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Politics and Justice without borders Global Dialogue 2007  theme Building global communities for all life
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1.0 World population World populationThe world population is expected to reach eight billion by 2030 and growth in global agriculture will not be sufficient to meet world demand.The Global Community has estimated the world population growth, and assessed future developments in world food production, demand, and consumption. The impacts of global warming on the growth in crop and livestock production, forestry and fisheries, the deceleration of the world population growth rate and the rise in food consumption will contribute to an increase in the demand for food and for food production. Poverty and poor food distribution will continue to limit access to food in many countries. Genetic engineeringThe potential agricultural benefits of genetic engineering were considered. Genetically engineered crops, livestock, and fish were included in this project. The effects of the Global Community policies on the global population trends indicates a drastic slowdown in world population growth. The 2010 population level was obtained to be 7.6 billion. This recalibration in population level is due in part to changes in the world population growth rate, which has fallen from 2.1 percent per year in the later half of the 1960's to 1.3 percent in the late 1990's. This growth rate is predicted to continue dropping over the next three decades, reaching 0.8 percent by 2030. By 2050 the global population growth rate is expected to have dropped as low as 0.4 percent. Food ConsumptionConcurrent with a decreasing population growth rate, individual food consumption rates (measured as Kcal/person/day) will continue to rise in developing countries. The percent of the world's undernourished has been dropping since the late 1960s. Projections of food consumption will continue to rise in developing countries over the next 30 years, moving from an average of 2626 kcal in the 1990s to 3000 kcal in 2015. The average daily consumption rate in developing countries is expected to exceed 3000 kcal by 2030. By 2015, 22 percent of the world population will still live in countries with very low food consumption levels (under 2200 kcal). High rates of undernourishment will be most pronounced in sub-Saharan Africa. Leading causes of continued problems in food availability: a) global warming, Food ProductionThe Global Community believes that at the world level, there will not be sufficient agricultural production to meet increases in demand over the next thirty years. By 2030, climate change due to global warming will start having significant impacts on food prodution and crop production in developing countries is projected to be significantly less than in the 1990s. The rate of annual growth in global crop production is expected to decrease over the next 30 years relative to those advances seen in the previous 30. Sustainable food security at the individual, household, national, regional and global levels is a primordial huam right.The Global Community reaffirms the right of everyone to have access to safe and nutritious food, consistent with the right to adequate food and the fundamental right of everyone to be free from hunger.All Peoples of the Global Community pledge the political will and common commitment to achieving food security for all and to an ongoing effort to eradicate hunger in all countries, with an immediate view to reducing the number of undernourished people to half their present level no later than 2015. It is not right that more than 800 million people throughout the world, and particularly in developing countries, do not have enough food to meet their basic nutritional needs. This situation is unacceptable. Constraints on access to food and continuing inadequacy of household and national incomes to purchase food, instability of supply and demand, as well as natural and man-made disasters, prevent basic food needs from being fulfilled. The problems of hunger and food insecurity have global dimensions and are likely to persist, and even increase dramatically in some regions, unless urgent, determined and concerted action is taken, given the anticipated increase in the world's population and the stress on natural resources. The Global Community believes that a peaceful, stable and enabling political, social and economic environment is the essential foundation which will enable communities all over the world to give adequate priority to food security and poverty eradication. Democracy, promotion and protection of all human and Earth rights and fundamental freedoms, including the right to development, and the full and equal participation of men and women are essential for achieving sustainable food security for all.
