REPOST: General Assembly sets up new UN forum to boost sustainable development efforts

The United Nations has established a new high-level political forum that will boost efforts in tackling global economic, social, and environmental challenges. The new body replaces the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development.

Image source: un.org

The General Assembly today established a new High-level Political Forum, which will replace the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development, to boost efforts to tackle global economic, social and environmental challenges.

In a resolution adopted by consensus, the 193-member Assembly emphasized the need for an improved and more effective institutional framework for sustainable development, and decided that the Forum should provide “a dynamic platform for regular dialogue and for stocktaking and agenda-setting to advance that process.”

The decision follows up on a key recommendation of 'The Future We Want,' the outcome document of last year's UN Conference on Sustainable Development, known as Rio+20.

“Establishing the Forum marks a major step forward in implementing 'The Future We Want',” said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. “The Forum can provide the political leadership and action-oriented recommendations we need to follow up on all the Rio recommendations and meet urgent global economic, social and environmental challenges. “Countries must do their utmost to realize the Forum's potential.”

The Forum will convene annually at the ministerial level under the auspices of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and it will, every four years, bring together heads of State to provide added momentum for sustainable development. Its first meeting will be held in September, during the Assembly's forthcoming 68th session.

The new body is tasked with providing political leadership, guidance and recommendations for sustainable development; reviewing progress in the implementation of related commitments; and enhancing integration of the three dimensions of sustainable development – economic, social and environmental.

“We are simply not doing enough to meet the fundamental challenges of our time: to end extreme poverty in this generation and significantly narrow the global gap between rich and poor, without inflicting irreparable damage to the environmental basis for our survival,” said General Assembly President Vuk Jeremiæ.

“The new Forum must be more than just a meeting place – it must be the place where countries and civil society generate the momentum for change.”

The Forum will replace the Commission on Sustainable Development, which was formed after the 1992 Earth Summit and helped to generate action on a range of issues that led to international agreements or treaties.

Governments and civil society actors, however, came to share a belief in recent years that a higher-profile body was needed to guide sustainable development towards 'the future we want.'

The Assembly recommended that ECOSOC abolish the Commission upon the conclusion of its 20th session – whose timing, agenda and duration was postponed from May, pending progress on the format and organizational modalities of the Forum.

Part of the earnings from used clothing collected from Planet Aid donation boxes all over the country are allocated to sustainable development programs. Follow this Facebook page for timely updates on sustainable development efforts worldwide.

In Sub-Saharan Africa, the challenge of reducing poverty amid economic growth

Sub-Saharan Africa is enjoying significant economic growth lately, with the World Bank even predicting that the region’s growth will outpace the global average over the next three years. And contributing to this sunny outlook are higher commodities, increasing investment, and a general pick-up in the world economy.

Image Source: bbc.co.uk

However, amid this bright forecast, the World Bank calls for African governments to step up their efforts in ensuring that the economic boom will reduce poverty.

It is not because poverty in the region is ignored. In fact, figures from the World Bank showed that the percentage of Africans living on less than $1.25 a day fell from 58 percent to 48.5 percent between 1996 and 2010. However, the challenge today is how to properly harness the region’s full potential. As World Bank economist Punam Chuhan-Pole noted, “These [economic] trends hold the promise of more growth, much less poverty, and accelerating shared prosperity for African countries in the foreseeable future.”

Image Source: huffingtonpost.com

The challenge of reducing poverty also touches on the issue of food security. The United Nations Development Program, in a 2012 report, asserts that Sub-Saharan Africa cannot sustain its present economic resurgence unless it eliminates the hunger that affects nearly a quarter of its people.

Africa rising—this is how the region is now seen due to the favorable economic growth it has been experiencing lately. Optimism about the region is very much welcome. What many do hope, however, is that the region’s progress will also transform lives.  

Image Source: economist.com

Planet Aid supports various development projects in Africa that focus on helping individuals and communities. Learn more about the organization’s mission here.

Cultivating a secure future: On child protection and sponsorship

Image source: spotkidsspeech.com

Youth is just a state of being and not necessarily a criterion to determine an individual’s capacity to help others. Indeed, many organizations implement programs to support child welfare, but there are also others that help young people develop leadership and management skills that they can use to help their fellow individuals whenever possible.

Compassion International, a child sponsorship organization based in Colorado, provides service opportunities to poor communities through its Leadership Development Program (LDP). This initiative sponsors groups of students to spend a few days in far-flung villages to serve the local people. The students participate in projects such as home shelter construction for parents and caregivers. They also help in building churches and latrines, rehabilitating roads, and cleaning village water sources.


Image source: haltonrecycles.files.wordpress.com

Taught to become leaders at a young age, these volunteers also visit schools to inspire other young people by educating them about some common but deadly diseases and helping them in their academic performance.

Child Aid, the child development program supported by Planet Aid, focuses on child nutrition and education. The program aims to help children grow, learn, and live in safe and healthy conditions. It has extensive outreach programs that provide “information and lessons on health, nutrition, hygiene, environment, and other issues, and with practical actions to improve conditions where needed.”

Child Aid’s programs were particularly successful in rural populations, but similar concepts were also proven efficient in the slum peripheries of some big cities, such as in the townships of Soweto in South Africa.


Image source: uiowa.edu

Hundreds of charities worldwide organize causes that gear toward welfare and skills development in children and other marginalized sectors of the society. This website provides more information about how these organizations fulfill their mission.

REPOST: What is sustainable agriculture? Concept Themes

One of the many integrated ways being developed to ensure food security is sustainable agriculture, which has a three-way benefit to provide employment and economic stimulus, improve the standard of living, and reduce the environmental impact of agriculture. The Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program discusses this at length.

Sustainable agriculture integrates three main goals--environmental health, economic profitability, and social and economic equity. A variety of philosophies, policies and practices have contributed to these goals. People in many different capacities, from farmers to consumers, have shared this vision and contributed to it. Despite the diversity of people and perspectives, the following themes commonly weave through definitions of sustainable agriculture.

Sustainability rests on the principle that we must meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Therefore, stewardship of both natural and human resources is of prime importance. Stewardship of human resources includes consideration of social responsibilities such as working and living conditions of laborers, the needs of rural communities, and consumer health and safety both in the present and the future. Stewardship of land and natural resources involves maintaining or enhancing this vital resource base for the long term.

A systems perspective is essential to understanding sustainability. The system is envisioned in its broadest sense, from the individual farm, to the local ecosystem, and to communities affected by this farming system both locally and globally. An emphasis on the system allows a larger and more thorough view of the consequences of farming practices on both human communities and the environment. A systems approach gives us the tools to explore the interconnections between farming and other aspects of our environment.

A systems approach also implies interdisciplinary efforts in research and education. This requires not only the input of researchers from various disciplines, but also farmers, farmworkers, consumers, policymakers and others.

Making the transition to sustainable agriculture is a process. For farmers, the transition to sustainable agriculture normally requires a series of small, realistic steps. Family economics and personal goals influence how fast or how far participants can go in the transition. It is important to realize that each small decision can make a difference and contribute to advancing the entire system further on the "sustainable agriculture continuum." The key to moving forward is the will to take the next step.

Finally, it is important to point out that reaching toward the goal of sustainable agriculture is the responsibility of all participants in the system, including farmers, laborers, policymakers, researchers, retailers, and consumers. Each group has its own part to play, its own unique contribution to make to strengthen the sustainable agriculture community.

The full article can be accessed here.

Among the programs Planet Aid sponsors is sustainable farming through its Farmers Club programs in key areas  in the African countries of Mozambique and Malawi. Visit this website to learn more about this and many other programs on sustainability.