UN Regional Commissions
UNITED NATIONS
REGIONAL COMMISSIONS
Regional Perspectives on
Policy Priorities and Practical Measures to
Expedite Implementation in Agriculture, Rural Development,
Land, Drought, Desertification and Africa
Statement by the
Economic Commission for Africa
on behalf of the UN Regional Commissions
Intergovernmental Preparatory Meeting for CSD-17
23-27 February 2009, New York
Madame Chair,
Excellencies,
Distinguished Delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am pleased to address you on behalf of the five regional commissions of the United Nations.
Sustainable agricultural and rural development, secure and equitable access to productive land
resources, mitigating the impacts of drought and combating desertification are keys for enhancing
progress on meeting the Millennium Development Goals.
Agriculture is re-emerging as a priority sector in the international agenda, due to the
increasing pressures on the agricultural sector to produce food, as well as agro-industrial products
to sustain the world?s economic growth. High levels of growth in agricultural output have been
experienced in both the ECLAC and ESCAP regions.
These achievements have provided important lessons and enabled important investments.
However, as the results of CSD-16 also showed, there are signs that agricultural development
and trade regimes have been socially and environmentally unsustainable in these, as well as
other regions. In Latin America and the Caribbean, rural poverty has remained largely
unchanged, in spite of a 30 per cent increase in value added. Although the Asian and Pacific region
produces more than 50 per cent of the world?s agricultural crops, every year, some 2 million deaths
2
may be attributable to food insecurity. Gaps between rural and urban areas in terms of quality of
life and livelihood opportunities are widening across the region. In Africa, the only region in
which per capita food production has been declining over the past three decades, there is
increasing rural poverty, rising food prices, widespread famines. Valuable resources are spent by
African countries on food imports totaling some US$25 billion annually.
Constraints of the natural resource base are becoming more evident. Population growth and market
development are creating mounting pressure on land resources in the ECA and ESCAP regions. In
Africa two thirds of land is degraded to some degree, directly impacting 485 million people, or
sixty-five percent of the entire African population. At the same time, the ESCAP region is the most
heavily impacted, globally, by land degradation, in terms of the numbers of persons affected.
Deforestation and biodiversity loss, as well as soil degradation, all of which are in the roots of
desertification, have intensified in the ECLAC and ESCAP regions. Drought is an increasingly
frequent and severe challenge in all regions, while desertification and land degradation persists
globally. Both phenomena constrain agricultural productivity and by extension impact food and
human security, and economic activity. These impacts are transboundary and threaten both
national and global security.
Regional and national differences have significantly influenced implementation experiences
and priorities as shown by the results of each regional implementation meeting and related
regional processes. In each region, the outcomes and priorities have been influenced by
varying challenges.
In Africa, policy inconsistency and low priority accorded to agriculture, severe undercapitalization,
poor natural resources development and management, and policies of the region?s trading partners
and are among the primary challenges. Priority areas for action include removal of price
distortions, access to investment and finance, research and extension services, land policy reform,
and institutional and human resource capacity, including for information management.
In Asia and the Pacific, resource constraints as well as high populations and persistent poverty
highlight the need for policy priorities in the areas of farmer empowerment and incentives for
environmentally sustainable consumption and production patterns. The development of ecoefficient,
rather than intensive agricultural activity in that region should be based on sustainable
3
and optimal land use and management. Community empowerment; harnessing and adapting
indigenous and local knowledge; and accelerated investment in research are important policy
approaches, particularly for reducing drought risk and desertification.
In Europe and North America, key concerns include the conversion of agricultural land to other
uses; bio-energy production and risks related to real estate markets. In Africa, migration, tensions
and conflict related to the impacts of drought and desertification; water efficiency and energy
security; and donor coordination to support sustainable agriculture and rural development are key
concerns. Bringing together research, extension and education was considered important to address
the challenges in the region. Priority areas for action identified include coherently meeting the
objectives of poverty eradication, food security and sustainable resource management and
addressing the social and environmental impacts throughout the life-cycle of food production, and
support for Africa.
