by Prof. Dr. Willem Van Cotthem (Ghent University, Belgium)
Please read this article at:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pa78SSwsJwsGaAGKkQC0tzthCJZSmiWFdJXx3Z8ZOeU/edit?usp=sharing
Photo credit: Google – Imgres.jpg
COMMENTS
Willem Van Cotthem: We keep hoping that success stories and best practices will be applied at the global level. Priority should be given to methods and techniques providing daily fresh food to the hungry and malnourished. It cannot be denied that hunger and malnutrition are constantly undermining the performances of people. Application of existing success stories in local food production (kitchen gardens, school gardens, hospital gardens, …) would positively influence the efforts to combat desertification (limiting erosion, stimulating reforestation, etc.). We keep hoping.
Reply: United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification “Hi Willem Van Cotthem, would you like to share some success stories you have? We always welcome all to share!”
Reply: Willem Van Cotthem : Hello Friends at the UNCCD Secretariat: It will be my pleasure to select a series of success stories in the literature. However, I am convinced that the UNCCD secretariat has the necessary documentation to compile even a book on this subject (to the best of my knowledge the documents, e.g. presentations at COPs and meetings of CST and CRIC, have been there during my active period in the CST and in Bonn). Please consider a consultancy to achieve top class work that would serve all member countries, the CST and the CRIC. To be presented at the next World Day June 17th 2016.
Photo credit: Google
The programme, “Accelerating Progress Toward the Economic Empowerment of Rural Women
Smallholder farmers and rural people can play a critical role in achieving the post-2015 development agenda, according to a concept note by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). ‘Rural transformation: Key to sustainable development’ stresses the role of targeting rural areas and reducing rural-urban inequalities to achieve sustainable development and eradicate poverty and hunger.
IFAD prepared the concept note in preparation for its 38th session of the Governing Council, which will focus on rural transformation as a key to sustainable development.
Economic diversification, innovations in production, modern technology use and expanded access to modern supply chains are key features of rural transformation, according to the note. It explains that IFAD invests in four key areas to advance inclusive and sustainable rural transformation: promoting diversification and resilience; advancing gender equality and empowering women; building sustainable food systems; and enhancing rural-urban connectivity and linkages. The concept note argues for addressing unequal power relations, social exclusion and access to a range of productive assets as part of strategies to address persistent poverty.
Read the full article: IISD
Read at :
http://www.new-ag.info/en/focus/focusItem.php?a=3000
Once renowned for their beauty, the public gardens of Senegal’s capital, Dakar, have suffered decades of neglect. The 400 metre long HLM Patte d’Oie, like other supposedly ‘green spaces’ in the city was, until recently, an ugly combination of rubbish dump and car park. But in 2010, the site was chosen to house Dakar’s new municipal plant nursery. Construction and improvement of the site began in December 2010, quickly producing a green oasis in the city’s bustling outskirts. As part of the Sustainable Cities International (SCI) Network, Dakar is one of forty towns and cities around the world that are piloting social and technology innovations for more sustainable urban futures.
About one-third of the HLM Patte d’Oie area is dedicated to micro-gardening. Using groundnut and rice husks instead of soil, 145 table-top micro-gardens have been set up by a core team of 42 women. Taking care of the table gardens is a community activity; children, mothers and grandmothers cultivate over 30 species of plants, including tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, eggplants, lettuces, carrots and cabbages. The gardening project gives these women a productive activity outside their homes, helping them improve their families’ diets, reduce money spent on food and earn income from sales. Every day they come to water their crops and sell; many others come to find out information, buy vegetables or to chat, the area becoming a valuable social hub.
The rest of the area is dedicated to the trees, shrubs and flowers of the municipal plant nursery, destined for the streets and parks of Dakar, to improve air quality, lower temperatures and help to control noise pollution. Hardy, climate-tolerant species comprise the nursery’s inventory. The nursery itself is managed by a team of technicians and support staff from the municipality, but a monitoring committee has also been put in place, including four women and two young people from the district. Nursery staff provide training in nursery techniques and micro-gardening to unemployed youth and women in the area.
