United Nations Food and Security Organization

Topics:

Desertification

Food Security

Topic 1: Desertification

Background:

Desertification is one of the largest and most prevalent environmental issues of the 21st

century. Due to the harmful effects of desertification, around 12 million hectares of fertile land,

which is able to support 20 million tons of grain, is lost each year. Desertification is the process in

which fertile, plant-supporting land becomes degraded, dried out, and depleted, usually to the point

where it can no longer support the growth of crops or vegetation. There are several factors, both

naturally occurring as well as human induced, that may contribute to the process of desertification.

Some of these contributing causes include deforestation, climatic shifts, and intensive farming.

Deforestation is a major determinant to desertification because it removes the trees and plants that

bind the soil, leading to a higher rate of erosion in the soil. The removal of native vegetation also

causes a decrease in nutrients present in the soil and can lead to climatic shifts, as trees retain an

abundance of moisture in the air. Climatic shifts, or abrupt changes in regional temperature, can

occur naturally as well as a result of global warming. The climatic shifts, which often entail an

increase in temperature in the area, draws the water out of the land, causing it to become drier,

hotter, harder, and therefore, no longer able to support plant growth. In addition, intensive farming

along with poor farming techniques can have harsh detrimental effects on the land. Monocultural

practices, improper irrigation techniques, overgrazing and overharvesting are some common

agricultural and farming methods that lead to severe depletion and erosion of the soil. Additional

natural components that contribute to desertification are wind and water erosion, which can

multiply the already serious effects of human induced desertification.

Desertification is a common issue shared by countries all over the world, affecting plants,

animals, and people. Despite the fact that humans are the largest contributors to increased

desertification, people are also some of the most affected. The degradation of land has affected

around 168 countries around the world. In addition, it is estimated to be costing about 490 billion

USD per year. Desertification is directly linked to famine and water shortages, threatening the

health and safety of humanity. Currently, close to 40% of the world’s surface is characterized by

dry or arid landscapes. It is estimated that around 120 million people are living in dry regions,

facing the immediate negative results of desertification and another 1 billion people are under the

threat of desertification. People under the threat of desertification face not only hunger and drought,

but also mass migration. It is predicted that 50 million people within the next decade will be forced

to leave their homes and native towns because of desertification and the land’s inability to produce

food. In fact, people in some nations have already had to begin to leave their land. In the past, it has

been estimated that around 30 to 35 million people from around 21 African nations have become

environmental refugees and been displaced by desertification.

This situation is a global crisis and does not affect one single nation. However, the issue of

desertification is most prevalent in African and Asian nations, as this is where the majority of the

world’s drylands and arid regions are located. About 40% of Asia’s land is arid and about ⅔ of the

African continent is composed of desert. In addition, it is believed that 70% of dry regions in

Africa, Asia, and Latin America that are already being used for farming and the production of crops

are experiencing the detrimental effects of desertification.

Desertification is a pressing issue because it is prevalent to almost every nation across the

globe and the condition of this problem is worse than it has ever been before. Fertile land is being

lost at a rate 30 to 35 times greater than in the past. The loss of arable land not only harms the

environment, but it also has a direct impact on the health and safety of the global population and the

stability of the global economy.

UN Involvement

Although desertification has been occurring for many years, it wasn’t until the mid 20th

century that people began to notice the effects of desertification and have concern for this issue. By

this time, desertification was beginning to be recognized by the international community as a

pressing economic, social, and environmental problem that needed to be addressed. In response to

this increased fear for the future of the land, the United Nations (UN) held the first United Nations

Conference on Desertification (UNCOD) in Nairobi in 1977. This conference saw around 500

delegates from 94 different countries meet in order to discuss and attempt to address the various

problems associated with desertification. At this conference, the delegates also adopted the

A/RES/44/172, Plan of Action to Combat Desertification (PACD), which laid guidelines and

recommendations for how countries and the international community should begin to focus on the

elimination and prevention of desertification. However, seeing that desertification was continuing to

be a major and uncontrollable issue, the United Nations realized that these efforts were not as

effective as they had hoped because there was no collaboration between nations, governments, and

communities. Therefore, the General Assembly passed A/RES/47/188 in 1992 to create an

Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee. This Committee then established the United Nations

Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) on June 17, 1994. It was entered into force on

December 26 of that same year and has been effective in holding 12 different sessions, helping

strengthen relationships between communities and governments in order to effectively and unitedly

address desertification. The UNCCD is still largely in effect today and has plans to come out with

the Global Land Outlook (GLO) sometime in 2017. The GLO is designed to confront future

challenges that may be associated with land degradation in order to improve the management and

restoration of land resources, especially in terms of sustainable development. The GLO will be used

as a communications platform to organize collaboration between people and organizations,

specifically in regards to proper and effective land management policies. In addition, the Food and

Agricultural Organization (FAO) proposed a framework for action aimed at rehabilitating African

land that proposes ideas for the national, international, and regional level.

