Informed Decision Making on Arab food security within the context of climate change

Arab region is facing an array of economic, political, and security challenges resulting in natural and environmental changes and dietary transitions. Food security remains a major developmental challenge that the region needs to address . In response, UN- ESCWA in partnership with FAO, the Arab Organization for  Agriculture Development (AOAD), and the Arab Center for the Studies of Arid Zones and Dry Lands (ACSAD), is implementing an initiative on promoting food and water security in the Arab region with support from Sida. This initiative supports Arab countries in formulating strategies and developing plans through enhanced knowledge and development of related evidence and science. 

In this respect, ESCWA organized a side event on “Informed decision making on Arab food security within the context of climate change” on Tuesday 15 October 2019, on the sidelines of the 46th session of the Committee on World Food Security held at FAO headquarters in Rome from 14-18 October 2019. The side event aimed to highlight the tools available for decision makers to track the status of food security in the Arab Region and to assess of the impact of climate change on the agricultural sector within the framework of 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and related Arab strategies and initiatives.

The side event brought together about 60 government representatives from the Arab Region along with regional and international experts in the fields of food security, members of the academia, experts, and representatives of regional and international organizations. The following issues were discussed:
Successful partnership to bridging the Science-Policy Gap for enhanced Food Security in the Arab Region and addressing challenges related to food security and climate change within the framework of 2030 Agenda for SD and related Arab strategies and initiatives.

• Tool available for decision makers to track the status of food security in the Arab Region to be used to identify areas of policy intervention across the four dimensions of food security
• Tool used to assess of the impact of climate change on the agricultural sector using the Aquacrop model and Riccar climate data to provide the scientific analysis and evidence that informs national policy makers
• Review of countries on work undertaken to enhance national Food security and means used to draw upon data and scientific evidence from the initiative to inform country decision making and region resilience to climate change in the agricultural sector.