Agriculture and food systems are at the centre of the debates around post-2015 development goals and targets. Hunger and food insecurity remain major development priorities, made worse by climate change, price volatility in globalised food markets and over-consumption in wealthy countries. Existing agriculture and food systems are central to sustaining poor people’s livelihoods and are technically capable of producing adequate food for all, but they place major stress on environmental assets including soils, water, fisheries and biodiversity. Post-2015 goals and agendas need to support a transformation of food systems to make them more productive, environmentally sustainable and resilient while preserving and enhancing these livelihood benefits. The agroecological and agroindustrial technical solutions to that challenge are well advanced, but the systemic political, economic and social barriers to change are substantial and under-appreciated.

Agriculture and food systems for a sustainable future: an integrated approach
Agriculture and food systems are at the centre of the debates around post-2015 development goals and targets. Hunger and food insecurity remain major development priorities, made worse by climate change, price volatility in globalised food markets and over-consumption in wealthy countries. Existing agriculture and food systems are central to sustaining poor people’s livelihoods and are technically capable of producing adequate food for all, but they place major stress on environmental assets including soils, water, fisheries and biodiversity.

The fourth informal meeting of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) to define the format and organizational aspects of the high-level political forum (HLPF) took place at UN Headquarters in New York, US, on 11 April 2013. A brief IISD RS summary of the meeting is available at: http://uncsd.iisd.org/news/unga-informals-consider-hybrid-option-for-hlpf/

An expert group meeting to discuss the High-level Political Forum (HLPF) took place at UN Headquarters in New York, US, on 3-4 April 2013. The meeting addressed seven topics in order to provide “thinking on the various aspects of the HLPF and its role in the wider institutional framework for sustainable development."

The third informal consultation of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) to discuss the High Level Political Forum (HLPF) took place at UN Headquarters in New York, US, on 21 March 2013. Member States continued to discuss the format and organizational modalities of the Forum.

UNGA Holds Third Informal Consultation on HLPF - Sustainable Development Policy & Practice
The third informal consultations of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) to discuss the High Level Political Forum (HLPF) took place at UN Headquarters in New York, US, on 21 March 2013. Member States continued to discuss the format and organizational modalities of the Forum, working from documents compiled by the co-facilitators, and from the UN Secretary-General’s report on “Lessons Learned from the Commission on Sustainable Development” (CSD).

IISD Reporting Services (IISD RS) covered the First Session of the UN General Assembly Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals on March 14-15, 2013. The IISD RS summary of the meeting can be found at: http://www.iisd.ca/sdgs/owg1/

IISD RS @ First Session of the OWG of the UNGA on SDGs, 14-15 March 2013, New York, US

On 30 January 2013, during the first informal meeting of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) on establishing the High-level Political Forum on sustainable development (HLPF), Member States and Permanent Observers convened to discuss its format and organizational aspects. The IISD Reporting Services Summary of this meeting is available at:
nhttp://uncsd.iisd.org/news/un-member-states-begin-negotiations-on-hlpf/#more-181012

UN Member States Begin Negotiations on HLPF - Sustainable Development Policy & Practice
In the first informal meeting of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) on establishing the High-level Political Forum on sustainable development (HLPF), Members States and Permanent Observers discussed the format and organizational aspects of the Forum.

States Hold Second Meeting on Format, Organizational Aspects of HLPF - Sustainable Development Policy & Practice
UN Member States and Permanent Observers discussed further the format and organizational aspects of the High-level Political Forum (HLPF), in the second open-ended informal meeting convened by the two co-facilitators for the process, Cesare Maria Ragaglini, Permanent Representative of Italy, and Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti, Permanent Representative of Brazil. The meeting took place at UN Headquarters in New York, US, on 1 March 2013.