FAO intensifies initiatives on bioenergy with focus on food security and sustainable development

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has been working intensely on bioenergy issues with major events of global relevance as well as with reports and technical consultations examining specific issues such as food security, algae-based biofuels and small-scale bioenergy development.

The XIII World Forestry Congress, held in Buenos Aires in October, was organised under the auspices of and in collaboration with FAO. The gathering sent a message to the COP 15 conference in Copenhagen emphasising the important role forests play in climate change mitigation and adaptation as well as the need for forest-dependent people and forest ecosystems to adapt to this challenge. With clear implications for bioenergy, the message stated: “Sustainably harvested forest products and wood fuels can reduce greenhouse gas emissions if they substitute neutral or low emission, renewable materials for high-emission materials.”

The following month, FAO’s commitment to sustainable bioenergy development was reinforced at the World Food Summit, with world leaders gathering at the organisation’s Rome headquarters to work towards the eradication of hunger and promote increased funding for agriculture. The final declaration included a call for more in-depth studies, information exchange and dialogue to ensure that biofuel production and use are sustainable and take into account the need to achieve and maintain global food security.

Of the two technical consultation meetings held at FAO Headquarters in Rome, the first related to the Bioenergy and Food Security Criteria and Indicators (BEFSCI) project. Building on the findings of the FAO’s Bioenergy and Food Security (BEFS) project and on FAO’s comparative advantage, BEFSCI aims to develop detailed principles, criteria and indicators on sustainable bioenergy production that safeguards food security. A first draft of these principles, criteria and indicators were discussed in November (with another scheduled for early 2010). These will then be validated through international, multi-stakeholder consultations to be held during 2010, and subsequently field-tested in three qualitative feasibility studies.

The BEFSCI project will also inform and feed into on-going discussions and work on food security-related principles, criteria and indicators under other bioenergy initiatives, such as the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels (RSB) and the Global Bioenergy Partnership (GBEP).

Further information is available from the BEFSCI website.

The second initiative regarded the development of small-scale livelihood-oriented bioenergy (SSLB), (meaning projects involving small-scale farmers and benefiting rural communities rather than projects that are small in size or scope). Given the vast number of people relying on unsustainable biomass-based energy in developing countries and the associated health risks (linked to inhalation of indoor smoke), programmes encouraging small-scale bioenergy for the rural poor could significantly contribute to meeting Millennium Development Goals. A technical consultation held at FAO headquarters in Rome on 28-29 October drew up a list of factors that participants found could either enhance success or constrain results of individual projects.

Among the seven factors identified at the gathering, participants stressed the importance of not considering SSLB in isolation but as a part of sustainable livelihood and rural development strategies. They also underlined the importance of finding the right financial support (balancing profit-making and subsidies), the promotion of inclusive business models through local social enterprises, an enabling policy framework over the long term, better knowledge management and stronger partnerships. Key messages from the consultation will be posted on the FAO bioenergy website.

FAO has also made available “Algae-based Biofuels: A Review of Challenges and Opportunities for Developing Countries”. The review paper (available here), part of the FAO’s contribution to the GBEP programme of work, discusses the different technological components and the most common systems for culturing algae for energy purposes. It serves as an initial analysis of suitability and environmental, economic and social sustainability in the context of potential and threats for developing countries.

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