Sustainable Development Agenda 2030
Goal 2 eradicate world hunger
Sustainable Development Agenda 2030 Goal 2 aims to eradicate world hunger, achieve food security, improve nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture practices.
UNWTO says that the tourism sector can help with this, but I have to disagree with this statement. At least, I don’t see how the industry can help reach the most critical objective: creating a world free of hunger. In my opinion, it can help improve the quality of food. This is possible thanks to the exchange of experiences and the opportunity to meet people from different places around the world.
Why is it essential to address hunger and find solutions to eradicate it?
The UN states that in 2022, approximately 735 million people—or 9.2% of the world’s population—experienced chronic hunger, a staggering rise compared to 2019. This data underscores the severity of the situation, revealing a growing crisis.
In addition, an estimated 2.4 billion people faced moderate to severe food insecurity in 2022. This classification signifies their lack of access to sufficient nourishment. This number escalated by an alarming 391 million people compared to 2019.
Two billion people worldwide do not regularly have access to safe, nutritious, and sufficient food. In 2022, 148 million children had stunted growth, and 45 million children under five were affected by wasting.
It is projected that more than 600 million people worldwide will face hunger in 2030, highlighting the immense challenge of achieving the zero hunger target.
The world is back at the level of hunger that had not been seen since 2005, and food prices remain higher in more countries than in 2015–2019. Along with conflict, climate shocks, and rising cost of living, civil insecurity and declining food production have all contributed to food scarcity and high prices.
Goal 2 targets
Goal 2 of the sustainable developed goals is formed by different targets listed for priority and importance.
2.1 By 2030, end hunger and ensure access by all people, in particular the poor and people in vulnerable situations, including infants, to safe, nutritious and sufficient food all year round.
2.2 By 2030, end all forms of malnutrition, including achieving, by 2025, the internationally agreed targets on stunting and wasting in children under 5 years of age, and address the nutritional needs of adolescent girls, pregnant and lactating women and older persons.
2.3 By 2030, double the agricultural productivity and incomes of small-scale food producers, in particular women, indigenous peoples, family farmers, pastoralists and fishers, (..).
2.4 By 2030, ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and production, that help maintain ecosystems, that strengthen capacity for adaptation to climate change, extreme weather, drought, flooding and other disasters and that progressively improve land and soil quality.
2.5 By 2020, maintain the genetic diversity of seeds, cultivated plants and farmed and domesticated animals and their related wild species, including through soundly managed and diversified seed and plant banks at the national, regional and international levels, and promote access to and fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge, as internationally agreed.
2A Increase investment, including through enhanced international cooperation, in rural infrastructure, agricultural research and extension services, technology development and plant and livestock gene banks in order to enhance agricultural productive capacity in developing countries, in particular least developed countries.
2B Correct and prevent trade restrictions and distortions in world agricultural markets, including through the parallel elimination of all forms of agricultural export subsidies and all export measures with equivalent effect, in accordance with the mandate of the Doha Development Round.
2C Adopt measures to ensure the proper functioning of food commodity markets and their derivatives and facilitate timely access to market information, including on food reserves, in order to help limit extreme food price volatility.
How can tourism sector help?
Target 2.1 By 2030, end hunger and ensure access by all people.
The UNWTO states that tourism is well-positioned to improve access to food for the population. It facilitates the need for more agricultural production to supply local eating establishments and visitors. It can create and diversify demand and support food production, job creation, and intersectoral economic growth, improving access to safe, nutritious, and sufficient food.
Regarding this first target, I am concerned that more food production to supply local eating establishments and visitors will not help.
Also, what will happen if 2020 comes back in any other form or way? What will happen if every travel stops? Will the increased production still exist?
What is the cost of this increased production? What are the environmental and social costs?
Food production is one of the greatest net emitters of greenhouse gases (14-22% CO2), including animal, fertiliser, transportation, and global deforestation—of which 75% is due to developing new farmland (Dr. D Randle, 2013). Our diets, especially meats and beef, may cause more CO2 than industry or transportation (UNFAO, 2006). (earth changers )
Instead, Improving production skills and abilities is a solution. The extra output for the tourism sector should be only an extra, a diversification from the primary market. Every place should be autonomous and independent regarding the basic needs of its population.
My question is, how can this happen? This question is better addressed on the target 2.3.
Target 2.2 By 2030, end all forms of malnutrition.
There are no connections between tourism and this UNWTO’s target of zero hunger.
Target 2.3 By 2030, double the agricultural productivity and incomes of small-scale food producers.
