BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE The Asia Pacific regional food systems dialogue is being organized in preparation of the Global Food Systems Summit. It will provide insights from the national dialogues that are currently being convened on the five action tracks, and identify opportunities for regional and sub-regional collaboration. It will also consider cross-cutting issues such as digitalization, data, urban agriculture, and women and other vulnerable groups that have emerged as priority areas for action during the recent Asia Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development. A diverse range of stakeholders is expected to participate in order to consolidate regional views, perspectives and experiences regarding pathways and actions for equitable and sustainable food systems transformation to achieve healthy diets for all people in Asia and the Pacific and support the implementation of the SDGs within the context of current realities. TENTATIVE PROGRAMME 13.30 – 14.00 Welcome and Opening (30 min) Ms. Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, Executive Secretary of ESCAP Mr. Jongjin Kim, Assistant Director General, FAO Asia-Pacific Special address: Dr. Agnes Kalibata, Special Envoy for 2021 Food Systems Summit 14.00 – 15.00 Round 1: Messages from the countries (60 min) What are the priority action areas to transform the food systems in A/P along the five action tracks identified for the 2021 Food Systems Summit? Moderator: Dr. David Nabarro Senior Advisor to the Food Systems Summit Dialogues Moderated panel discussion with national dialogue convenors or their representatives Highlights of the national dialogues; what is the buy-in of stakeholders; what is the significance of each Action Track to countries/sub-regions Moderated discussion on the regional issues that emerge (e.g. multiple burdens of malnutrition; climate and pollution issues that cross borders; circular economies etc). Recommendations on developing sub- regional/regional co-operative approaches through the UN, regional bodies etc. 15.00 – 16.00 Round 2: Opportunities for regional action (60 min) What are some cross-cutting areas to accelerate the five action tracks at regional level , including digitization, Data collection, and improved surveillance to monitor nutrition, food security, and livelihood indicators, urban agriculture, social protection systems, and increased access of women. Representatives from global and regional organizations representing a mix of government, civil society, private sector, international organization What are major issues that are possibly being missed in the conversation Will we go back to ‘business as before’ after the pandemic or are there signs of a change to ‘building back greener and better’ with the solutions discussed during the APFSD SDG2 roundtables 16.00 – 16.15 Closing (15 min) Mr. John Aylieff, Regional Director, WFP Regional Bureau for Asia and Pacific Dr. Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director WHO Regional Office for South-East Asia   OUTCOME A meeting report summarizing main messages and recommendations for action at regional level will be prepared and submitted as an input to the Global Food Systems Summit. PARTICIPANTS Government representatives from the Asia Pacific region (national dialogue conveners), United Nations Country Teams, civil society, private sector. PLATFORM Zoom and public screening on YouTube. Dial-in/connection details and information will be sent to registered participants 24 hours before the event via the e-mail provided. CONTACT INFORMATION Ms. Katinka Weinberger, Chief, Environment and Development Policy Section, ESCAP is the focal point. She can be reached via email at escap-edd-edps@un.org. REGISTRATION For registration, please click here (https://forms.office.com/r/LgxXcBYWg8). The registration will be closed on 4 June 2021 at 23.30 (BKK time, UTC +7).

The Inception Workshop of the study titled “A Review of Agricultural and Non-agricultural Real Income for Investigating Food and Nutrition Security Policy in Bangladesh” held on virtually on 11 May, 2021. The Food Planning and Monitoring Unit (FPMU) of the Ministry of Food, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations and the Centre on Integrated Rural Development for Asia and the Pacific (CIRDAP) are jointly organized this Inception Report Workshop. The welcome address of the workshop was provided by Research Director of FPMU Md. Hajiqul Islam and the Chief guest was Dr. Md. Ruhul Amin Talukder, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture. The inception report was presented by Dr. Mohammed Helal Uddin, Director Research, CIRDAP and Professor, Department of Economics, Dhaka University. The virtual workshop was embraced by 77 distinguished participants. The objective of the study is to generate evidence-based information to bridge the knowledge gaps required to produce and formulate pertinent national policies at ease. The workshop is supported by Meeting the Undernutrition Challenge (MUCH) project which is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the European Union (EU).  

UNCTAD Trade, Gender and Development Programme will organize a new edition of its online course from 31 May to 18 July 2021. This course will be offered in English and French. Course participants will have the possibility to take an optional module focused on the Least Developed Countries (LDCs). The course with the optional module will run from 31 May to 25 July 2021. The course targets policymakers, academics from universities and research centres, and representatives of civil society in developing and least developed countries involved in policy formulation and implementation, research, teaching, advocacy or field work in the area of trade and gender. For more information about the online course, click here. If you wish to apply to the course in French, please scroll down. Please note that the recommended browsers to fill out the application form are Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Safari. The deadline for submitting applications is 16 May 2021.

“Transitioning to a green, net-zero emission economy is an inevitable trend and imperative to limiting global warming to 1.5C. This process will not be without challenge, but will certainly bring huge opportunities and benefits in creating jobs, ensuring energy security, and enhancing economic competitiveness and sustainability. Vietnam is determined to follow this path. But we need a suitable roadmap for developing countries where much hardship remains.” – Vietnam President of Nguyen Xuan Phuc. click here to see full article.

President of Indonesia Joko “Jokowi” Widodo attended the Leaders Summit on Climate which was held virtually. On the occasion, the President addressed three issues related to the climate change. First, he emphasized that Indonesia is very serious in controlling climate change and inviting the world to take concrete actions. Second, the President invited world leaders to promote green development for a better world. According to him, Indonesia has updated its nationally determined contribution (NDC) to increase adaptation capacity and climate resilience. Third, to achieve the target of the Paris Agreement and the next shared agenda, President Jokowi expressed views that the global partnership must be strengthened. World countries need to build an understanding and strategies to achieve net-zero emissions and towards the 26th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Climate Change Framework Convention (UNFCCC COP 26) in Glasgow, he added. click here to see the full article.

The UN’s efforts to save the world’s biodiversity, through its Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), have failed repeatedly. Our progress in respect of the “2010 Biodiversity Targets” (2002−2010), “Decade on Biodiversity” (2011−2020), and the “2020 Aichi Biodiversity Targets” is not something to be proud of. Over the last 50 years, for example, the world has lost 35 percent of its wetlands and about 70 percent of mammals, birds and fish populations. Now, one in every eight plant and animal species are counting days to become extinct over the next few decades. Read rest of the op-ed in the link below: click here

“From Afghanistan to Central America, droughts, flooding, and other extreme weather events are hitting those least equipped to recover and adapt”, said the UN agency, which is calling for countries to work together to combat climate change and mitigate its impact on hundreds of millions of people.Since 2010, weather emergencies have forced around 21.5 million people a year to move, on average. Read rest of the news of UNHCR in the link below: click here