{UCLG Congress} message Michelle Gauthier, Urban Forestry for Food Security and Poverty Alleviation
Gauthier, Michelle (FOMC)
Dear participants,
Here is my modest contribution to the discussion.
Michelle Gauthier
Forestry Officer
Forest Conservation Team
Forestry Department
FAO, Rome, Italy
Tel: + (39) 06-5705-3692
Email: michelle...@fao.org
Website: htpp://km.fao.org/urbanforestry
************************
1. What are the main needs for local authorities to lead a strategic planning process?
The needs will be necessarily very different depending on the context of development of the cities/countries, and more generally of the region. My contribution is place in the context of the mandate of the Food and Agriculture Organization of United Nations (FAO) fighting against hunger and poverty. More specifically, I refer to the optimization of the role of trees and forests for cities, in an integrated manner and responding to environmental, social and economic needs of citizens. FAO pay special attention to the most vulnerable populations which, in many cases, represent the majority.
When people wage a daily struggle against hunger and malnutrition, and have to contend with natural disasters such as floods and landslides, forestry related concerns often rank low on the agenda. However, coherent investment by governments and communities in the protection and restoration of suitable forest and tree cover in and around cities, coupled with good governance policies, can make a real contribution to reducing poverty and improving
livelihood in an environment that is healthy for all.
However, for the most part, the rapid expansion of cities has taken place without any real land use planning strategy in place to support such growth. Another issue that cities face is the absence of platforms for dialogue, which would give urban dwellers the opportunity to define a common vision with national governments and local authorities. The green, grey and blue infrastructures of the cities have to be design in harmony; this means genuine solutions merging disciplines and sectors such as urban and periurban forestry (UPF), urban and periurban agriculture (UPA), road-river-water plan network, waste water system and recycling, watershed management, desertification and water erosion control, wood energy supply, etc.
Governments, local authorities, foresters and individuals must press for greater dialogue aimed at collective and responsible investment, with the major challenge of reconciling three elements that are inextricably linked: the community, trees and well-being.
The first step in these institutional frameworks is certainly to create dialogues between all stakeholders. To build a Green Vision for Our Cities (see article attached) is not only the responsibility of the local authorities, and the weak local authorities conditions should not stop to get leaders from other segment of the society and of the government to influence the process towards their vision.
The local authorities have definitively a key leading role for strategic planning process. I would suggest as key steps:
a. Build their planning process on multistakeholder platforms of dialogues.
b. Insure a Coherent Strategy of Communication to conciliate the various interests.
c. Get a good understanding of the relationship between the rural and the urban, the movement of the population, the role of land use and land use change on their cities.
d. Get a good understanding of the good practices and lessons learned from their cities/countries and from other regions in the world, in order to implement Best Practices, but also innovate in inserting productive economic attributes of tree and forest dimension of the green cities (incomes, jobs, saving for institutions, etc.)
2. How do you consider the concept of Urbanism is changing, integrating other spheres than technical and physical planning, and can this be successful?
The concept of Urbanism has evolved in many countries and training/education systems in many positive ways:
- the integrated and regional planning concept, introducing the long term and sustainable vision of urban development;
- the introduction of food and nutritional security aspects of urban population in order to fight national poverty, for which many strategies and actions have for long time focused on rural areas, to the detriment of urban populations.
- development of good practices taking into account for instance the needs for a land use in line with biodiversity and ecosystem conservation, natural resources disaster mitigation and prevention, relationship between producers and consumers, health and recreation.
- the support to policy and decision making process through participatory approaches to build the sustainable green vision for cities, and support good governance, based in part --- in the forestry sector --- on community and social forestry.
A number of United Nations institutions and programmes are focusing increasing attention on the link between cities, forests, water, biodiversity and poverty. Promoting a green environment t for cities is seen as a key element of their strategy for achieving the Millennium Goals. There is also a tendency for greater convergence of agendas of institutions operating at local, national and international levels towards this direction.
FAO is supporting this positive trend with its member countries. FAO’s multidisciplinary priority area «Food for the cities» implements a harmonized development approach which encompasses the links between rural and urban settings, as well as food security and environmental prerogatives.
The Forestry Department and its urban and peri-urban forestry programme helps cities and countries to have a better understanding of the forestry perspective. It contributes by making knowledge and expertise more available and supports FAO member countries in developing planning tools, strategies and plans of action, installing and galvanizing platforms for dialogue to promote wise decision-making at all levels.
The development of Guidelines for policy and decision making promoting urban and periurban forestry based on platforms of dialogues at various levels has been identified as a strategic action for the next years in support to sustainable cities development. Don’t hesitate to contact us if you are interested to participate to this process. The coming United Nations International Year of Forests 2011 is certainly an unique opportunity to promote a greening of urban agendas and the urbanization of the green and forestry agendas.
For more information on FAO support to sustainable cities, I suggest you consult three of our home pages:
- FAO “Food for the Cities” the multidisciplinary priority area group on urban issues http://www.fao.org/fcit/fcit-home/en/ will bring you on other thematic homepage on urban issues, including inter alia:
- FAO Urban and Periurban Forestry homepage: “Forests and Trees for Healthy Cities - Improving Livelihoods and Environment for All” http://km.fao.org/urbanforestry/
Best Regards,
Michelle Gauthier
Forestry Officer
Forest Conservation Team
Forestry Department
FAO, Rome, Italy
Tel: + (39) 06-5705-3692
Cell: + (39) 347-007-6396
Email: michelle...@fao.org
Website: htpp://km.fao.org/urbanforestry
SKYPE: michellelinwan