With the approaching 2015 deadline to reach the eight anti-poverty targets known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake said much progress has been made – including declining poverty rates, the near eradication of polio, increased immunizations, more girls attending school, improved access to clean water and nutrition, and more children surviving and thriving beyond their fifth birthdays than ever before.

“But these results are no excuse for rest,” Mr. Lake stressed in the report’s forward. “Our goal is to reach every child, everywhere, no matter how distant or remote, no matter what barriers stand in the way,” he added.

Among its successes, the agency highlights in its Our Story 2012 report the use of mobile phone texting to register births in Nigeria and Uganda, the lack of which in the past has prevented children in those countries from attending school and made them more vulnerable to trafficking and other dangers.

Similarly, this year’s report also highlights the use of a RapidSMS programme to quickly diagnose and treat HIV-infected infants in Zambia, cutting turnaround time for test result from 44 days to 26.

In addition, innovative partnerships, such as between UNICEF and the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), led to the creation of the Commission on Life-Saving Commodities for Women and Children to improve access to life-saving health interventions for children under five years of age and women of childbearing age. These activities are in support of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Every Woman Every Child initiative.

In the report, the agency said it and its partners responded to 286 humanitarian situations in 79 countries last year. Among those, the Syrian conflict where UNICEF said it delivered safe water benefitting more than 100,000 people in refugee camps and among host communities, and winter supplies to more than 260,000 people in the country.

The UN agency also said it helped to provide access to uninterrupted education for nearly 80,000 children, provided psychosocial care for an estimated 47,000 children and supported measles vaccination for more than 1.4 million children.

“The organization remains both a world leader in the procurement of supplies for children and the world’s largest provider of vaccines to developing countries,” according to the report, which added that UNICEF’s procurement strategies and financing mechanisms last year generated savings of more than $197 million.

The report also notes that cash contributions to the UN agency rose eight per cent over the previous year, “underscoring donor trust in UNICEF’s ability to leverage its expertise, technical know-how, broad partnerships and global reach.”

UNICEF said it joined the International Aid Transparency Initiative last year, and expanded its public disclosure by releasing online internal audit reports, evaluations and country office annual reports.

“Policy interventions that aim at encouraging greater levels of smallholder production for sale in markets need to take better account of the heterogeneity of smallholder households,” said David Hallam, Director of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) Trade and Markets Division.

In the foreword to the report, Smallholder Integration in Changing Food Markets, Hallam added that just as smallholders are a heterogeneous group, the markets in which they participate are also diverse in terms of their size, geographic location, connectivity to other markets, power relations between market players, and institutional setting.

The report notes that with greater market integration and more inclusive value chains, small farmers are more likely to adopt new technologies required to achieve productivity growth.

Stressing that there is no one-size-fits-all solution, the two main ways to link farmers with markets is to provide them with better access to credit and insurance, and to strengthen the links between farmers and buyers.

Farmers will not expend more time, money and energy in producing more, if any surplus will likely go to waste because there is no storage, no transport or, possibly, no market within a reasonable distance, Hallam said.

“The risk that any money spent to produce more will be lost is too great a risk for poor farmers to run,” he added.

The report also notes a paradox of high food prices. Seen by some policymakers as an opportunity for farmers to produce more and earn more, the response by many farmers has been muted.

“High levels of price, production risks and uncertainty, and limited access to tools to manage them deter investment in more productive new technologies that would enable smallholders to produce surpluses for sale in markets,” according to the report.

It also highlights the negative consequence of inadequate infrastructure, high costs of storage and transportation, and non-competitive markets.

In addition to more tailored policies, the report also highlights the role of the public sectors and international development partners to promote better policies for small farmers.

There was a continuous decline in the number of poor people—from nearly 63 million in 2000, to 55 million in 2005, and then 47 million in 2010. Despite a growing population, the population of poor people declined by 26 percent in 10 years.

The Bangladesh Poverty Assessment shows that during the period 2000-2010 poverty reduction was closely linked to the growth in labor income and changes in demographics. Labor income, both formal and informal, was the dominant factor in higher incomes and lower poverty rates. Parallel to this, fertility rates have been steadily dropping over the last several decades which have resulted in lower dependency ratios thereby increasing income per-capita and reducing poverty.

