Panafrican News Agency

Italy: FAO to participate in several events at COP22 Climate Conference

Rome, Italy (PANA) - Agriculture, forestry and fisheries will feature prominently during the 22nd Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention Climate Change (COP22) in Marrakech, Morocco, from 7-18 November 2016, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation has announced.

It said in a statement issued on Monday that the conference marks a turning point in efforts to address global warming, including its impact on food security and agriculture, because the landmark Paris Climate Change Agreement will enter into force just prior to COP22.

Dubbed the "COP for Action", governments will make concerted efforts to support domestic action on climate adaptation and mitigation in order to comply with national commitments and enhance ambitions.

The statement said FAO would participate in a number of events including on three thematic Global Climate Actions events - Forests, Oceans, and Agriculture and Food Security. FAO experts will also participate in many other thematic events.

On the forest action event, FAO said stakeholders will have the opportunity to take stock of progress made, and to identify challenges as well as opportunities for increased contributions from forestry to climate change adaptation and mitigation.

To achieve this, participants will focus on the streamlining and scaling up of financing mechanisms, it said.

The Oceans Action event will showcase how the world is tackling climate change impacts on oceans, seas, and coastal and island contexts.

FAO said the purpose is to review initiatives launched at COP 21 in Paris as part of the Lima-Paris Action Agenda and announce new initiatives.

It said FAO Deputy Director-General/Co-ordinator for Natural Resources Maria Helena Semedo will address this side event which will focus on the crucial role agriculture plays for climate adaptation and mitigation and on ways to move forward from political commitment to action.

She will also will participate in a panel discussion on Resilient Agriculture and Landscapes together with other relevant actors to discuss about innovative practices for sustainable agriculture .

On Sustainable Oases Initiative, the statement said Ms Semedo will also represent FAO in this event organized by the Ministry of Agriculture of Morocco to launch the Sustainable Oases Initiative that will help to better recognise the unique resilience abilities to climate change of this landscapes as well as their vulnerability. The initiative looks to implement solutions to protect this rich heritage.

The statement said FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva will address the Agriculture and Food Security Action event, which will focus on the central position of the agricultural sectors in the response to climate change.

It said a diverse group of agricultural stakeholders, including "actors that are too often on the margins of national climate change planning", will participate in the discussions.

The event will feature the Adaptation of African Agriculture and the FAO’s Global Framework on Water Scarcity, it added.

José Graziano da Silva will also participate in a side event dubbed "SDG 2 Zero hunger under a changing climate" together with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Food Programme.

Topics include ways to combine the fight against hunger and the fight against climate change, a focus on countries’ experiences and the importance of data and financial instruments in facilitating adaptation.
-0- PANA MA 7Nov2016