In Latin America and the Caribbean, environmental and socio-economic outcomes have been
influenced by inequitable access to land and markets and pricing systems that do not take into
account environmental externalities. For many, shortfalls in human capital and demographic
structures in rural areas, along with lack of access to finance and the capacity to adopt new
technologies limit competitiveness in increasingly globalized supply chains and markets. Priority
actions include education; access to finance, assets, public services and support institutions;
corporate social responsibility; risk mitigation and climate change adaptation mechanisms;
comprehensive rural development programmes, including integrated river basin management;
pollution reduction and information management.
The ESCWA region shares the challenge of increasing populations and a declining natural
resource base with the ESCAP region. For this region, priority policies and actions are identified in
the areas of agricultural innovation, as well as integrated rural development. Socially-just land
policy, land use planning and sustainable management are also key steps. Comprehensive longterm
drought risk management and response; and concerted efforts to combat desertification and
reverse land degradation trends are also priorities.
4
For all regions, land lies at the heart of social, political and economic life, and at the core of
the response to many of these challenges.
Equitable access to land, security of tenure and sustainable land/resource management are shared
priorities of the ECLAC, ECA and ESCAP regions. In Africa, the HIV/AIDS pandemic is an
added and significant dimension. In this, and other regions, conflicts between customary and
modern land management systems can result in insecure land tenure and shelter. Policies and
actions have been identified to address comprehensive land reform, particularly for Africa,
equitable land tenure, human security and communities, planning and administration, sustainable
land management, research, information and knowledge management and capacity development.
This thematic cluster is highly integrated. Several cross-cutting issues are identified as arenas for
policy action, including water and energy security; sustainable land use and ecosystem services;
climate change; gender equity; empowerment of small farmers, rural communities and women;
and education for sustainable development. Practical, cross-cutting measures identified by regional
commissions include international cooperation, financing for development and public-private
partnerships.
An important objective of this meeting is to highlight policy options and practical measures
that have been proven to address barriers and constraints. Each region has many contributions
to make in this regard, but I will mention only a few from each region.
Effective policies and measures in Africa have included capacity-building at the household level
through diversification of crops, support for storage, processing and marketing and access to water.
The alignment of nutrition objectives with food security and agriculture-related development goals
has helped such initiatives. In other areas, incomes have been increased through providing access
to credit revolving funds in food-insecure communities. Farmer-to-farmer extension systems have
empowered farmers, and improvements in the efficiency of fertilizer use have expanded yields and
increased incomes. An innovative index-based weather insurance scheme enhanced access of
insured farmers to finance needed to recover from drought.
Asian and Pacific initiatives that empower communities, women and small farmers, have shown
success. Investments in research on technology for the use of agricultural residues and including
5
for the production of biomass-based fuels have also paid off. Public-private partnerships have been
an effective modality for raising finance, while linking land use rights with responsible
stewardship has resulted in socio-economic and environmental benefits.
In Europe and North America, the revitalization of former state farms and extension support for
farming by non-farm families has had positive environmental and social impacts. A database on
land and soil desertification has enabled assessment, analysis and forecasts.
In Latin America and the Caribbean, providing access to capital and technology has helped
farmers to participate in, and create, niche markets. Comprehensive approaches to water,
integrated river basin management, regional planning and environmental management tools are
increasingly promoted. Economic and other incentives for local communities, landowners, and
small- to medium- sized producers have improved the sustainability of land use. More effective
projects have been implemented by channeling investments through regional and municipal
governments.
Positive initiatives from the ESCWA region include comprehensive land use planning.
Madam Chair,
While Africa is part of each CSD thematic cluster of issues, it is clear that this session holds
more than the usual importance for Africa?s sustainable development. Agriculture is Africa?s
economic backbone, employing 60 per cent of the labour force and responsible for twenty per cent
of GDP. Seventy per cent of the African population living on less than US$1 per day can be found
in rural areas.