The potential to benefit from the demographic dividend will continue in the short to medium term. But to continue to reap the benefits from the demographic changes, Bangladesh will need policies that respond to the needs of the growing population of young adults.

According to World Bank, to ease the labor market pressures caused by the demographic transition, Bangladesh will need to focus more attention to the skills development of a rapidly expanding labor force, including policies aimed at enhancing opportunities for overseas migration. Similarly, given the trends in female education outcomes and low rates of female labor force participation, a focus on creating ‘female-friendly’ jobs, work environments and labor policies will also help to facilitate a higher level of female participation in the labor force.

Moreover, moving forward, sustained poverty reduction will necessitate coordinated multi-sectoral action. Investments to raise agricultural productivity and growth in the demand for salaried work in the manufacturing and service sectors are crucial for maintaining growth in labor income. Bangladesh will also find itself at the cusp of an aging challenge in about 20 years. There is ample time to prepare, but Bangladesh will want to start the process of discussing programs and policies that can protect the elderly in a manner that is both fiscally sustainable and culturally appropriate.

The report suggests that, to be more effective, safety net programs need to be: better timed to more adequately address short-term needs, better targeted ensure that benefits are primarily received by the poor, and better tailored to meet the specific needs of the poor. Consolidation of safety net programs in Bangladesh along these three principles would improve efficiency and establish a solid foundation for increasing investments in safety net programs with increased benefit levels.

Furthermore, safety nets have gradually shifted from food transfers to cash transfers in recognition of the fact that the latter are more cost effective. Linking this larger pool of cash allowances to human development outcomes could prove a powerful formula for increasing human capital and for attaining further poverty reduction in the future. Particular emphasis needs to be placed on programs that focus on: early childhood development in ways that integrate health and nutrition services, pre-school education, early stimulation and learning; and also programs focused on building skills and improving the employability of poor youth.

“While some living in Mozambique are reaping the benefits of the country’s new found growth, more than half of the population continues to live below the poverty line, with the rural populace faring the worst,” United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Magdalena Sepúlveda, said at the end of her first fact-finding mission to the country.

The human rights expert expressed concern in particular about women, children and youth, older persons and persons with disabilities. She noted that women are the most affected by poverty, lagging behind men in practically all social indicators.

Despite “enormous progress” to establish peace and stability, Mozambique continues to be one of the poorest countries in the world, ranking 185 out of 187 according to the 2013 UNDP Human Development Report.

“The State must take all measures to ensure that the potential growth from the extractive industries does not violate the rights of the population, and moreover is sustainable, inclusive, and creates jobs and better access to social services for people living in poverty.”

During her eight-day mission, Ms. Sepúlveda met with senior Government officials and representatives of Parliamentary committees, international organizations, donor agencies, financial institutions, academia and a range of civil society and grass root organizations. She also visited communities living in poverty in the provinces of Gaza, Maputo and Zambeiza.

Ms. Sepúlveda urged the authorities to reinvigorate the political will and commitment that led the country to a new era of independence and eventual stability, towards ensuring a better future for all Mozambicans.

“Mozambique must now redouble its efforts to sustain and build on the significant achievements until now, as well as to address the challenges of the future,” she said.

Independent experts, or special rapporteurs, are appointed by the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council to examine and report back, in an unpaid capacity, on specific human rights themes. Ms. Sepulveda is scheduled to present a report to the Council in June of next year on her findings.

“Conflicts breed where there is poor governance, human rights abuses and grievances over the unequal distribution of resources, wealth and power,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the 15-member body in an opening address, pledging continued UN support for efforts by regional African organizations to prevent conflict.

In a Presidential Statement, the Council also stressed that tackling the root causes of conflict are crucial to ensuring sustainable peace, in addition to partnership and cooperation between regional and sub-regional organizations in supporting conflict prevention and peace-building

It commended the “critical role” of UN peacekeeping operations in maintaining international peace and preventing and containing conflicts. The UN currently fields 14 peacekeeping operations around the world comprising nearly 93,000 uniformed and almost 17,000 civilian personnel.

