“Each and every perspective of the different partners of development has to be considered when dealing with sustainable development.” – Eve Crowley

In this interview, Eve Crowley, Task Manager of Chapter 14 of Agenda 21 at FAO, reviews the failures of the agenda for sustainable development set in Rio de Janeiro 10 years ago. She points out the challenges that should be confronted at the Johannesburg Summit and explains why agriculture has a crucial role in reaching the objectives of Rio.

What results can we expect from the World Summit on Sustainable Development to be held in Johannesburg this coming September?

This is a challenging question. Given that more than 65,000 people are meeting in Johannesburg, representing not only governmental and intergovernmental organizations but also civil society, the event emerges as a unique occasion to reaffirm the commitments of Agenda 21 and to identify new ways of working in collaboration for the objectives set 10 years ago. Three concrete results should come out of the summit: The first is a political declaration for which the outline already exists, based on key concepts such as sustainability, interdependence, participation and equity. The second, which remains harder to define, is a plan of action to transform Agenda 21 into reality, the tenets considered still valid and with new areas yet to be defined. This plan of action must be based on concrete measures to reach the objectives set out initially, towards which meagre progress has been made so far. The plan should set out measures with specific time frames, for which governments and development partners can pledge themselves, and this should be monitored and evaluated at all times. Within this framework, the eradication of poverty, for example, is one of the key areas. Another is the change of production patterns and unsustainable consumption (including new aspects such as sources of renewable energy, which did not receive much attention 10 years ago), the protection and management of natural resources, and economic and social development. Other areas that need attention include health, island states and sustainable initiatives for Africa. All this must be placed within the context of globalization, which is different from that of 10 years ago, and the results of new world conferences such as Monterrey have to be taken into account when defining an action plan, which will also have to embrace themes related to international commerce, education, information technologies and participatory partnerships. One of the main shortcomings at the Rio summit was that these documents were not accompanied by a financial commitment; this is another area this summit must confront.

Political declarations and plans of action are the classic results of world conferences. What can the third document tell us, the one involving civil society?

The third result, called Type 2 outcomes, is an innovative approach. This collection of initiatives will mix all the voices of civil society, and it is here that the main fears reside. The positive side of this initiative is that it offers new opportunities to establish voluntary partnerships with groups of actors in development that normally do not have the occasion to meet together to tackle a particular problem within a set time frame. In some cases, these actors have maintained a dialogue for one or two years, on topics ranging from renewable energy to agriculture and water issues. The debate is open. These partnerships also offer an opportunity to mobilize financial resources and exert pressure for political commitment. The main protests in this regard emerge from the fact that the financial resources will probably end up being channelled towards the non-negotiated plan of action, and therefore the official negotiated documents will not be adequately financed. Personally, I believe that much still remains to be improved in these types of initiatives by civil society, especially in defining the ‘rules of the game’ to ensure that partners are on an equal footing. Nevertheless, I believe that we have taken some steps in this direction and that these forums have already received valid recognition throughout the world. In addition, the idea is widely accepted that some of the most pressing global problems of today can be resolved only through committed and carefully monitored multiple partnerships with appropriate resources.

What level of compromise needs to be reached in Johannesburg in order to avoid the same pitfalls of Rio?

The failure to turn the Rio agenda into reality is due to diverse factors and has a different impact on each region of the world. On many occasions, the problems involve the growth rates of the population or reduction of natural resources, and from this perspective Rio does not necessarily need to be considered a fiasco. But there are sectors in which the agenda can be improved and there is a need for effective debate on the measures to carry out the commitments. Without a doubt, new financial resources are indispensable for sustainable development. In addition, there is a need to define effective measures in matters of new environmental technologies, education, and create awareness on sustainable development issues. If we look back on the hopes that were placed on Rio 10 years ago, we can say that some progresses were made, but many things still need to be changed. And today there are multiple voices indicating the way to accomplish this: the voices of civil society that have taught us, among other things, to recognize our own failures. The participation of civil society, it is said, can also apply significant pressure on governments, making use of their complementarity. Governments will change 10 years from now, making it the task of civil society to evaluate and monitor successes and failures in pursuing the goals to be set in Johannesburg. It is civil society, and especially youth, that can provide long-term visions.

What part is the FAO taking in the preparation of the summit?

The World Summit of Sustainable Development is a worldwide event organized by the United Nations, with a secretariat and different representatives from governments working in close collaboration. In four preparatory conferences, the documents that will make up the final result were drawn up. FAO is working on four of the chapters of the agenda: chapter 10 (land), 11 (deforestation), 13 (mountains) and 14 (sustainable agriculture and rural development). (See FAO's Contribution to WSSD) The organization is undertaking major efforts to encourage a participatory summit, urging civil society to advocate for agriculture as one of the key areas of Agenda 21. Thanks to our joint work with civil society and key governments, today we can say that agriculture has been recognized for its crucial role in sustainable development. The three pillars of sustainable development are economic sustainability, environmental sustainability and social sustainability. The challenge now is to place agriculture across these three dimensions. Therefore, the aim is not simply to improve agricultural productivity but rather to do so in a manner that is environmentally and socially sustainable (and all this is related to institutional reform, social protection and participation). The technical parts of the agenda are equally important, for example, the International Treaty on Genetic Resources has to be ratified so that the world can benefit from these agreements. In addition, FAO is fighting to reduce world hunger. We want to be sure that the issue of hunger is confronted because it is both a consequence as well as a cause of poverty. The so-called “initiatives” are also being led by FAO, as well as everything related to sustainable agriculture. The initiative SARD (Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development) focuses on three aspects: access to resources, fair employment conditions (this was one of the downfalls of Rio, a concern which has come to light only in the last few years and which has a great deal to do with land tenure and market access), and good practices for sustainable agriculture and rural development.

How will agricultural best practices be spread?

We have numerous successful experiences, but this information must be disseminated. This is also one of the challenges that became clear only in the last few years: the need to create networks to transform the successful local experiences into global knowledge. For this, indigenous communities must also be strengthened, giving them the capacity to communicate, enabling them to participate and negotiate effectively in policy making and access markets. Dialogue must be promoted on a global level. For this, we need to spur the creation of networks such as the UN System Network on Rural Development and Food Security, since, without the existence of networks, it will never be possible to take the step from partner initiatives to forming true partnerships. These types of networks are also particularly important because they provide the co-ordination mechanisms of key areas of rural development at the national level. This network offers a unique opportunity to take local initiatives to the national and global level and to facilitate exchanges between communities, countries and regions.

What is the role of each of the development partners for sustainable development?

Each partner offers a new perspective, capacity and comparative advantage for working towards sustainable development. Poverty has to be faced from a multitude of vantage points. Indigenous peoples, for example, offer a unique viewpoint on the potential to achieve sustainable development in spite of having remained mostly invisible at international conferences and in national-level decision making so far.

In the terms of action, what are the priorities, in your opinion, that should be established to approach a field as broad as that of sustainable development?

We must go to Johannesburg not simply to sit at a table to say that things have not gone well since Rio. Actions must be outlined to be followed day by day with the appropriate financial resources allocated for these. Monterrey showed us the path to find these new resources, but now we need to know how to apply them. And for this, we need concrete commitments and concrete results.