Commission on Population and Development

Thirty-fourth Session

6^th Meeting (AM)

LINKS AMONG FOOD SECURITY, POPULATION GROWTH, ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION

ADDRESSED IN POPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION

Food security was intrinsically connected with population growth, overall development and environmental management issues, the representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) told the Commission on Population and Development this morning, as it heard from United Nations regional commissions and specialized agencies on the theme of population, environment and development.

Analysis showed, she said, that population growth would dominate over other demographic factors as the primary cause for increasing food demand.  The situation was especially critical in sub-Saharan Africa, where dietary requirements would triple by 2050.  The targets set by the World Food Summit could not be reached without taking into account the links between population dynamics, environmental factors and food security.

The Economic Commission for Africa, said its representative, gave priority to advocacy, creating awareness and capacity-building at the national and subregional levels for better understanding and management of the linked issues of rapid population growth, food insecurity and degradation of the environment.  Those “nexus” issues had become the primary focus of the ECA’s Food Security and Sustainable Development Programme.

He went on to say that the Programme had been instrumental in developing a computer simulated Population, Environment, Development and Agriculture model, which vividly demonstrated that demographic variables, the environment and modes of agricultural production interacted in vital ways and greatly impacted international food security.  The model had been developed for nine African countries, including Burkina Faso, Botswana, Cameroon and Uganda, and further development would soon expand its application at the subregional level.

As the only region-wide intergovernmental organization in Asia and the Pacific, the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), was in a unique position to bring governments together in meetings and conferences to share their development experiences and lessons learned, its representative stated.  Member countries had approved the organization of the Fifth Asian and Pacific Population Conference, which ESCAP hoped to hold jointly with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Bangkok late next year. 

That Conference, he added, would permit governments to address some of the emerging issues in the population field, such as international migration, globalization, population and poverty, population ageing and regional disparities in social development within countries.

Also this morning, Jacques Van Zuydam (South Africa) was elected as a Vice-Chairman of the Commission for the current session.

Statements were also made by the representatives of the International Labour Organization (ILO), the Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) and the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA).

A subsidiary body of the Economic and Social Council, the Commission is charged with studying and advising the Council on population changes and their effect on economic and social conditions.  Following the International Conference on Population and Development (Cairo, 1994), it was decided that the Commission would meet annually, beginning in 1996, to assess implementation of the Cairo Programme of Action. 

The Commission will meet again at 10 a.m. Friday, 6 April, to take its final decisions and adopt the draft report of the session.

Background

The thirty-fourth session of the Commission on Population and Development met this morning to continue its consideration of programme implementation and the future programme of work of the Secretariat in the field of population.  It was also expected to elect its fourth Vice-Chairman.  (For background, see Press Release POP/792 issued on 30 March.)

Statements

MARCELA VILLARREAL, of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), said that food security was intrinsically connected with population growth, overall development and environmental management issues.  Projected population and income growth were used to assess future food needs, taking into account agro-ecological zones and dietary patterns.  The analysis showed that population growth would be the primary cause of increasing food demand.  The situation was especially critical in sub-Saharan Africa, where dietary requirements would triple by 2050. 

The challenges of food, agricultural and rural development required an understanding and anticipation of changes in the population structure and of how agricultural demand, production, trade and natural resources management would be affected by those changes.  The targets set by the World Food Summit could not be reached without taking into account the links between population dynamics, environmental factors and food security.  That could only be done through strong material action with continued collaboration and support from United Nations partners and donors, and the active involvement of all stakeholders at national and international levels.

JAGA SEHGAL, of the International Labour Organization (ILO), said one of his agency’s main functions was to prepare labour projections based on the population data produced by the Population Division.  A major thrust of the ILO for the coming year was the development of a new draft labour code to address the very important issue of HIV/AIDS and employer/employee relations.  That new policy programme would also address workplace discrimination and social exclusion of people suffering with HIV/AIDS.

He said that the ILO had organized an expert’s group meeting to be held in the near future, in order to complete negotiations on the draft code.  He added that the ILO had recently released its World Report on Technology and the Workplace.  The World Employment Report had also been recently issued.  It was important to note that that report presented a synthesis of key indicators and trends in the labour market for the future.