Ban stressed that mediation efforts must not just be pacts between political elites that address the immediate political problem, but must also allow all stakeholders to participate. “Tensions simmer where people are excluded, marginalized and denied meaningful participation in the political and social life of their countries,” he said. “Unrest flourishes where people are poor, jobless and without hope.”

Noting that 20 African countries are holding elections this year, he said the recent “relatively peaceful” elections in Kenya were an example of how electoral disagreements can be handled through the legal process without recourse to violence, but warned that in other cases, elections can be a source of instability where parties may use them to continue the competition to divide the spoils of war.

He also stressed that agreements, once reached, must be fully implemented, monitored and enforced, noting that in the Central African Republic (CAR), the violation of previous accords by the parties contributed to the resumption of conflict and, eventually, the unconstitutional change of Government.

“The challenges are particularly acute when states are fragile and armed movements operate with impunity across porous borders, often with support from neighbouring states,” Ban declared, citing Mali as an example where this paved the way for transnational criminal organizations and terrorist networks to disrupt regional stability and compromise territorial integrity.

“Whether in the Horn of Africa or the Great Lakes, the continent is still afflicted by interconnected instabilities spreading from one territory to its neighbours,” he added. “That contagion has many vectors: economic despair, arms flows, massive population displacements, proxy conflicts triggered by relationships of mistrust, and regional rivalries. In our increasingly interconnected world, regional action to prevent or address conflicts is all the more important.”

He noted that in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), national authorities, regional leaders and the international community are coming together to not only deal with the manifestations of violence, but also address its underlying root causes.

“In all of our efforts across Africa, the United Nations benefits from reinvigorated regional organizations. They are playing a stronger and strategic role as key partners,” Ban stressed, citing the prompt reaction of the Economic Community of Central African States to the crisis in the CAR and the UN’s efforts to strengthen the Southern African Development Community’s conflict prevention and early warning architecture as well as its 10-year capacity-building partnership with the African Union (AU).

The Council Statement, read out by Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo of Rwanda, Council president for April, delineated the entire spectrum of measures needed to prevent conflict, from early warning and response systems, preventive diplomacy, preventive deployment and mediation to practical disarmament measures, peacemaking, peacekeeping and peace-building strategies.

It called for effective security sector reform programmes, strengthening of human rights and the rule of law, protection of civilians, ending all forms of discrimination and political exclusion, including against women and children and protection of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities.

It emphasized the fight against impunity for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, stressed the important role of women in conflict prevention and resolution and in peace-building, and underscored its concerns at the role played by the illegal exploitation of natural resources in fuelling conflicts. It noted that the UN can help States, while fully respecting their sovereignty, to prevent illegal access to those resources.

Speaking on behalf of the AU, Ethiopian Ambassador Tekeda Alemu highlighted the increasing role Africa itself was playing in resolving conflicts on the continent and the growing cooperation between the UN and the AU.

“More than any time in the past, Africa is ready to play its part for peace and stability in the continent, and it has the wherewithal to be a good partner for the United Nations and the Security Council for the realization of this objective,” he said.

“Africa has the experience to forge solutions to its own challenges and contribute to our global goals of inclusive growth, social justice and protecting our environment,” Mr. Ban said in his address to the Summit’s opening session.

He noted that many countries have made important gains to achieve the anti-poverty targets known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The eight MDGs set specific targets on poverty alleviation, education, gender equality, child and maternal health, environmental stability, HIV/AIDS reduction, and a ‘Global Partnership for Development.’

“More African children are in schools, especially girls. More clinics are helping more women survive childbirth. More African women sit in Government and key decision-making positions,” Mr. Ban said, adding that in spite of this progress, he is still concerned about hundreds of millions of Africans living in poverty.

Mr. Ban urged African leaders to accelerate efforts to achieve the MDGs before their 2015 deadline, and stressed that success will depend on ownership by governments and civil society.

“Our destination is clear: A future where Africa’s wealth enriches all of Africa’s people. Where misrule is only found in history books. Where Africa’s goods get a fair price on the global market. Where global partnerships mean shared prosperity.

Young people and women will be key to drive peace and development in the continent, Mr. Ban said, underlining the importance of investing in their health and education, and providing them with a secure environment.

“We especially need to speak out against rape and sexual violence in conflict. Governments must support victims and end the culture of impunity,” he said.

