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Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in the Americas

 Jim Carle

Food and Agriculture Organization

FAO

 
Since its founding in 1945, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) was mandated to lead international efforts to defeat hunger. In serving both industrialized and developing countries, FAO acts as a neutral forum where all nations meet as equals to negotiate agreements and debate policy. FAO is also a source of knowledge and information, particularly in developing countries and countries in transition, to modernize and improve their agriculture, forestry and fisheries practices towards alleviating poverty and eradicating hunger in developing rural areas, home to 70 percent of the world's poor and hungry people. Achieving food security for all is at the heart of FAO's efforts - to make sure people have regular access to enough high-quality food to lead active, healthy lives.

 
The main activities of FAO can be summarized as putting information within reach; sharing legal and policy expertise; providing a meeting place for nations; providing best practices guidelines and codes of conduct; providing databases and information; and most  importantly, bringing knowledge to the field, particularly in developing countries.

 
FAO provides behind the scenes technical support to help member countries to help themselves - to raise levels of nutrition, improve agricultural, forestry and fisheries productivity, better the lives of rural populations and to contribute to the growth of the world economy. If a community wants to increase crop, livestock, forests or fisheries yields but lacks the technical skills, FAO introduce simple, sustainable tools and techniques and pilot these in the field to transfer the knowledge and technology and to demonstrate their application. When a country shifts from state to private land ownership, FAO provides the legal and policy framework advice to smooth the way. When a drought pushes already vulnerable groups to the point of famine, FAO mobilize emergency responses. And in a complex world of competing needs, FAO provides a neutral forum and the background knowledge needed to reach consensus.

FAO in Forestry

 
The mission as stated in FAO’s strategic plan for forestry (FAO, 2000) is to enhance human well-being through support to member countries in the sustainable management of the world’s trees and forests. The goals are to (i) maximize the contribution of trees and forests to sustainable land use, food security and to economic and social development and cultural values at national, regional and global levels; (ii) conserve, sustainably manage and improve utilization of trees and forest systems and their genetic resources; and increase the worldwide access to reliable and timely forestry data and information.

FAO in North America

 
The USA and Canada are significant donors to FAO’s regular programme and trust fund programme that allow FAO to provide their mandated services to member countries. To facilitate the liaison with the Governments of North America and the United Nations system, FAO has Liaison Offices in New York and in Washington D.C.

The North American Forest Commission (NAFC), one of six regional forestry commissions of FAO, was established in 1958. The NAFC provides a policy and technical forum for Canada, Mexico and the United States to discuss and address forest issues on a North American basis. The NAFC carries out its mandate by supporting research and natural resource management activities through nine working groups that explore issues of concern to the three countries, and beyond. These working groups include atmospheric change, fire management, forest products, insects and diseases, silviculture, forest inventory and monitoring, forest genetic resources, invasive plants and watershed management.

Since Canada, Mexico and the United States contain a mix of boreal, temperate and tropical ecosystems, the results of the commission's work can be applied more broadly to assist other countries and regions facing similar conditions. In fact, the Canadian Forest Service and the U.S. Forest Service have been instrumental in supporting FAO to strengthen developing country capacity in the technical fields outlined in the working groups above and to support international processes.

FAO in Latin America and Caribbean

The Latin America and Caribbean region accounts for 924 million hectares of forest cover (23.4% of global forest area) and six of the 15 richest countries in terms of native forest resources (FRA, 2005). However, the region faces 4.7 million hectares of deforestation a year. Forest products production and trade have a direct impact on the 8 million employees in the sector.

 
FAO works in the region through the Latin American and Carribean Forestry Commission (LACFC) which is mandated to advise on the formulation of forest policy and to review and coordinate its implementation at the regional and sub-regional levels, and to exchange information among countries. The FAO Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean is based in Santiago, Chile, however, services across the region are facilitated through decentralized Sub-Regional offices in Panama and Barbados.

 
FAO has been working with forest authorities, private sector, non-governmental organizations and other stakeholder groups to strengthen forest policies to facilitate greater decentralization, greater integration with other public policies, changes in the role of the State and greater synergies with civil society. These processes have created a new forest culture featuring broader and more holistic forest development processes with greater across sector integration. FAO is strengthening country capacity in developing national forestry programmes, forest policies, forest laws and regulations and the strategic, management and operational planning processes in forestry. The National Forest Programme Facility is providing direct support to Cuba, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Colombia, Ecuador, Chile and Paraquay to strengthen their national forest programmes.

 
Jointly with other regional organizations in PUEMBO II, FAO is contributing towards strengthening dialogue and attracting political attention on the roles of forests and sustainable forest management within the UN Millennium Development Goals. A regional “In Search of Exemplary Forest Management” initiative is being coordinated by FAO in the region to document and share best practices and experiences in sustainable forest management. Technical and financial support is being provided by FAO to the eight Amazon countries as members of the Tarapoto Process to validate their criteria and indicators forest sustainability. Additionally, FAO is providing support to the Lepaterique Process to strengthen the capacity for implementation of criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management and supporting Southern Cone countries to strengthen their forestry information systems within the framework of the Montreal Process.

 
In collaboration with the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Tropical Agriculture Research and Higher Education Centre and the World Conservation Union, FAO are strengthening awareness and capacity to conserve biodiversity and adopt sustainable use principles and practices in the region. In cooperation with the National Parks authorities and the Spanish Ministry of Environment, FAO is coordinating a three year programme (2005-08) to strengthen sustainable management of natural resources in protected areas of Latin America.

 
FAO is providing national and international technical and financial support for monitoring, prevention, preparedness, suppression and restoration for pests, diseases and fire. FAO facilitated preparation of a regional and three sub-regional strategies to strengthen cooperation for fire preparedness, prevention and suppression.

 
In collaboration with other institutions, FAO carried out a regional study on the status and trends in forestry education in Latin America and organized a sub-regional consultation on environmental education. Support was also provided to strengthen curricula and review training programmes in forestry schools in the region.

 
A FAO programme to translate the best practices guidelines in harvesting, planted forests and fire management is underway to convert the principles and guidelines into policies, plans and practices in Latin American and Caribbean countries.

Posted 27 February 2008