RRI, Oxfam Dialogue Highlights Linkages between Forestry, Climate Change and Food Security Issues

9 September 2011: The Tenth Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI) Dialogue, which convened from 7-8 September 2011, in The Hague, the Netherlands, focused on common approaches to dealing with the challenges of food security and climate change.

The Dialogue brought together individuals from the forestry, agriculture, climate change and food security communities to engage in discussions and breakdown sectoral knowledge “silos.” Participants convened in five panel sessions and held discussions on: global challenges and responses in forests and agriculture; the current status of rights, livelihoods and governance in the world’s rural and forest areas; the role and interface of agriculture and forests in mitigating and adapting to climate change; actions to meet food security needs in the context of large-scale investments, small-holder production and community forestry; and emerging common approaches to address challenges.

Participants included representatives from governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the private sector, international organizations and the academic community. The Dialogue was organized by RRI and Oxfam International and sought to influence policy dialogues in fora including the Committee on Food Security, the Working Group of the G20 Food Security pillar, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change's (UNFCCC) 17th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP), the 2012 International EcoAgriculture Conference, the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20), and the 2012 follow-up to The Hague Global Conference on Agriculture, Food Security and Climate Change.