Rio+20: The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development

CGIAR at Rio+20

CGIAR, a global research partnership for a food secure future, believes that a profound change is needed in the global food and agriculture system if there is to beany hope offeeding the world’s growing population and raising the most disadvantaged out of poverty.

Rio+20 Dialogues: the future of water management?

The Results are in. Over 60,000 people voted for policy recommendations as part of the Rio+20 Dialogues. Download the report

Water and food security: A fresh perspective

Agriculture and Rural Development Day at Rio+20
18 June 2012
Sul America Convention Center
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
More information at www.agricultureday.org

About the Rio+20 Summit

Twenty years after the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio, where countries adopted Agenda 21 - a blueprint to rethink economic growth, advance social equity and ensure environmental protection - the UN is again bringing together governments, international institutions and major groups to agree on a range of smart measures that can reduce poverty while promoting decent jobs, clean energy and a more sustainable and fair use of resources.

School children in Lima, Peru, display crops grown in their school garden Photo credit: RUAF

The official discussions will focus on two main themes: How to build a green economy to achieve sustainable development and lift people out of poverty,including support for developing countries that will allow them to find a green path for development; and how to improve international coordination for sustainable development.

Water for sustainable development

Download the Rio+20 official issue brief on water

Water is a vital ingredient for the transition to a green economy, for poverty reduction and for sustainable development in all countries. Increased investment in water infrastructure and governance is crucial if the goals of Rio+20 are to be achieved 

 

 

 

 

The Sustainable Development Dialogues, held between 16-19 June in Riocentro, convene experts and stakeholders from civil society, the private sector, NGOs and the scientific community to define recommendations that will be taken directly to the heads of state and government during the high-level segment of Rio+20. This online platform is an instrument to ensure broad, democratic and diverse participation.

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Related policy documents:

Global Water Partnership Rio+20: Water Security for Growth and Sustainability [PDF 874kb]	Planet Under Pressure Water security for a planet under pressure [PDF 848kb]	World Water Forum 6 Managing water wisely to feed the world [PDF 104kb]

CGIAR call for action at Rio+20 The seven point plan Adopt cross-sectoral approaches Address the unequal sharing of natural resources and their benefits Support knowledge sharing Restore and better manage degraded environments and ecosystems. Strengthen and support local food production groups, livestock herders and smallholder farmers Fully implement of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA). Make a clear commitment to sustainable agricultural systems that prioritize food and nutrition security. Agriculture is the single largest employer in the world, providing livelihoods and jobs for 40 per cent of the global population. Moreover it is the single largest use of land of any sector. In developing countries, smallholder farms provide up to 80 per cent of the food supply. Faced with environmental degradation, climate change, scarcity of land and water, loss of agricultural biodiversity and ecosystem services, and a world population that is continuing to climb, it is critical for farm and natural resource management and policies to play a more central role in shaping the broader development and environmental agendas. CGIAR, the world's largest publicly-funded global research partnership for agriculture and natural resource management , calls for a focus on the entire agricultural landscape as an integrated system, which recognizes that isolated solutions will not reduce risks or achieve required progress in the same way as integrated approaches will. CGIAR calls for a focus on harmonizing food security and environmental sustainability through agricultural research and development. This will require us to minimize the harmful effects of agriculture on the environment through more efficient management of water, soils and agricultural inputs. CGIAR calls for the sustainable management of complex agricultural systems while maximizing agricultural productivity and improving the livelihoods and food/nutrition security of the poor. Read the full document [PDF 100Kb]