Collective efforts and dynamic political commitment for achieving regional integration, expanding
opportunities for investment, greater private sector support and outreach to civil society are
needed. Capacity-building, including technical and financial assistance to the African Union,
regional economic communities and countries can support and consolidate the trend towards
peace, stability and democratization, as well as progress in political governance and
administration. Emerging structures and practices must be built on and, in the face of a global
financial crisis, ways must be found to sustain high growth rates to financially empower countries.
6
Cooperation with Africa was an important issue at the Regional Implementation Meeting of the
Economic Commission for Europe. Recommendations were made, in particular for strengthening
donor coordination and for using specific policy tools to further improve the effectiveness of
cooperation. Many participating governments confirmed their commitment to better integrating
African countries into the global economy by placing development at the center of the multilateral
trading system.
The fuel, food, financial crises have made the challenges to sustainable development more
acute. In response, we have seen a vigorous debate on biofuels, the greening of economic
stimulus measures in major economies, and global discussions on a green new deal being led by
the UN system. These all underline that environmental and socio-economic systems are
increasingly globalized and integrated, yet increasingly vulnerable.
The increasing political and public awareness of, and support for, investments in sustainable
development can provide a unique opportunity to reverse unsustainable trends, to the benefit
of all, including developing countries. Public investments intended to stimulate growth in the
ECE region could promote cleaner production methods, greener technologies and infrastructure at
home and abroad. In Asia and the Pacific, there is evidence of greater political commitment to,
and strategic investment in ?green growth? policies, as endorsed by ESCAP members since 2005.
Distinguished Delegates,
Looking to the future, greater policy attention must be paid to the environmental
sustainability of economic growth and the inherent ability of socio-economic systems to
transform themselves for the better, in the face of crisis. The Regional Commissions look
forward to participating in the upcoming deliberations to identify effective policies and measures
that address fundamental constraints, but which can help prepare our communities, societies,
economies and ecosystems for the changing sustainable development context.
Thank you for your attention.
REGIONAL COMMISSIONS
Regional Perspectives on
Policy Priorities and Practical Measures to
Expedite Implementation in Agriculture, Rural Development,
Land, Drought, Desertification and Africa
Statement by the
Economic Commission for Africa
on behalf of the UN Regional Commissions
Intergovernmental Preparatory Meeting for CSD-17
23-27 February 2009, New York
Madame Chair,
Excellencies,
Distinguished Delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am pleased to address you on behalf of the five regional commissions of the United Nations.
Sustainable agricultural and rural development, secure and equitable access to productive land
resources, mitigating the impacts of drought and combating desertification are keys for enhancing
progress on meeting the Millennium Development Goals.
Agriculture is re-emerging as a priority sector in the international agenda, due to the
increasing pressures on the agricultural sector to produce food, as well as agro-industrial products
to sustain the world?s economic growth. High levels of growth in agricultural output have been
experienced in both the ECLAC and ESCAP regions.
These achievements have provided important lessons and enabled important investments.
However, as the results of CSD-16 also showed, there are signs that agricultural development
and trade regimes have been socially and environmentally unsustainable in these, as well as
other regions. In Latin America and the Caribbean, rural poverty has remained largely
unchanged, in spite of a 30 per cent increase in value added. Although the Asian and Pacific region
produces more than 50 per cent of the world?s agricultural crops, every year, some 2 million deaths
2
may be attributable to food insecurity. Gaps between rural and urban areas in terms of quality of
life and livelihood opportunities are widening across the region. In Africa, the only region in
which per capita food production has been declining over the past three decades, there is
increasing rural poverty, rising food prices, widespread famines. Valuable resources are spent by
African countries on food imports totaling some US$25 billion annually.
Constraints of the natural resource base are becoming more evident. Population growth and market
development are creating mounting pressure on land resources in the ECA and ESCAP regions. In
Africa two thirds of land is degraded to some degree, directly impacting 485 million people, or
sixty-five percent of the entire African population. At the same time, the ESCAP region is the most
heavily impacted, globally, by land degradation, in terms of the numbers of persons affected.
