Benin, Burkina Faso, France, Iceland, Lichtenstein, Germany, Mongolia, Namibia, and Qatar
On land and soil under discussion on focus area 2, 14 and 15
Mr. Co-Chair,
I am honored to make this statement on behalf of Benin, Burkina Faso, France, Lichtenstein, Germany, Mongolia, Namibia, Qatar and my own country Iceland.
We would like to make the following concrete suggestions:
First on focus are 2
Target b) puts emphasizes on moderate malnutrition of children. This topic must be more holistic and thereby stronger by adding to it the issue of maternal malnutrition. So we suggest to add after the words ".. .. of age” the words “and maternal malnutrition“.
Target c) is about ensuring that our food production systems are sustainable but at the same time giving us high yields. Further the target suggest we reduce three negative drivers to sustainability, these are when we overuse water, chemicals and energy. To this list we need to add two more factors. We also need to reduce “land degradation by x%” and “unsustainable land-use change by y%”. These are well known negative drivers that affect the most significant none-renewable natural resource that all our agriculture is based on, that is land and soil, safeguarding water, energy, and food security for present and future generation. Furthermore reducing them will contribute to climate change adaptation and mitigation.
Target f) is about land and soil. The only change we suggest here is that we use another term, instead of having in place “sustainable land-use policies” we suggest to have in place “sustainable land management”. Sustainable Land Management integrates the management of land, water, biodiversity, and other environmental resources to meet our needs, among them food security.
On Focus area 14
Here we have also a concrete suggestion. Target e) on achieving a land degradation neutral world by 2030, we suggest simply to address this target under focus area 2. It is our believe that the only way to achieve this we have to empower people on the ground, those who live closest to the resource, the farmers. With land tenure comes responsibility and accountability, and the most successful land restoration and rehabilitation programs are where the people, who live closest to the resource, are supported and empowered to do so sustainably.
On Focus area 15
Here we need to raise, once again, the issue of land and soil. It is well known that one of the most powerful enablers for change are information, knowledge and capacity. If we are to achieve a land degradation neutral world by 2030 we must make extra efforts to increase capacity building measures to restore or rehabilitate degraded land and reverse land degradation. In target t) this is not mentioned.
Mr. Co-Chair,
I am honored to make this statement on behalf of Benin, Burkina Faso, France, Lichtenstein, Germany, Mongolia, Namibia, Qatar and my own country Iceland.
We would like to make the following concrete suggestions:
First on focus are 2
Target b) puts emphasizes on moderate malnutrition of children. This topic must be more holistic and thereby stronger by adding to it the issue of maternal malnutrition. So we suggest to add after the words ".. .. of age” the words “and maternal malnutrition“.
Target c) is about ensuring that our food production systems are sustainable but at the same time giving us high yields. Further the target suggest we reduce three negative drivers to sustainability, these are when we overuse water, chemicals and energy. To this list we need to add two more factors. We also need to reduce “land degradation by x%” and “unsustainable land-use change by y%”. These are well known negative drivers that affect the most significant none-renewable natural resource that all our agriculture is based on, that is land and soil, safeguarding water, energy, and food security for present and future generation. Furthermore reducing them will contribute to climate change adaptation and mitigation.
Target f) is about land and soil. The only change we suggest here is that we use another term, instead of having in place “sustainable land-use policies” we suggest to have in place “sustainable land management”. Sustainable Land Management integrates the management of land, water, biodiversity, and other environmental resources to meet our needs, among them food security.
On Focus area 14
Here we have also a concrete suggestion. Target e) on achieving a land degradation neutral world by 2030, we suggest simply to address this target under focus area 2. It is our believe that the only way to achieve this we have to empower people on the ground, those who live closest to the resource, the farmers. With land tenure comes responsibility and accountability, and the most successful land restoration and rehabilitation programs are where the people, who live closest to the resource, are supported and empowered to do so sustainably.
On Focus area 15
Here we need to raise, once again, the issue of land and soil. It is well known that one of the most powerful enablers for change are information, knowledge and capacity. If we are to achieve a land degradation neutral world by 2030 we must make extra efforts to increase capacity building measures to restore or rehabilitate degraded land and reverse land degradation. In target t) this is not mentioned.