food securit y
food securit y
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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