The United Nations has also been progressive in passing documents and resolutions to

respond to the issue of desertification. Recently, in May 2016, the United Nations Environment

Assembly, a smaller committee within the United Nations Environmental Program, adopted a new

resolution titled, Combating Desertification, land degradation and drought and promoting

sustainable pastoralism and rangelands (UNEP/EA.2/Res.24). This document calls upon both the

United Nations Environmental Program and Member States to invest money, time, and resources

into programs and efforts that work to combat desertification, land degradation, drought, and

biodiversity loss. At the same time, this document requests that they take into consideration the

Sustainable Development Goals when attempting to address desertification. Also, in March of 2013,

the United Nations General Assembly passed A/RES/67/211, otherwise titled, Implementation of

the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious

Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa. This resolution brings into consideration

proposals that would specifically benefit nations experiencing extreme drought and reiterates and

promotes the need for collaboration between all kinds of countries and governments within the

international community. Farther back in 1981, the FAO passed Resolution 8/81, titled the World

Soil Charter and included guidelines and recommendations to conserve, protect and restore the soil

in degraded areas.

Non-governmental organizations, or NGOs, are also crucial partners in the fight to preserve

the world’s land. Currently, there are around 728 NGOs affiliated with the UNCCD. One of these

NGOs is the Environment and Rural Development Foundation (ERuDeF). This organization's main

goal is to introduce and promote sustainable development strategies that preserve the land as well as

provide education and training to increase people’s awareness of environmental issues.

Questions to Consider

1. What are the major factors, both natural and as a result of human activity, that lead to

desertification?

2. Why is desertification such a prevalent issue in our world today?

3. How is desertification associated with other major global issues, such as poverty?

4. In what ways has the United Nations attempted to promote global cooperation in combating

desertification?

5. What has the UNCCD done and what are some of the things that it plans to do?

Works Cited

http://www.un.org/en/events/desertificationday/background.shtml

http://desertificationb.tripod.com/id3.html

http://www.ychlpyss.edu.hk/~bio/share/0405/ecologyessay/joe/essay3.htm

http://www.unccd.int/en/about-the-convention/history/Pages/default.aspx

http://www.conserve-energy-future.com/causes-effects-solutions-of-desertification.php

http://www.worldatlas.com/articles/which-places-in-the-world-are-most-affected-by-desertification-

due-to-global-warming.html

http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/conservation/issues/desertification2.htm

http://www.unccd.int/en/regional-access/Asia/Pages/alltext.aspx

http://www.ciesin.org/docs/002-193/002-193.html

http://www.ciesin.org/docs/002-478/002-478.html

http://www2.unccd.int/actions/global-land-outlook-glo

http://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/11197/K1607149_UNEPEA2_RES24E.pdf?

sequence=1&isAllowed=y

http://www.unccd.int/Lists/SiteDocumentLibrary/CivilSociety/List-of-civil-society-organizations-h

aving-confirmed-their-interest-in-remaining-accredited.pdf

http://www.fao.org/docrep/x5318e/x5318e03.htm

http://www.fao.org/docrep/x5564E/x5564e08.htm

Topic 2: Food Security

Background:

Eight hundred and forty-two million people across the world suffer from malnutrition or

hunger. By definition, food security is “the state of having reliable access to a sufficient quantity of

affordable, nutritious food.” Food insecurity is an extreme problem across the world, and is caused

by a variety of different sources. Food insecurity can be caused by uncontrollable factors such

extreme weather events or environmental factors such as drought or climate change, or it can be

caused by events such as conflicts and wars, or it even can be an effect of an area with a low

economy or political stability.

Environmental factors play a heavy roll in the security of food within a country. Droughts

cause a major impact on agriculture including crop losses, lower production yields, an increased

number of livestock deaths, increased insect infestation, forest and range fires, land degradation as

well as soil erosion, all of which increases a nation's risk for food insecurity. Although extreme

environmental conditions are uncontrollable factors that can easily and quickly drive a nation into

food insecurity, the lack of emergency planning that many countries are guilty of for such events, is

what leads to the country to be deemed food insecure. Additionally, areas that face military crisis

are often prone to food insecurity. Although it is not a direct result, conflicts exacerbate the scarcity

of food in the areas from which are suffering. The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO)

recognizes that in 2001 and 2002, war was the main reason that 15 countries suffered from food

insecurity. Furthermore, Third world countries that are considered politically unstable have a

difficult time maintaining food security because of their inability to receive sufficient aid from other

countries.

