Sustainable Development Issues Network

Inside this Issue:

Count the Youth Delegates, Youth Delegates Count!

Summary of Comments and Inputs of the NGO Major Group on the Chairman's draft Summary Report on CSD-16 (part 1, 13 May 2008)

Will the Green Revolution Make Africa More Food Secure?

Growing in the Big Apple

In Praise of Black Dirt

Civil Society and Government Learning Event Explores the Way Forward

Why haven’t CSD members ratified the UN Watercourse Convention?

Water Wars?

Nano-Scale Technologies and the Implications for the Global South

UN Cafetaria Campaign

Food for Thought: Escapism

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Over the weekend, a number of CSD delegates hit the ground with NYC food systems partners to explore the many successful examples of good practices and policies in sustainable agriculture in this area.

Civil Society and Government Learning Event Explores the Way Forward

Workshops at Columbia University highlight emerging priorities for the way forward from CSD 16 to CSD 17.

Following three parallel tours on Saturday of New York city farms, Hudson Valley Farms and markets featuring wonderful examples of urban-rural partnerships linking farms to consumers, a one-day learning event was held on Sunday.

The City and Farm Linkages Showcase Learning Event brought together 100 civil society leaders with representatives of governments to reflect on what important issues are emerging from the debates in the CSD.

Speakers spoke from sectoral and thematic perspectives, and addressed:

Important findings from the International Assessment for Agriculture Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD) for CSD
Critical needs for land access and secure tenure
Calls for attention to livestock farming systems
Accountability for government agreements already made
Importance of the agroecological approach to farming systems
Bringing women to the center of agriculture development and policy decision making
Ensuring farmworkers’ interests are included in CSD decisions

Intensive working sessions on the way forward considered case studies for scaling up advocacy approaches for women’s issues; the interconnections between biodiversity, food sovereignty and technology; the fuel-food collision, collaboration and partnership approaches; livestock; land and sustainable livelihoods; indicators for sustainable agriculture; and agroecological methods based on a participatory approach engaging local communities.