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Read at :
http://www.cityfarmer.info/2010/10/06/strathcona-community-micro-gardens-in-vancouver/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lcnCVHPr-4&feature=player_embedded
Needs funding to build dozens of micro gardens throughout the Strathcona neighbourhood and help turn this into the heart of the greenest city
Overview:
We propose to create 20 to 30 community micro-gardens throughout the Strathcona neighbourhood. The gardens would be installed on private properties adjacent to public spaces in highly visible, underutilized areas.
Depending on the nature and size of each location, the gardeners and the property owners would decide whether the plot should be a community garden, single-owner garden, or a living wall. Vegetation would consist of native perennials and edible plants. Continue reading “Vancouver’s micro-gardens: a challenge for international organizations combating hunger (City Farmer News)”
Read at :
http://www.cityfarmer.info/2010/09/09/city-farming-in-udaipur-city-of-lakes-india/
City Farming in Udaipur – City of Lakes, India
Linked by Michael Levenston
September 8, 2010
This guest article is written by Mr. Manish Jain from Udaipur
It is not only possible, but it is a growing movement in Udaipur. Shikshantar, a community organization, has been working with interested individuals to produce fruits and vegetables at their homes. Healthy, holistic living is rare in the city, but now a clean, self-sustaining city is possible and growing our own food is a major step in this direction.
“We have built our homes over soil and greenery, so we should grow greenery on our terraces to replace what we have destroyed,” says Vishal Singh, a zero waste consultant, who has planted many plants on his terrace near Gantaghar. Terrace space is often unused and gets plenty of sunlight – perfect for a terrace farm. A terrace garden also keeps the house cool in the summer. The management students of Phoenix Business School have also developed a vegetable garden on their terrace near Suraj Pol. However, terraces are just the beginning. Continue reading “Growing your own fruits and vegetables in the city (City Farmers News / Udaipur Times)”
Read at :
http://www.greenprophet.com/page/8/
Need a place to park your solar panels or urban garden? SEGlet’s website offers a revolutionary crowdsourcing solution
Real estate has taken on a whole new dimension. Urban and vertical farming is becoming more popular, as is solar and wind energy production, but space to develop these industries – especially in dense urban areas – is scarce. Naomi Younger developed a viable, symbiotic solution to this quandary. Individuals or organizations that own or lease buildings with a lot of roof space need electricity and food, and power and food producers need space. In order to bring them together, Younger developed SEGlet, a website listing of rooftops and other open spaces. Here’s how it works.
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Read at :
http://www.asla.org/sustainablelandscapes/greenroof.html
Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.
What looks like the windswept shorelines of Washington State is actually the Washington Mutual Green Roof, located on top of a commercial high-rise in downtown Seattle. Green roofs provide important environmental benefits by mimicking the natural landscape on top of a roof. Continue reading “Roof gardens: functional areas for employees and visitors (ASLA)”
Read at :
http://www.asla.org/sustainablelandscapes/kresge.html
Troy, Michigan, U.S.A.
The Kresge Foundation occupies land that was used for industrial agriculture until the 1970s. Years of single-crop cultivation stripped the site of its native vegetation and biodiversity.
Project Facts
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Read at :
http://www.asla.org/sustainablelandscapes/brownfield.html
Wellesley, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
At Wellesley College, the school planned a revitalization of an area called the Alumnae Valley. Over time, the valley had become the site for the college’s physical plant, industrialized natural gas pumping, and a 175-space parking lot over a toxic brownfield.
