Conservation and Food Sovereignty Workshop Video - Barcelona Oct '08

These 13 short clips document this Alliance workshop, held at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Barcelona in October. The workshop set out to critically analyze the emerging concept of “food sovereignty” as a transformative process that seeks to recreate the democratic realm and regenerate a diversity of autonomous food systems.

In this light, social justice, agro-biodiversity and ecological sustainability were analysed as interrelated phenomena whereby people and local communities empower themselves to protect the space, ability and right to define food, agricultural and land use policies, and their own patterns of food production, distribution and consumption.

Rooting the discussion on indigenous knowledge and sustainable customary practices, the relevance of the “Food Sovereignty” paradigm for conservation and sustainable natural resource use was explored and discussed by panellists and all workshop participants.

The workshop analysed specific examples and case study material to highlight some of the many practical ways in which local, autonomous organizations manage and oversee different links in the food chain-- from seed to plate.

The roles of local and customary organizations in sustaining diverse food systems, livelihoods and environments, in producing knowledge and innovations, and in designing regulatory institutions was analyzed emphasising their contribution to the conservation of biodiversity and ecosystem services as well as to sustainable livelihoods.

The workshop also sought to identify reversals and social actions needed to support locally determined food systems and autonomous organizations for conservation and human well being. Participants were invited to critically reflect on how conservation and environmental sustainability objectives can be met through policies and practices that affirm the values of citizenship, confederalism, inclusion, rights to land and territory, transformed knowledge and practice agro-ecology and ecological literacy, and deepening democracy.

This event was jointly organised by IIED’s Sustainable Agriculture, Biodiversity and Livelihoods program and IUCN’s Commission on Environment, Economic and Social Policy. Highlights of the event can be found in the written summary [PDF 63KB].

For more information, contact Dr. Michel Pimbert: michel.pimbert@iied.org