricultural ecosystems in general (hereinafter referred to as agro-ecosystems ) have undergone significant structural changes. These changes have led to the emergence of questions related to the evolution of rural systems and their relationship with other systems. The globalization of transportation, the steady integration of agroecosystem products into the world trade, continued urbanization and the homogenization of agricultural practices and of food habits have acted as drivers of change of modern societies. These changes have in turn impacted on production systems, and currently there is a need to revisit models of rural development based solely on intensive production systems requiring significant external inputs. In order to increase the sustainability of agro-ecosystems, there is a need to reorient the knowledge and experiences acquired in the course of the past decades towards strategies that would promote the productivity of these systems while also encouraging the maintenance of natural resources, the conservation of local biological varieties and of associated cultural diversity and the improvement of the livelihoods of rural communities. As demonstrated by the International Assessment on Agricultural Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD), in which UNESCO was actively involved as a co/sponsor and a member of the IAASTD Secretariat, there is a need to place issues related to agriculture and nutrition at the heart of the current world crisis. As the latter encompasses the current world food crisis, climate change, the erosion of genetic diversity and the loss of cultural diversity, agriculture finds itself at the intersection of all such global issues. In the above-mentioned context, the role and value-added of UNESCO in relation to the sustainable management of agro-ecosystems is to rely on natural and social sciences, education, communication and information to deal with issues related to these systems. The Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme, which aims at utilizing interdisciplinary approaches in the quest of solutions for reconciling development with the conservation and sustainable and equitable use of biological and cultural diversity with special emphasis on the local level, is in a unique position to contribute to collecting and disseminating information and experiences needed for the maintenance of sustainable agro-ecosystems at the level of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves and beyond.

2 SC-09/CONF.207/INF.7 - page 2 Against the above-mentioned background, UNESCO's Division of Ecological and Earth Sciences and MAB Secretariat initiated in 2006 a pilot activity on agriculture and rural development. The objective of the pilot activity was to identify the specific contribution of UNESCO to studying and solving questions related to rural issues and sustainable development. At the 21 st session of the MAB ICC, the MAB Secretariat now presents the rationale for establishing, and a proposal containing the modalities for, a new theme on agro-ecosystems under the MAB Programme. II. Definitions and issues Definition: Agro-ecosystems are the result of the interaction of people with the ecosystems for the purpose of promoting agriculture practices, in the multi-functional sense of the term 'agriculture' (production of food, fibers, contribution to soil management, cultural services, tourism, etc.). Agro-ecosystems constitute areas of interaction between people, their knowledge, practices and the diversity of natural resources present therein. Agro-ecosystems act as functional units that allow to measure the nature and quantity of these interactions, the services derived and the status of these services and their contribution to human well-being. Agro-ecosystems are therefore dynamic units that include cultivars, livestock, other plant and animal species, the atmosphere, soils and water and the interactions of human uses with these areas and resources, on the basis of their knowledge and value systems. As illustrated below, the sustainability of agro-ecosystems represents one of the most important challenges for the next decades with which humankind is faced. In spite urbanization, currently close to 60% of the population in developing countries and 50% of the world population live in rural areas. Three quarters of the world s poorest live in these areas. Thanks to the enhanced agricultural efficiency of modern cultivars, we have never produced so much food. On the other hand, these gains in productivity are distributed unevenly. Currently, the world faces the unprecedented situation whereby on the one hand 920 million of people suffer from hunger while 700 million of people suffer from obesity. From an environmental standpoint, the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) concluded that in rural as well as in peri-urban areas, the erosion of ecosystem services is largely due to the way in which agro-ecosystems are exploited. One of the most significant causes of the crises facing agriculture nowadays is the homogenization of food habits worldwide. If on the one hand, international trade encourages the specialization of a small number of products, on the other, selected varieties for food and agriculture are also limited to a very small number of animal and plant species. This represents a threat for the maintenance of those varieties that are neglected in agriculture, despite their major contribution to local economies and to overall genetic diversity. Equally, local forms of knowledge and practices have also tended towards an increased homogenization, which in turn has determined a reduction of both biological and cultural diversity. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) states that in the course of the 20 th century, about three quarters of the genetic variety of plant cultivars has been lost. We have reached the point where the bulk of human nutritional needs rely on 12 plant species and 14 animal species merely. As a consequence, agriculture yields are more vulnerable and less sustainable, particularly from the standpoint of the adverse impacts of climate change, as a significant number of plant and animal