Poverty is a major cause of food insecurity and sustainable progress in poverty eradication is critical to improve access to food. Conflict, terrorism, corruption and environmental degradation also contribute significantly to food insecurity. Increased food production, including staple food, must be undertaken. This should happen within the framework of world sustainable management  ofA) natural resources, The Global Community recognizes the fundamental contribution to food security by women, particularly in rural areas of developing countries, and the need to ensure equality between men and women. Revitalization of rural areas must also be a priority to enhance social stability and help redress the excessive rate of rural-urban migration confronting many countries. The Global Community realizes how urgent it is of taking action now to fulfil our responsibility to achieve food security for present and future generations. Attaining food security is a complex task for which the primary responsibility rests with individual governments. They have to develop an enabling environment and have policies that ensure peace, as well as social, political and economic stability and equity and gender equality. The Global Community expresses our deep concern over the persistence of hunger which, on such a scale, constitutes a threat both to national societies and, through a variety of ways, to the stability of the Global Community itself. Food should not be used as an instrument for political and economic pressure. The Global Community reinstates the importance of global cooperation and solidarity as well as the necessity of refraining from unilateral measures not in accordance with the international law and the Charter of the Global Community and that endanger food security. Action Plan of the Global Community* promote policies conducive to investment in human resource development, research and infrastructure for achieving food security; Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life. In this regard, concerted action at all levels is required. Each nation must adopt a strategy consistent with its resources and capacities to achieve its individual goals and, at the same time, cooperate regionally and globally in order to organize collective solutions to global issues of food security. In a world of increasingly interlinked institutions, societies and economies, coordinated efforts and shared responsibilities are essential. Poverty eradication is essential to improve access to food. The vast majority of those who are undernourished, either cannot produce or cannot afford to buy enough food. They have inadequate access to means of production such as land, water, inputs, improved seeds and plants, appropriate technologies and farm credit. In addition, wars, civil strife, natural disasters, climate related ecological changes and environmental degradation have adversely affected millions of people. Although food assistance may be provided to ease their plight, it is not a long term solution to the underlying causes of food insecurity. It is important to maintain an adequate capacity in the international community to provide food aid, whenever it is required, in response to emergencies. Equitable access to stable food supplies should be ensured. A peaceful and stable environment in every country is a fundamental condition for the attainment of sustainable food security. Governments are responsible for creating an enabling environment for private and group initiatives to devote their skills, efforts and resources, and in particular investment, towards the common goal of food for all. This should be undertaken with the cooperation and participation of all members of society. Farmers, fishers and foresters and other food producers and providers, have critical roles in achieving food security, and their full involvement and enablement are crucial for success. Poverty, hunger and malnutrition are some of the principal causes of accelerated migration from rural to urban areas in developing countries. The largest population shift of all times is now under way. Unless these problems are addressed in an appropriate and timely fashion, the political, economic and social stability of many countries and regions may well be seriously affected, perhaps even compromising world peace. It is necessary to target those people and areas suffering most from hunger and malnutrition and identify causes and take remedial action to improve the situation. A more complete, user-friendly source of information at all levels would enable this. Availability of enough food for all can be attained. The 6.5 billion people in the world today have, on average, 25 percent more food per person than the global population of 4 billion people had 20 years ago. Yet, further large increases in world food production, through the sustainable management of natural resources, are required to feed a growing population, and achieve improved diets. Increased production, including traditional crops and their products, in efficient combination with food imports, reserves, and international trade can strengthen food security and address regional disparities. Food aid is one of the many instruments which can help to promote food security. Long term investment in research and in cataloguing and conserving genetic resources, particularly at the national level, is essential. The link between sufficient food supplies and household food security must be ensured. Harmful seasonal and inter-annual instability of food supplies can be reduced. Progress should include targeting on minimizing the vulnerability to, and impact of, climate fluctuations and pests and diseases. To effect timely transfers of supplies to deficit areas and the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, use should be made, in efficient combination, of climate early warning systems, transfer and utilization of appropriate agricultural,2 fishery and forestry technologies, production, and reliable trade, storage and financial mechanisms. Natural and man-made disasters can often be anticipated or even prevented, and response must be timely and effective and assist recovery. Unless national governments and the international community address the multifaceted causes underlying food insecurity, the number of hungry and malnourished people will remain very high in developing countries, particularly in Africa south of the Sahara; and sustainable food security will not be achieved. This situation is unacceptable.The Global Community envisages an ongoing effort to eradicate hunger in all countries, with an immediate view to reducing the number of undernourished people to half their present level no later than 2015, and a mid-term review to ascertain whether it is possible to achieve this target by 2010. The resources required for investment will be generated mostly from domestic private and public sources. The international community has a key role to play in supporting the adoption of appropriate national policies and, where necessary and appropriate, in providing technical and financial assistance to assist developing countries and countries with economies in transition in fostering food security. Reaching sustainable world food security is part and parcel of achieving the social, economic, environmental and human development objectives agreed upon in recent international conferences. Back to top of page
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