AMADOU LAMINE GUEYE, of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), said that his organization gave priority to advocacy, creating awareness and capacity-building at the national and subregional levels for better understanding and management of the linked issues of rapid population growth, food insecurity and degradation of the environment.  Those “nexus” issues had become the primary focus of the Food Security and Sustainable Development Programme of the ECA.

He went on to say that the Programme had been instrumental in developing a computer simulated population, environment, development and agriculture model, which vividly demonstrated that demographic variables, the environment and modes of agricultural production interacted in vital ways and had great impact on international food security.  To date, the model had been developed for nine African countries, including Burkina Faso, Botswana, Cameroon and Uganda.  Further development of the model would soon expand its application at the subregional level.  A series of subregional workshops had been planned, with the aim of assisting policy-makers and researchers in the use of the model as an advocacy tool and for the analysis of nexus issues.

He said that this year the ECA would also focus on monitoring the implementation of global and regional population and development frameworks. Another major component of ECA’s programme would be spearheading the regional preparatory process for the upcoming World Summit on Sustainable Development, scheduled to be held in South Africa next year.  Findings and recommendations discussed at national and subregional review meetings would be synthesized in a regional report, which would form the basis of Africa’s position at the World Summit.

MIROSLAV MACURA, representing the Economic Commission for Europe (ECE), said that the new ECE population programme had been launched last year, the centerpiece of which was the generations gender programme.  Regarding the Conference on Ageing, he said that the ECE secretariat had started the preparatory work for the ministerial meeting on ageing to be held in September 2002 in Berlin.  Preparatory work was being pursued on three tracks.  First, an expert track, where experts would offer advice on substantive issues.  Second, an intergovernmental track, where representatives of ECE member States would steer the preparatory process and negotiate the draft text.  The third track involved the participation of civil society.

He said that the main issues identified by the experts fell into the following three themes:  economic security in an ageing world; age integration and intergenerational solidarity; and health and well-being in old age.  There would also be a forum for non-governmental organizations, so that they could provide inputs on the draft text.

Turning to the generations gender programme, he said that it was focused on ageing and family development and made use of the specially developed generations gender survey. In June 2000, the generations gender programme consortium was developed to further the programme and mobilize resources for it.  It was thanks to the financial support of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) that the programme was launched. 

Finally, he said that the ECE had collaborated closely with the Population Information Network (POPIN) in the past to the benefit of those countries the ECE assisted, particularly those in transition.  It was in the interest of the ECE to see the institutional and financial troubles afflicting POPIN resolved.  The POPIN had been very successfully managed by its coordinator, and he trusted that the ECE secretariat would continue to benefit from cooperation with the POPIN project and its coordinator.

JERROLD W. HUGUET, Chief, Population and Development Section, Population and Rural and Urban Development Division, Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), described that Commission’s population programmes.  ESCAP’s entire focus was on assisting its member countries to achieve the population and development goals that they had set in the Bali Declaration on Population and Sustainable Development, adopted in 1992, and in the Cairo’s Programme of Action.

The ESCAP, he continued, was the only region-wide intergovernmental organization in Asia and the Pacific.  As such, it was in a unique position to bring governments together in meetings and conferences to share their development experiences and lessons learned.  Last year, ESCAP organized the Ministerial Conference on Environment and Development in Asia and the Pacific 2000 in Kitakyushu, Japan.

Member countries had approved the organization of the Fifth Asian and Pacific Population Conference, which ESCAP hoped to hold jointly with the UNFPA in Bangkok late next year, he added.  That Conference would permit governments to address some of the emerging issues in the population field, such as international migration, globalization, population and poverty, population ageing and regional disparities in social development within countries.

BATOOL SHAKOORI, Officer in Charge, Population Section, Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), said that the overall mission of the Population Section was to enhance the capacities of ESCWA member States to integrate population concerns into development policies, programmes and plans at the regional and national levels.  It was also to promote Arab countries’ commitment to common population and development goals stemming from the global and regional conferences, including the ICPD.

A two-fold strategy for accomplishing those objectives had been followed, she said.  The Section was monitoring population trends and levels, as well as identifying and analyzing population issues by producing population estimates through the most up-to-date demographic methods and by initiating and publishing analytical research on population topics particularly pertinent to the region.  In its efforts to contribute to the capacity building of member States in the formulation of national population and related policies, the Section collaborated closely with the UNFPA.  Also, the Section sought to increase its visibility in the region through outreach and the dissemination of information through publications, wall charts and by establishing a strong presence on the global POPIN Web site.

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