G20 Foundation Publications Russia 2013 | Page 82

food securit y food securit y 83 82 Investing in natural capital for food security Henry David Venema, Director Natural Resources & Water Innovation Centre, International Institute for Sustainable Development The G20’s continued commitment to food security should remain a priority for obvious humanitarian reasons, what may be less obvious is the extraordinary opportunity addressing food security represents - if and only if investors understand food security in context and the crucial link to Natural Capital. Food Security does not exist in isolation. In 2011, the World Economic Forum put the Water-Energy-Food security nexus concept on the table, arguing it was wrong-headed and risked serious consequence to tackle any of one of water, energy or food security as independent issues. Water, energy and food security interact positively and negatively through numerous pathways including drought and flooding, fossil fuel subsidies, irrigation, bioenergy, and power production. Fine you say, these risks are indeed correlated but how do we respond when the complexity is great and defeats conventional - invariably siloed - decision-making and programming. The answer is straightforward but nonetheless a challenge for conventional governance; invest in place, invest in the Natural Capital of place, invest in the local stewards of Natural Capital. The term ‘Natural Capital’ refers to natural biophysical assets (soil, air, water, flora and fauna), and their ecosystem services - food, fibre, clean water, health, energy, climate security - that make human life possible. The small-scale agriculturalists where food security investments should be focused benefit from increased agricultural productivity, moreover, they are the stewards of n