The UN Tourism says that tourism development can contribute to this target by providing and enabling a supportive environment that provides knowledge, productive resources, and opportunities for all small food producers.
I suggest using knowledge and practices to improve local agricultural productivity in terms of quantity and quality. Small-scale food producers are usually much better than big food companies because they live the land, the soil, the place where they cultivate. Food for all does not have to mean poor food.
An example from Earth Changers and The Long Run
In South Africa, Grootbos Private Nature Reserve has created an organic farm, Siyakhula meaning ‘growing the future’, which provides entrepreneurship and enterprise development skills and income for women from the nearby township, as well as supporting food security. In addition, their feeding scheme across their sports programmes and early learning centres has provided 26,544 meals to 3,898 children in the last year.
Target 2.4 By 2030, ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices.
UN Tourism (ex UNWTO) emphasises the severity of climate change impacts on agriculture and rural communities, where adaptation to climate change has become inevitable, especially for farmers in the food production system. The development of tourism can influence farmers to have a more forward-looking strategy, incorporating technology to ensure crop availability through crop planning.
This can lead to securing contracts from tourism businesses such as hotels and restaurants, ensuring long-season supplies. Furthermore, agrotourism can be a way for farmers to diversify their income and reduce risk.
According to Earth Changers, collaboration between the tourism sector and the public sector would bring significant benefits to destinations and the industry as well as the residents of the area, including (Huffington Post, 2013):
– Reduced soil erosion from fertilisers and hydroponics (growing plants without soil, using mineral nutrient solutions in a water solvent).
– Reduced land requirements – 1/14th – with hydroponics.
– Reduced water use by up to 90% with hydroponics.
– Less pollution in the food chain, with less fertiliser use.
– Reduced transport bills – local food covers little distance.
– Local food supply – stronger disaster mitigation and quicker recovery
– Local food supply chain and local economy support via inter-sector linkages.
– Fresher food, better quality, better nutritional value.
– Promote more sustainable menu options for tourists’ better experiences, such as local sustainable seafood over beef.
– Better livelihoods and health for host communities.
Some examples in this case are:
- Chumbe Island in Tanzania, follows these principles.
- At Nikoi Island in Indonesia, the menu is fixed to reduce food waste and focus on seasonality – home-made, organic and guideline-compliant, such as WWF sustainable seafood.
- Lapa Rios in Costa Rica offers a gourmet local culinary experience, developed based on cultural tastes and local and community-planted home-grown produce of Central American endemic fruits and vegetables.
- Jicaro Island Ecolodge also has a strong focus on local ingredients and Nicaraguan cuisine creatively cooked simply by its masterchef.
People have become more interested in how their food is produced, so agritourism or agrotourism is rising. This is travel for the purpose of experiencing agricultural life, living in small communities of rural people, seeing working farms, ranches, or fishermen, and participating in activities such as animal and crop care or wading in the sea with local fishermen hauling in nets.
Host tourism destinations can support local agri-tourism opportunities with market access, logistics, and customer services to increase interest and income in local communities. This will lead to more resilient agriculture, livelihoods, and local pride while enhancing the value of the tourism experience. (Earth Changers )
Target 2.5 By 2020, maintain the genetic diversity of seeds, cultivated plants and farmed and domesticated animals and their related wild species, including through soundly managed and diversified seed and plant banks at the national, regional and international levels, and promote access to and fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge, as internationally agreed.
There are no connections between tourism and this target mentioned by the UNWTO regarding tourism and zero hunger objectives.
Target 2.A. Increase investment to enhance agricultural productive capacity in developing countries, particularly least developed countries.
Target 2.A. Calls for increased investment, including through international cooperation, to enhance agricultural productive capacity in developing countries, particularly LDCs. Tourism is a vehicle for economic diversification and a significant employment engine with a multiplier effect on other sectors contributing to rural development. Tourism development, for example, in rural tourism,54 can foster close coordination between tourism stakeholders in the value chain, including restaurants, logistics, food manufacturers, caterers and local governments, including Destination Management Organisations (DMO) to enhance agricultural productive capacity by bringing in new technologies and infrastructure to the value chain which would increase sustainable production while meeting the demand of the tourism sector and at the same time improve the nutrition of residents and diversifying domestic agriculture through the development of rural infrastructure.
2.B Correct and prevent trade restrictions and distortions in world agricultural markets.
There are no connections between tourism and the UNWTO’s target of zero hunger.
2.C Adopt measures to ensure the proper functioning of food commodity markets in order to help limit extreme food price volatility.
There are no connections between tourism and the UNWTO’s target of zero hunger.
Sources
Sara
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