Deforestation and biodiversity loss, as well as soil degradation, all of which are in the roots of
desertification, have intensified in the ECLAC and ESCAP regions. Drought is an increasingly
frequent and severe challenge in all regions, while desertification and land degradation persists
globally. Both phenomena constrain agricultural productivity and by extension impact food and
human security, and economic activity. These impacts are transboundary and threaten both
national and global security.
Regional and national differences have significantly influenced implementation experiences
and priorities as shown by the results of each regional implementation meeting and related
regional processes. In each region, the outcomes and priorities have been influenced by
varying challenges.
In Africa, policy inconsistency and low priority accorded to agriculture, severe undercapitalization,
poor natural resources development and management, and policies of the region?s trading partners
and are among the primary challenges. Priority areas for action include removal of price
distortions, access to investment and finance, research and extension services, land policy reform,
and institutional and human resource capacity, including for information management.
In Asia and the Pacific, resource constraints as well as high populations and persistent poverty
highlight the need for policy priorities in the areas of farmer empowerment and incentives for
environmentally sustainable consumption and production patterns. The development of ecoefficient,
rather than intensive agricultural activity in that region should be based on sustainable
3
and optimal land use and management. Community empowerment; harnessing and adapting
indigenous and local knowledge; and accelerated investment in research are important policy
approaches, particularly for reducing drought risk and desertification.
In Europe and North America, key concerns include the conversion of agricultural land to other
uses; bio-energy production and risks related to real estate markets. In Africa, migration, tensions
and conflict related to the impacts of drought and desertification; water efficiency and energy
security; and donor coordination to support sustainable agriculture and rural development are key
concerns. Bringing together research, extension and education was considered important to address
the challenges in the region. Priority areas for action identified include coherently meeting the
objectives of poverty eradication, food security and sustainable resource management and
addressing the social and environmental impacts throughout the life-cycle of food production, and
support for Africa.
In Latin America and the Caribbean, environmental and socio-economic outcomes have been
influenced by inequitable access to land and markets and pricing systems that do not take into
account environmental externalities. For many, shortfalls in human capital and demographic
structures in rural areas, along with lack of access to finance and the capacity to adopt new
technologies limit competitiveness in increasingly globalized supply chains and markets. Priority
actions include education; access to finance, assets, public services and support institutions;
corporate social responsibility; risk mitigation and climate change adaptation mechanisms;
comprehensive rural development programmes, including integrated river basin management;
pollution reduction and information management.
The ESCWA region shares the challenge of increasing populations and a declining natural
resource base with the ESCAP region. For this region, priority policies and actions are identified in
the areas of agricultural innovation, as well as integrated rural development. Socially-just land
policy, land use planning and sustainable management are also key steps. Comprehensive longterm
drought risk management and response; and concerted efforts to combat desertification and
reverse land degradation trends are also priorities.
4
For all regions, land lies at the heart of social, political and economic life, and at the core of
the response to many of these challenges.
Equitable access to land, security of tenure and sustainable land/resource management are shared
priorities of the ECLAC, ECA and ESCAP regions. In Africa, the HIV/AIDS pandemic is an
added and significant dimension. In this, and other regions, conflicts between customary and
modern land management systems can result in insecure land tenure and shelter. Policies and
actions have been identified to address comprehensive land reform, particularly for Africa,
equitable land tenure, human security and communities, planning and administration, sustainable
land management, research, information and knowledge management and capacity development.
This thematic cluster is highly integrated. Several cross-cutting issues are identified as arenas for
policy action, including water and energy security; sustainable land use and ecosystem services;
climate change; gender equity; empowerment of small farmers, rural communities and women;
and education for sustainable development. Practical, cross-cutting measures identified by regional
commissions include international cooperation, financing for development and public-private
partnerships.