Project Facts
Read at :
http://www.asla.org/sustainablelandscapes/Vid_Brownfields.html
Key Facts:
Brownfields are abandoned, environmentally-contaminated industrial or commercial sites. People who come into frequent contact with the leftover solvents, cleaners, and oil found on these sites often develop major health issues. In addition, the chemicals found in brownfields contaminate soils and often leak directly into underground water resources. Degraded parts of some major U.S. cities contain up to 1,000 brownfields per square mile. (Source: Maryland Commission on Environmental Justice and Sustainable Communities)
Bioremediation involves using plants, fungi, or soil microbes to clean up toxic brownfields. Some types of deep-rooted plants can even be used to remove toxic metals from the soil. One example is Thlaspi caerulescens, commonly known as Alpine Pennycress. According to Cornell University researchers, a normal plant can only store about 100 parts per million (ppm) zinc and 1 ppm cadmium. Thlaspi can store up to 30,000 ppm zinc and 1,500 ppm cadmium in its shoots without being negatively affected. In fact, these types of plants thrive while restoring the brownfield to its natural state. (Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture) Continue reading “Urban desertification, brownfields, bioremediation and community green spaces (ASLA)”
Read at : UNNews
New York, Sep 28 2009 7:05PM
The fact that one billion people on the planet suffer from hunger represents a collective failure by the international community, Ireland told the General Assembly today, stressing that the time to act together to eradicate this scourge is now.
“Hunger is the result of many failings,” Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Peter Power said in his <“http://www.un.org/ga/64/generaldebate/pdf/IE_en.pdf”>address to the Assembly’s annual high-level General Debate. “Its eradication, and nothing less than its eradication, must be our goal.”
Ireland, which has experienced famine in its own land, has placed food security and related sectors as a cornerstone of its aid programme, he noted, adding that it aims to ensure that 20 per cent of its assistance by 2012 is focused on hunger.
Mr. Power said he was very encouraged by the event held at UN Headquarters on Saturday, under the leadership of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, on boosting global food security.
Speaking at that event, Mr. Ban said last year’s food crisis highlighted the fact that the world’s food systems are in crisis, that they are failing too many people and many of the poorer nations. “There is more than enough food in the world, yet today, more than one billion people are hungry. This is unacceptable,” he told the gathering.
Mr. Power said it is clear what needs to be done to ensure a world free from chronic hunger. “We must tackle hunger in a comprehensive way to move from responding to symptoms to addressing the fundamental causes.”
In addition, it is necessary to invest in agriculture and agricultural research, and in particular to support women farmers, as well as to invest in rural infrastructure, enhance nutrition and support national and regional plans.
“Our aim is to halve the number of hungry by 2015,” the Minister noted, referring to one of the eight globally agreed Millennium Development Goals (<“http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/”>MDGs). But despite the wealth and advanced technology available in the world, the number of hungry is growing daily.
“We have a small window of time to achieve this objective. The time for concerted action by all of us is now.”
Among the areas that have been particularly hard hit is the Horn of Africa, where UN officials predict that hunger is likely to grow owing to a combination of poor crop prospects, below-average rainfall, violence and displacement.
“The number of people suffering from poverty and hunger has not been reduced; it has rather multiplied in many folds,” Eritrea’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Osman Saleh, <“http://www.un.org/ga/64/generaldebate/pdf/ER_en.pdf”>told the Assembly. He said that the peoples of Africa have been “victims of poverty and hunger,” and cited the need for “fundamental” change in the UN to not only preserve peace and security, but also to eradicate poverty and hunger.
Food security, said Angola’s Minister of External Relations, is one of the main concerns of the African continent due to its importance to health, productivity, social and political stability and economic growth.
“Hunger and poverty, aggravated by the fact that they are linked to endemic diseases such as malaria and tuberculosis, cause millions of deaths annually in Africa and are devastating an entire generation, dramatically jeopardizing the development and progress of the continent,” Assunção Afonso dos Anjos <“http://www.un.org/ga/64/generaldebate/pdf/AO_en.pdf”>told the Assembly.
He said he believed it is possible to substantially reduce the food security deficit in Africa if the international community is willing to maintain reserves of food and medicines for emergency aid and people in need, as well as work to adopt national and regional integrated strategies and programmes in areas such as agriculture, trade, transports, water, and training.
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For more details go to UN News Centre at http://www.un.org/news
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CONSIDERATION (Willem VAN COTTHEM)
Let us underline some sentences in the UN-text above :
If this is true, and why shouldn’t it, then I retain from it :
Let me ask you to have a close look at the pictures below, keeping in mind the 4 points above. For now, I leave the conclusion to you :
DESERTIFICATION 
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