The Director-General of the
Qu made the call at the opening of the 2020
The theme of the event was The Role of the
The Director-General highlighted the importance of addressing the COVID-19 pandemic from a long-term perspective.
"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," said the FAO chief.
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.
A recent FAO survey on urban food systems and COVID-19, with responses from 77 countries, showed 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 said.
Why are urban food systems and green areas important?
By 2050, almost 70 percent of the world's population will be living in cities. About 70 percent of all food supplies are consumed by urban dwellers - a number that is steadily on the rise.
Many urban and peri-urban communities are exposed to food and nutrition insecurity; at the same time, they suffer from diet-related non-communicable diseases and increasing overweight and obesity rates.
Expanding cities encroach on natural habitats, and account for about 70 percent of global energy-related greenhouse gas emissions.
Sustainable urban food systems and more green spaces, including urban and peri-urban agriculture and forests, are essential for cities, rendering them more resilient in dealing with the impacts of climate change.
FAO actions for a sustainable urban development
FAO's recently launched Green Cities initiative aims 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.
It is linked to FAO's Hand-in-Hand Initiative, which aims to end poverty and hunger, with focus on countries and regions most in need.
The FAO Framework for the Urban Food Agenda guides local and sub-national governments to integrate sustainable food systems into local policy, planning and action. FAO is implementing the Urban Food Agenda, which is at the core of the of the Green Cities initiative, in more than 20 countries.
Another important FAO action is the city-to-city exchange, which includes South-South and triangular cooperation for scaling up urban food systems actions.
More about the event
The Council was opened by LIU Qibao, Vice Chairman of the
The opening ceremony was also attended by
The UCLG 2020
During the debates, several participants outlined COVID-19's disastrous impacts on people's lives and livelihoods and the economy; acknowledged the vital role of local and regional governments in tackling these; and reiterated the need for global solidarity to fight against the pandemic and build back better - creating more inclusive, sustainable and pluralistic societies.
LIU Qibao, Vice Chairman of the
LIN Songtian, President of the
WEN Guohui, Mayor of
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.
Copyright Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com)., source