3 SC-09/CONF.207/INF.7 - page 3 varieties showing high capacity of adapting to climate change and related impacts tend to be neglected. In parallel, the erosion and loss of local knowledge also results in an increased vulnerability of agro-ecosystems to change. In essence, agriculture has become less and less capable to respond to the human footprint on the environment. Agriculture is responsible for the 70% of world water's consumption. Population growth and changes in food habits are such that it is estimated that water consumption for food and fibers production will further increase between 70 and 90% of the current needs by the current century. Agriculture is responsible for 14% of GHC (greenhouse gases) emissions annually, while deforestation and other changes in land use are responsible for 19% of the total annual GHC emissions. The conventional production model has indeed allowed to respond successfully to the major population growth experienced during the 20 th century as well as to allow urban populations to access food and fibers at low prices. Yet, the consequences of this model on the environment, health, social organization and the interaction between rural and urban areas, as well as on the diversity of cultural expressions of the populations inhabiting these areas indicate clearly that the conventional model cannot be replicated in the years to come if sustainability of agro-ecosystems is to be ensured. The agricultural paradigm is thus evolving from a reductionist and fragmented view of the problems associated with agriculture towards a holistic and multidisciplinary approach to agriculture based on the dialogue between different knowledge systems. The quest for sustainability imposes on us the need to rethink agriculture in the 21 st century. Agriculture is to be seen no longer as a single sector but rather as a multifunctional activity that leads to the production of provisioning (food, fibers, energy) as well as regulating and recreational services. Figure 1: Evolution of research agendas in the area of development with particular reference to the role of agro-ecosystems (courtesy of CGIAR, 2008). Agriculture therefore must be seen not as the mere cultivation of land by man; rather, it constitutes the manifestation of the ways in which people deal with the specific agricultural biodiversity of which they dispose, which is managed according to local cultures. In this regard, agro-ecosystems

4 SC-09/CONF.207/INF.7 - page 4 constitute 'agri-cultures' of diverse types and levels of complexity; these agri-cultures are inscribed in the context of specific social, economic and environmental contexts. One of the most important challenges in the current century will be to ensure that the abovedescribed paradigm shift is successfully implemented. The new 'agri-culture', which embeds the notion and the objectives of sustainability, will assist in reconciling production with conservation of natural resources and biodiversity. It will allow for further exploring how ecological processes can be mainstreamed into agriculture and will also take into account scientific innovation (including innovation based on traditional knowledge) as well as social sciences. Some locally-based initiatives have succeeded in meeting this challenge and are now part of emerging trends in agriculture that tend to value the specificity, authenticity and quality of agricultural services. These initiatives have the potential to reconcile economic and social development with environmental conservation and the preservation of local diversities. Projects that aim at the sustainability of agro-ecosystems such as agro-ecological practices, the conservation and enrichment of agro-diversity, development of locally-specific baskets of goods and services, etc. are low-intensive in terms of external inputs and highly-intensive in terms of knowledge related to natural resource management. These innovative approaches based on the conservation and enhancement of biological and cultural diversities at the local level open new pathways for the sustainable development of agro-ecosystems. The need for mainstreaming and scaling-up these approaches pose questions such as: How to reconcile the productivity of farming systems with the conservation of natural resources through the development of agro-ecological practices? How to implement sustainable landscape planning and development that would include the conservation and promotion of local identities and bio-cultural heritage? What are the factors (institutional, political, social) that make the success of approaches to rural development which are compatible with the conservation of biological and cultural diversity? How to promote true dialogues between diverse knowledge systems and between conventional science and traditional knowledge in order to develop and maintain sustainable systems of agricultural knowledge, science and technology? What role can innovative approaches to education of urban consumers play in promoting more diversified and sustainable food consumption and production patterns? How to benefit from information and communication technologies in order to replicate and promote sustainable farming practices? III. Relationship with UNESCO s mandate and the objectives of the MAB Programme The intersectoral and multidisciplinary nature of UNESCO's mandate in the fields of education, sciences, culture and communication and information calls for an analysis of how these disciplines and approaches are used at the level of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves in relation to the management of agro-ecosystems.