In order to be deemed food secure, a country must have three main factors: available food, a

stable supply, and access. Starting with availability, it would be much harder for a region with a

large population, and little farmland to provide enough available food for all of their citizens.

Furthermore, with the ratio of population size to available crop land being so narrow, the global

demand for food is expected to rise 35% by the year 2030. Next, stability is necessary because food

production must be all year round, not just in certain seasons. This is also a detrimental factor in

areas that suffer from long term environmental effects such as drought or erosion. Additionally,

stability is a factor that requires us to use as much agricultural area as possible. Africa’s total area of

available cropland is over 3 times greater than the United States area, however the area of irrigated

land in Africa is a mere 26.6% more than America’s. Finally, the largest problem is found access to

food. This occurs when the problems of poverty and conflict come into play. Many people have a

sufficient and reliable food source, however are physically unable to get to it, or possibly even

afford it. Studies show that poor people in developing nations are forced to spend 60-80% of their

income on food for themselves and their families.

Countries all across the world are affected by food insecurity. In Africa alone, 29 countries

have confirmed to being food insecure. The main countries that are the most vulnerable to food

insecurity and suffer the most include Chad, Niger, Sierra Leone, Haiti, Mozambique, and the

Democratic Republic of Congo. Although this problem is more focused towards underdeveloped

countries, it does appear to be an issue in more advanced countries as well. For an example, in the

United States, there are around 50 million citizens who live with food insecurity. In the year 2015, it

was estimated that 14% of household families suffered from food insecurity. With that being said,

Americans waste about 141 trillion calories worth of food every day, which is equivalent to $165

billion USD. If food insecurity continues to spread at the same rate that it is currently spreading,

approximately 1 billion people across the globe will be affected by this issue.

UN Involvement:

Action against food insecurity began in November 1974 with the first World Food

Conference held by the General Assembly. Here, the United Nations’ countries governments

examined global food production and determined recurring problems that prohibited all countries

from being food secure. In more recent years, the UN adopted the “Zero Hunger Challenge” in

2012, which was an initiative of the Secretary General that encouraged countries to participate in

the promotion of ensuring adequate and proper nutrition in every country as well as eradicating

hunger. In 2015, when the UN adopted the 2015 Sustainable Development goals, the UN declared

“Eradicating Hunger and Malnutrition” number two on the list of 17 goals that are aimed to be

reached in the year 2030.

One important resolution supported by the United Nations was A/RES/58/186, which was

passed by the General Assembly on March 18th 2004. This resolution officially recognized “food as

a right” and stated that every person has the right to a sufficient amount of safe and nutritious food

in order to ensure a healthy and productive lifestyle. The document aims to encourage states to take

action against food insecurity within their country by stressing the steps necessary to promote the

discretion of hunger across the world.

The major organization that has currently taken action on this issue is the World Health

Organization (WHO). WHO has promoted health goals across the world and has worked with the

UN to create Sustainable Development Goals. This set of goals require a 15 year plan to, end

hunger and ensure that the entire human population has access to all basic nutritional needs, prevent

trade restrictions, ensure food production systems, and much more. The NGO, the ENOUGH

Movement adopted the slogan “Working Towards a Food Secure Tomorrow” and is consistency

working towards the target of completely eliminating food insecurity by the year 2050. The

movement is made up of everyday citizens such as teachers, farmers, consumers, and activists who

work with hunger donation companies in order to promote access to healthy and nutritious food.

They are currently earning up with “HATCH for Hunger” which collects community donations in

order to reach the goal of feeding undernourished individuals in developing countries.With these

various organizations as well as many others working towards a similar objective, hopefully food

security will spread across the globe.

Questions to Consider:

1. How is your country affected by food insecurity?

2. What actions has your country taken to increase food security within your country as well as

in other areas across the globe?

3. Where does food security stand in your country’s priorities?

4. How will your country take specific action in the future to eliminate food insecurity?

Work Cited

http://www.who.int/trade/glossary/story028/en/ http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?navid=food-security http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/templates/ERP/uni/F4D.pdf http://www.jhsph.edu/research/centers-and-institutes/teaching-the-food-system/curriculum/_pdf/Hunger_and_Food_Security-Background.pdf http://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/food-security-in-the-us/history-background.aspx http://www.un-foodsecurity.org/taxonomy/term/57 http://foodsecurityindex.eiu.com/Country/Details#Argentina