Mr. Ban underscored that peace is essential for development, and reaffirmed the UN’s commitment to work with countries in the region to address conflict and violence.

Regarding the crisis in Mali, Mr. Ban said the UN is determined to do all it can to help the people in the country, with humanitarian agencies currently assisting civilians in need. “The United Nations has also sent specialists on the military and political tracks. This is a moral imperative for all in the international community,” he said.

Fighting between Government forces and Tuareg rebels broke out in northern Mali last January, after which radical Islamists seized control of the area. The renewed clashes in the north, as well as the proliferation of armed groups in the region, drought and political instability in the wake of a military coup d’état in March have uprooted hundreds of thousands of civilians.

Last month, the Security Council authorized the deployment of an African-led International Support Mission in Mali, known as AFISMA, for an initial period of one year to assist the authorities in recovering rebel-held regions in the north and restoring the unity of the country.

Mr. Ban called on Malian authorities to embrace a comprehensive political process, and agree on a roadmap leading to full restoration of constitutional order. In addition, he reiterated his full commitment to ensure that the UN stands read to undertake major peacebuilding efforts as well as security sector reform, reconstruction and regional cooperation once the combat operations come to an end.

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Mr. Ban said the UN Stabilization Mission in the country (MONUSCO) is doing everything it can to protect civilians, and encouraged regional leaders to endorse a peace, security and cooperation framework to address the causes of violence in the country.

During the Summit, Mr. Ban also addressed a special event on the Campaign for Accelerated Reduction of Maternal Mortality in Africa (CARMMA), where he pledged the UN’s support to expand the campaign so that pregnant and nursing mothers in the continent have access to nutrition and healthcare.

The Secretary-General also met with various African leaders on the margins of the Summit, including Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, with whom he discussed the situation in Somalia, Sudan and South Sudan, Mali and DRC. Mr. Ban also met with the President of Côte d’Ivoire, Alassane Ouattara, and commended the progress in the country, while stressing the need for reconciliation and disarmament to ensure stability.

In a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Mr. Ban reiterated his strong support for the Palestinian people and discussed the need for renewed momentum on the peace process. In addition, Mr. Ban met with the Chairperson of the AU Summit, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, with whom he exchanged views on collective efforts to address the situation in the DRC and Mali

“UNWTO welcomes the adoption of this resolution on the importance of ecotourism,” said the Secretary-General of the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Taleb Rifai, in a news release.

“The remarkable support that the resolution has received, from all regions and across the development spectrum, is a clear testimony that sustainable tourism has a vital role to play in a fairer and sustainable future for all,” he added.

The resolution, adopted on 21 December and entitled ‘Promotion of ecotourism for poverty eradication and environment protection,’ calls on UN Member States to adopt policies that promote ecotourism, highlighting its “positive impact on income generation, job creation and education, and thus on the fight against poverty and hunger.”

It further recognizes that “ecotourism creates significant opportunities for the conservation, protection and sustainable use of biodiversity and of natural areas by encouraging local and indigenous communities in host countries and tourists alike to preserve and respect the natural and cultural heritage.”

According to UNWTO, the resolution – facilitated by Morocco and sponsored by a record 105 delegations – draws on the recommendations contained in one of its reports, put together on the basis of responses from 48 Member States, “which, in a notable departure from its normal practice, was welcomed by the UN General Assembly.”

In line with the UNWTO report’s recommendations, the resolution underscores the need for national tourism plans to account for market demand and local competitive advantages.

It also encourages Member States to promote investment in ecotourism, in accordance with their national legislation, including creating small and medium-sized enterprises, promoting cooperatives and facilitating access to finance through inclusive financial services such as microcredit initiatives for the poor, local and indigenous communities, in areas of ecotourism potential and rural areas.

UNWTO added that the resolution builds on a 2010 resolution on the same subject, and reflects developments since then – namely, the inclusion of tourism in the outcome document of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), held in Brazil in mid-2012, and the results of the 11th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biodiversity.

Rio+20 saw world leaders acknowledge the importance of an inclusive, transparent, strengthened and effective multilateral system to better address the urgent global challenges of sustainable development.