5 SC-09/CONF.207/INF.7 - page 5 As it was pointed out in the Madrid Action Plan for Biosphere Reserves (MAP): Thus the focus is on developing models for global, national and local sustainability, and for biosphere reserves to serve as learning sites for policy professionals, decision-makers, research and scientific communities, management practitioners and stakeholder communities to work together to translate global principles of sustainable development into locally relevant praxis. In this context, biosphere reserves which are mainly inhabited by farmers could play a crucial role as learning sites for the sustainable development of agro-ecosystems. The contribution of biosphere reserves to the sustainable management of agro-ecosystems lies at the crossroad of the three major emerging challenges for sustainable development identified in the MAP, namely: Accelerated climate change with consequences for societies and ecosystems; Accelerated loss of biological and cultural diversity with unexpected consequences that impact the ability of ecosystems to continue to provide services critical for human wellbeing; and Rapid urbanization as a driver of environmental change. IV. Past and current activities Below is a synopsis of the outcomes of the activities implemented by UNESCO's Division of Ecological and Earth Sciences and MAB Secretariat since the beginning of the agro-systems pilot in These outcomes confirm the value-added of UNESCO when addressing issues related to the sustainable development of agro-ecosystems: Between September 2004 and April 2008, UNESCO took part in the International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD). Through its Division of Ecological and Earth Sciences and MAB Secretariat, UNESCO was an active member of the IAASTD distributed Secretariat along with the World Bank, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and FAO. This assessment was built on an international consultation process which started in 2002 and followed a unique governance structure i.e. a hybrid of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the non-governmental multistakeholder structure of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA). The IAASTD was a scientific assessment designed to bring an objective view of the long-term challenges faced by agro-ecosystems and to consider how these might be addressed by the development and appropriate use of agricultural knowledge, science and technology, learning from past experiences and present knowledge. The IAASTD was co-sponsored by the FAO, GEF, WHO, UNDP, UNEP, UNESCO and the World Bank and was composed of one global assessment and five sub-global (regional) assessments. In order to promote and mainstream the main results and outcomes of the IAASTD, a policy brief on the sustainable development of agro-ecosystems was recently produced as well as a report on the notion of agri-culture in the Latin America and Caribbean region (the latter, in partnership with the Instituto Interamericano de Cooperación para la Agricultura IICA). The IAASTD results served as a basis for an article signed by the Director-General of UNESCO on the Organization s potential and actual contribution to solving issues related to the recent world food crisis. Since November 2005, UNESCO has conducted work on exchange of information on and analysis of the concept of terroir, in collaboration with the organization Terroirs et Cultures. This work is in line with the development of a larger initiative an agri-culture platform, which would act as a forum for promoting the role of local identities and bio-cultural heritage as central factors of rural development. Contacts were established with potential partners,

6 SC-09/CONF.207/INF.7 - page 6 including the Latin American Center for Rural Development (RIMISP) and the United Nations University (UNU). The latter promotes the Japanese notion of Satoyama, which is very close to the concept of terroir. A research programme on terroirs and their contribution to local sustainable development has been designed, and research in the Mediterranean region including the Moroccan component of the Intercontinental Biosphere Reserve of the Mediterranean has been initiated. Intersectoral activities are being pursued between the UNESCO Sectors of Culture and Natural Sciences. As an example, UNESCO s Division of Ecological and Earth Sciences and MAB Secretariat has provided assistance in redefining the selection criteria for the UNESCO Cities of Gastronomy, with a specific focus on the conservation and use of agricultural biodiversity and its associated knowledge. The objective was to use the already existing framework of UNESCO's Creative Cities Network to promote a more integrated vision of gastronomy, encompassing nutrition and health, biological and cultural diversity. UNESCO Cities of Gastronomy have a great potential in conserving the agricultural biodiversity that is inherently embedded in gastronomy, especially in light of the excessive industrialization and standardization in this sector. UNESCO s Division of Ecological and Earth Sciences and MAB Secretariat conducted collaborative work with Bioversity International on issues related to the conservation and sustainable use of agro-biodiversity. A project proposal to the attention of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) was developed, which focuses on agro-biodiversity conservationrelated activities in different biosphere reserves. Recently, at the initiative of the United States Biosphere Reserves Association and the Canadian Biosphere Reserves Association, it was suggested to launch a regional pilot project in different biosphere reserves to help address the global problem of accelerated loss of food species and long-term food security through the conservation and sustainable use of heritage crops. V. Proposed follow-up It is the interrelation and the interactions between different areas of expertise as well as different forms of knowledge that make the strength of the MAB Programme s innovative approach to the sustainable development of agro-ecosystems. As a follow-up to the pilot activities conducted thus far, it is proposed that the MAB ICC considers the relevance and usefulness of creating a specific theme dedicated to the sustainable development of agro-ecosystems under the MAB Programme. Further steps of the above-mentioned proposal would include: - The development of an agri-culture platform with the objective of exchanging information, knowledge and practices to analyze and further develop existing linkages between local identities, bio-cultural heritage and site-specific patterns of sustainable development in many rural agriculture-based biosphere reserves; - The development of pilot projects on the conservation and sustainable use of genetic resources with a focus on heritage crops and agro-biodiversity in biosphere reserves; and - The development of pilot projects to analyze, test and promote innovative approaches to sustainable development of agro-ecosystems (beyond the conservation and sustainable use of genetic resources, with the objective to enhance the role of biosphere reserves as learning sites for the promotion of locally diverse and sustainable agri-cultures.