NORWAY
Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD)
IPM ? New York, 23-27 February 2009
Inter-linkages, cross-cutting issues and means of implementation
Among the many cross-cutting issues, I will focus on issues related to food security and a
rights-based approach:
(Food crisis) While the world is focusing on the financial crisis, the food crisis still persists.
For poor countries with scarce resources it may even be worsened by the financial crisis.
Agriculture is a crucial sector in efforts to reduce hunger and poverty. Furthermore, we need
to take into account that in today?s world more than half the population live in urban areas.
This poses additional challenges. Food security must be an integral part of national
development strategies. At the global level, the Secretary General?s High Level Task Force on
the Global Food Crisis must play a key role. With multiple crises to grapple with
simultaneously, it is crucial that the UN system acts coherently - Delivering as One.
(Climate change and disaster risk reduction) We agree with the many interventions
stressing the need to combat land degradation and desertification to ensure food security.
These issues are closely linked to the effects of climate change, and need to be tackled by
integrating policies for climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction into sectoral
policies and national development plans. The use of traditional knowledge and local
experience in this regard is important.
(Biofuels) The issue of biofuel is often raised in relation to the food crisis. We don?t think the
issue is about yes or no to biofuels. It is rather about doing things the right way ? to maximise
the positive contributions of biofuels and minimise their possible negative effects. But the
common criteria for how to do this have yet to be developed.
It is our view that international guidelines should be developed by the relevant UN
organizations, in particular through close cooperation between UNEP and FAO, drawing
upon experiences of other relevant organizations. Research efforts on sustainable production
and use of biofuels must also be strengthened.
(Rights) Two commonly referred to themes this week have been the importance of land rights
and of empowering women in the agricultural sector. To quote from an intervention made by
the G77 on Wednesday ?Land tenure security and equitable access to land are key for
sustainable development and poverty reduction?. We fully agree with this statement, and
would like to add the equally important factor of ensuring women?s equal right to own and
inherit land, their full and equal access to markets and credit, and their participation in
decision-making processes.