Held in the Indian city of Hyderabad, the 11th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biodiversity unveiled a strategy to combat unprecedented levels of biodiversity loss and called for “significant” increases in biodiversity investments in 100 countries – while at the same time aiming to foster economic growth and create jobs in addition to protecting endangered species and habitats.

“The resolution keeps ecotourism clearly on the agenda of the United Nations as it requires UNWTO to submit a follow up report to the sixty-ninth session of the UN General Assembly in 2014,” UNWTO added.

Last year, the UNWTO said that despite global economic uncertainty, international tourism continued to grow in 2012, with the estimated number of tourists travelling that year reaching a record one billion.

Tourism accounted for nine per cent of global gross domestic product when totalling its direct, indirect and induced impact, according to the agency, which also noted that one in every 12 jobs and up to eight per cent of the total exports of the world’s UN-designated Least Developed Countries (LDCs) depend on tourism.

The World Bank Group and China today launched a new knowledge hub aiming to spread practical knowledge from China’s successes in reducing poverty.

Initially, the knowledge hub will help find environmentally friendly solutions to expand urban transport in China’s cities.

“China has lifted 600 million people out of poverty in the last 30 years, and the demand is growing among other developing countries to learn from its remarkable progress,” said World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim. “The new knowledge hub will play an important role in making China’s lessons available to the world and will further our common mission to end extreme poverty and build shared prosperity.”

Under the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the World Bank-China Knowledge Hub for Development signed in Beijing by Kim and the Chinese Minister of Finance Xie Xuren, the first pilot, called TRANS-FORM, will focus on urban transport. This focus was selected because of the urgent need for innovative solutions to deliver green, inclusive, and low-carbon development.

Managing urbanization is a priority for China, with about 75 percent of its gross domestic product generated in the largest 120 cities, and 350 million rural residents expected to move into its cities over the next 20 years. The Bank is helping China introduce transport improvements in about 30 cities, focusing on low-carbon emission options such as public transportation, walking and cycling.

The new knowledge hub will speed up the process of analyzing the successes and lessons learned in implementing solutions to urban challenges. Some innovations are already being transferred to other countries. For example, the Green Freight Initiative, which aims to improve fuel efficiency in Chinese trucks, is being adopted in Brazil.

While many countries understand broad policy directions, they may not be getting the results they want because delivery of services and infrastructure lags behind, often in communities where the needs are greatest. Recognizing this development challenge, the knowledge hub seeks to lay the foundations for a “science of delivery,” which will collect and distribute practical knowledge that countries can use to get delivery right.

World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim also attended the launch ceremony of a risk-sharing facility between the International Finance Corporation (IFC), which is the member of the World Bank Group focused on private sector development, and Bank of Jiangsu. The project aims to unlock financing for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects in China’s coastal province of Jiangsu. The guarantee facility comes under IFC’s China Utility-based Energy Efficiency Finance Program (CHUEE), which encourages banks to finance climate-friendly projects.

“IFC plays a critical role in China by promoting economic growth that is both inclusive and sustainable,” said Jin-Yong Cai, IFC Executive Vice President and CEO, at the launch of the facility. “We entice banks to finance climate-friendly projects by sharing some of their financial risk and we connect financial institutions with market expertise to help them better understand the energy efficiency and renewable energy sectors.”

The Chinese Assistant Minister of Finance and Alternate Governor to the World Bank Group Zheng Xiaosong praised the program as an important platform to promote public-private partnership for low-carbon development.

Speaking at a week-long meeting of the World Cooperatives Congress in Manchester, England, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) Director-General, José Graziano da Silva, told gathered delegates that cooperatives can help small- and medium-scale farmers and fishermen add value to their production and gain access to wider markets.

“Cooperatives follow core values and principles that are critical to doing business in an equitable manner, that seeks to empower and benefits its members and the community it is inserted in,” said Graziano da Silva.

“This is especially relevant in poor rural communities, where joining forces is central to promoting sustainable local development,” he added.

Graziano da Silva stated that in a world that produces enough food for all and despite gains in the fight against hunger, it was “unacceptable” that close to 870 million people continue to suffer from chronic malnutrition. He further stated that greater cooperativization would help reduce hunger and poverty across poor rural communities.