An important objective of this meeting is to highlight policy options and practical measures
that have been proven to address barriers and constraints. Each region has many contributions
to make in this regard, but I will mention only a few from each region.
Effective policies and measures in Africa have included capacity-building at the household level
through diversification of crops, support for storage, processing and marketing and access to water.
The alignment of nutrition objectives with food security and agriculture-related development goals
has helped such initiatives. In other areas, incomes have been increased through providing access
to credit revolving funds in food-insecure communities. Farmer-to-farmer extension systems have
empowered farmers, and improvements in the efficiency of fertilizer use have expanded yields and
increased incomes. An innovative index-based weather insurance scheme enhanced access of
insured farmers to finance needed to recover from drought.
Asian and Pacific initiatives that empower communities, women and small farmers, have shown
success. Investments in research on technology for the use of agricultural residues and including
5
for the production of biomass-based fuels have also paid off. Public-private partnerships have been
an effective modality for raising finance, while linking land use rights with responsible
stewardship has resulted in socio-economic and environmental benefits.
In Europe and North America, the revitalization of former state farms and extension support for
farming by non-farm families has had positive environmental and social impacts. A database on
land and soil desertification has enabled assessment, analysis and forecasts.
In Latin America and the Caribbean, providing access to capital and technology has helped
farmers to participate in, and create, niche markets. Comprehensive approaches to water,
integrated river basin management, regional planning and environmental management tools are
increasingly promoted. Economic and other incentives for local communities, landowners, and
small- to medium- sized producers have improved the sustainability of land use. More effective
projects have been implemented by channeling investments through regional and municipal
governments.
Positive initiatives from the ESCWA region include comprehensive land use planning.
Madam Chair,
While Africa is part of each CSD thematic cluster of issues, it is clear that this session holds
more than the usual importance for Africa?s sustainable development. Agriculture is Africa?s
economic backbone, employing 60 per cent of the labour force and responsible for twenty per cent
of GDP. Seventy per cent of the African population living on less than US$1 per day can be found
in rural areas.
Collective efforts and dynamic political commitment for achieving regional integration, expanding
opportunities for investment, greater private sector support and outreach to civil society are
needed. Capacity-building, including technical and financial assistance to the African Union,
regional economic communities and countries can support and consolidate the trend towards
peace, stability and democratization, as well as progress in political governance and
administration. Emerging structures and practices must be built on and, in the face of a global
financial crisis, ways must be found to sustain high growth rates to financially empower countries.
6
Cooperation with Africa was an important issue at the Regional Implementation Meeting of the
Economic Commission for Europe. Recommendations were made, in particular for strengthening
donor coordination and for using specific policy tools to further improve the effectiveness of
cooperation. Many participating governments confirmed their commitment to better integrating
African countries into the global economy by placing development at the center of the multilateral
trading system.
The fuel, food, financial crises have made the challenges to sustainable development more
acute. In response, we have seen a vigorous debate on biofuels, the greening of economic
stimulus measures in major economies, and global discussions on a green new deal being led by
the UN system. These all underline that environmental and socio-economic systems are
increasingly globalized and integrated, yet increasingly vulnerable.
The increasing political and public awareness of, and support for, investments in sustainable
development can provide a unique opportunity to reverse unsustainable trends, to the benefit
of all, including developing countries. Public investments intended to stimulate growth in the
ECE region could promote cleaner production methods, greener technologies and infrastructure at
home and abroad. In Asia and the Pacific, there is evidence of greater political commitment to,
and strategic investment in ?green growth? policies, as endorsed by ESCAP members since 2005.
Distinguished Delegates,
Looking to the future, greater policy attention must be paid to the environmental
sustainability of economic growth and the inherent ability of socio-economic systems to
transform themselves for the better, in the face of crisis. The Regional Commissions look
forward to participating in the upcoming deliberations to identify effective policies and measures
that address fundamental constraints, but which can help prepare our communities, societies,
economies and ecosystems for the changing sustainable development context.
Thank you for your attention.