1. The Right to Food, Food Security and Biodiversity Conservation
Kerstin Mechlem
Legal Officer
Development Law Service
Legal Office, FAO
IUCN World Conservation Congress
19 November 2004

2. 842 million hungry § Right to Food
International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture,
Voluntary Guidelines for the Right to Food, …

3. Outline I. The Right to Food and Food Security
II. Biodiversity for the Right to Food
III. The Right to Food for Conservation

4. I. The Right to Food (RtF)
Right of everyone to have
and economic access
at all times
to sufficient, safe and acceptable food
or means for its procurement
in a sustainable manner
Right to adequate food

5. State Obligations
respect
Protect
fulfil
facilitate
Provide $

6. Food Security
1970s: availability of world supplies of basic food stuffs
1980s: access by individuals
Later: health, nutrition
Now: World Food Summit definition:
'Food security, at the individual, household, national, regional and global levels is achieved 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.'

7. Realizing the RtF means:
Human dignity – individuals as agents of change
Accountability
Empowerment
Non-discrimination
Participation and transparency
Legal framework and recourse mechanisms
Focus on most vulnerable and marginalized
Rights, not charity

8. Implementing the RtF
Voluntary Guidelines on the Progressive Realization of the Right to Food, September 2004
First time governments negotiated implementation of a social right
Wide set of measures: food strategies, market systems, institutions, legal frameworks, food safety, nutrition, safety nets and, ecological sustainability and access to natural resources, including genetic resources for food and agriculture

9. II. Biodiversity for the RfF
Agriculture: 40% of surface of Earth
Contributions of Agrobiodiversity:
Future productivity
Adaption to local needs
Protection against starvation
Nutrition, …

10. Current situation
4 plant species (wheat, maize, rice and potato) > ½ of plant-based calories
12 animals species: 90% animal protein
Over last century ¾ of genetic diversity of agricultural crops lost; of 6300 animal breeds, 1350 endangered or already extinct
Risk of further loss of diversity and local knowledge
Measures to counter this trend:
organic and conservation agriculture, Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture

11. III. RtF for Conservation
Majority of poor and hungry (798 million) in rural areas - they shoulder disproportionately effects of env. degradation (draughts)
Env. degradation affects a number of human rights (life, health, water, …) and is a cause of food insecurity
… and affects a number of human rights (Ogoni decision)
Poverty, in turn, also generates env. degradation
– when immediate needs take precedence ove longer-term goals –

12. Wide set of measures necessary to break vicious cycles
Voluntary Guidelines on the Right to Food
Trade-offs necessary in some cases
→ need to improve realization of RtF and to lift people out of poverty to enable focus on longer-term conservation issues

13. Conclusions and Way Forward
Every human being has a rtf.
Safeguarding and using agricultural biodiversity play an important role in improving the realization of the rtf.
In turn, the realization of fundamental human rights, such as the rtf, is necessary to enable people to care about the sustainability of their livelihood practices.
Ample room for human rights and env. organizations to join forces for the benefit of both

14. Thank you! Further Information: kerstin.mechlem@fao.org