“Whether you are in the UK, Brazil, Kenya, Thailand, or Nepal, cooperatives help to generate employment, boost national economies and reduce poverty,” he noted. “This, in turn, helps to improve food security.”

The FAO chief emphasized that his agency was committed to fostering the growth of agricultural cooperatives around the world and hinted at the appointment of special ambassadors for cooperatives to promote the issue, as well as develop approaches, guidelines, methodologies and training tools on organizational development and policy.

Moreover, he called on those gathered to contribute to the global plan of action expected to emerge from events held in honour of the International Year of Cooperatives – a year-long celebration currently being observed in 2012.

“Owned by their members, they can generate employment, alleviate poverty, and empower poor and marginalized groups in rural areas, especially women, to drive their own destinies,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a message, stressing that the number of people still going hungry is unacceptable in a world where every person would have enough to eat if food were distributed properly.

“As enterprises with a social conscience, cooperatives have also proven to be an effective vehicle for social inclusion, promoting gender equality and encouraging the involvement of youth in agriculture.”

The theme of this year’s Day, which is celebrated on 16 October in honour of the date of the founding of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in 1945, is ‘Agricultural cooperatives – key to feeding the world.’

In a ceremony marking the Day at FAO’s headquarters in Rome, its Director-General, José Graziano da Silva, called on governments to do their part and “create conditions that allow producer organizations and cooperatives to thrive” as a major way to lift small-scale farmers out of poverty and hunger.

Although they produce most of the food in many countries, they had poor access to markets to sell their products, lack of bargaining power to buy inputs at better prices and a lack of access to financial services, he said.

“Agricultural cooperatives can help smallholders overcome these constraints,” Graziano da Silva stressed. “Cooperatives play a crucial role in generating employment, reducing poverty, and improving food security, and contributing to the gross domestic product in many countries.”

Speaking at the same ceremony, the UN World Food Programme’s (WFP) Executive Director, Ertharin Cousin, underscored the need for social safety nets for those who could barely feed themselves.

“In our world, too many still struggle to find their next meal,” she said. “Social protection and safety net programmes enable the most vulnerable, particularly women and children, to lift themselves out of hunger and poverty. These programmes provide a cushion that is otherwise unavailable and build resilience against economic and environmental shocks.”

At the same event, the head of the UN International Fund on Agricultural Development (IFAD), which seeks to empower poor rural women and men in developing countries to achieve higher incomes and improved food security, highlighted its role in working closely with cooperatives worldwide.

“From tea growers in Rwanda to livestock resource centres in Nepal, there are many examples of how cooperatives better support smallholder farmers to not only organize themselves, but to collectively increase their opportunities and resources,” IFAD’s President Kanayo Nwanze said.

“Our experience at IFAD working with farmers has proven time and time again that cooperatives are critical to reach these objectives,” he added. “This is why we place a lot of emphasis on cooperatives and continue to enhance our work with them.”

Speaking from Geneva, the Director-General of the UN International Labour Organization (ILO), Guy Ryder, added his voice to the messages issued on the Day.

“Experience around the world shows that farmers, fisherfolk, foresters and herders have used cooperative organization to increase food production, gain market access, obtain better prices on agricultural inputs, participate more effectively in global value chains and also to manage natural resources and enhance food security,” he said.

In a report launched on World Food Day, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) warns that the ecological foundations that support food security, including biodiversity are being undermined.

“The era of seemingly ever-lasting production based upon maximizing inputs such as fertilizers and pesticides, mining supplies of freshwater and fertile arable land and advancements linked to mechanization are hitting their limits, if indeed they have not already hit them,” UNEP’s Executive Director, Achim Steiner, said in a news release.

“The world needs a green revolution but with a capital ‘G’: one that better understands how food is actually grown and produced in terms of the nature-based inputs provided by forests, freshwaters and biodiversity,” he added.

The report – Avoiding Future Famines: Strengthening the Ecological Basis of Food Security through Sustainable Food System – was produced in collaboration with IFAD, FAO, WFP, World Bank, and the World Resources Institute, a global environmental think tank.

It points out the challenges posed by overfishing, unsustainable water use, environmentally degrading agricultural practices and other human activities and calls for the redesign of sustainable agriculture systems, dietary changes, and storage systems and new food standards to reduce waste.