Faith communities & resilient frontliners responding to the nexus of food-water-climate change

Date: 09 December 2023 at SE Room 3, COP28 Blue Zone
Time: 15:00 – 16:30 UAE Time

Climate change cannot be addressed in isolation. The nexus between food, sustainable agriculture, water and climate change is evident. Faith communities as well as women farmers have shown resilience and nature-based solutions. The event will showcase these good practices.

Speakers: Rev. Dr Prof. Jerry Pillay, General Secretary, World Council of Churches Prof. Pedro Arrojo-Agudo, UN Special Rapporteur for Water. Precious Phiri, Zimbabwe, EWR Vandana Shiva, India, Navdanya International Debbie Barker, US, coordinator, IACA Dinesh Suna, Switzerland, WCC-EWN.

Concept:

Climate change cannot be addressed in isolation. The nexus between food, sustainable agriculture, water and climate change is evident from both scientific data and as well as life experiences of communities from different regions of the world. More often than not, climate change manifests its impacts through water, the source and sustenance of all life on earth– by either the lack of it (drought) or its excessive presence (floods). The fossil fuel dependent economy together with unsustainable land use, industrial agriculture and livestock rearing, compounded by our over-consumption and greed has accelerated climate change. This in turn has increased the frequency of extreme weather events including hurricanes, sea level rise, erratic rainfall, droughts, and wildfires, among others. All these are threatening the lives and livelihoods of many, aggravating food shortages and increasing water stress on more and more countries, especially among the world’s poorest people. The spiral of these impacts is further and permanently destroying biodiversity. It is evident that water is intrinsically related to poverty, food production, energy, industry, health, education, gender, peace building and many other concerns.

In our quest for securing the livelihood of marginalised communities, we as faith communities are called to safeguard the earth’s resources towards a sustainable future. Spiritual values for more than 80% of the people living on earth are driving individual behaviours. In many countries, spiritual beliefs and religions are main drivers for cultural values, social inclusion, political engagement, and economic prosperity. Faith communities are driven by the moral imperative to care for creation and address issues of water, food and climate change with a justice and human rights perspective. As partners in resilience and response, they have demonstrated the potential to engage in robust advocacy driven climate-related dialogue, and rally support for global solidarity through localized faith action on mitigation and adaptation.

In this proposed side event, we will showcase various good practices in the field of right to water, food sovereignty and climate justice, led by the faith communities. The event will also feature farmers from around the globe who are farming in ways to better ensure climate and food security. Learn about diverse ways of farming that provide resilience for communities in times of climate change and hear from women and youth inspiring local solutions with global impact. Intergenerational actors including children, youth and young adults are important stakeholders in this process. We will explore the nexus between these three areas and come up with a joint plan of action to curb these issues that through their inter-connectedness, influence and aggravate one other.

This nexus aspect must get the much needed leverage within the UNFCCC processes, particularly during the COPs, which in turn will receive a huge impetus from the faith community who are engaged in the water and food sector .