The Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Qu Dongyu, has called on local governments to make agri-food systems and green spaces part of their plans, policies and actions to make cities more sustainable and inclusive, as well as to create jobs and promote youth engagement, built on a “green industry, a green environment, green products and a green way of lifestyle“.
Qu Dongyu made the call at the opening of the 2020 World Council of the United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) yesterday whilst speaking on the theme: “The Role of the International Municipal and Regional Movement in COVID Times”, hosted virtually by the city of Guangzhou, in China, and the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries.
D.G Qu Dongyu highlighted the importance of addressing the COVID-19 pandemic from a long-term perspective. He noted that the pandemic has hit densely populated urban areas “particularly hard”, and stressed the importance of leveraging the potential of local and municipal governments to mitigate the impacts of the pandemic.
“In times of emergency, it is easy to fall into the trap of focusing only on addressing the most urgent needs. We need to adapt quickly and face the pandemic in a more holistic way, so that we can build better, more resilient and inclusive urban food systems,” Qu Dongyu said
A recent FAO survey on urban food systems and COVID-19, with responses from 77 countries, pointed out that local governments played an important role in reducing the pandemic’s impacts on the functioning of food systems, and health and food security of people. For example, many cities had adopted measures such as monitoring of food markets, and improving access to food for the most vulnerable through e-commerce or temporary food hubs.
“Giving a voice to local and regional governments acknowledges the importance of their proximity to the communities, their capacity to mobilize local stakeholders and their ability to rapidly identify the most vulnerable,” Qu Dongyu added.
Mohamed Boudra, President of UCLG, stressed that local and regional governments must be key players in eradicating inequalities and unsustainable patterns of production and consumption. He also called for a rethinking of urbanization and re-evaluation of the relationship with nature.
FAO’s actions for a sustainable urban development
FAO recently launched Green Cities initiative with the aim to improve the livelihoods and well-being of urban and peri-urban populations in at least 100 cities around the world in the next three years, looking to have 1000 cities join by 2030. The initiative will support cities to implement innovative and context-specific urban green actions related to food systems and green spaces, including urban and peri-urban agriculture and forest. FAO is implementing the Urban Food Agenda, which is at the core of the Green Cities initiative, in more than 20 countries.
The Urban Food Agenda is FAO’s flagship initiative to enhance sustainable development, food security and nutrition in urban and peri-urban areas, and nearby rural spaces. It is linked with FAO’s Hand-in-Hand initiative which is meant to accelerate agricultural transformation and sustainable rural development to eradicate poverty and end hunger and all forms of malnutrition, thereby contributing to the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals. The FAO Framework for the Urban Food Agenda has been developed to guide local and sub-national governments to integrate sustainable food systems into local policy, planning and action in order to meet the growing need for resilient and sustainable food systems in an urbanizing world.
UCLG is a global network of cities and local, regional, and metropolitan governments and their associations, and the largest organization of sub-national governments in the world, with members in over 140 countries.
The opening ceremony was attended by Liu Qibao, Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference; Mohamed Boudra, President of UCLG; Lin Songtian, President of the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, Antonio Vitorino, Director General of the International Organization for Migration; Maimunah Mohd Sharif, Executive Director of UN-Habitat; and Wen Guohui, Mayor of Guangzhou as well as mayors from all around the globe.
