Norway and FAO
Partnering to build global food security
Norway and FAO have enjoyed a solid partnership since the Organization was founded in 1945. Cooperation has been directed towards global food security through the eradication of poverty and hunger, including technical development interventions as well as food and agricultural emergency and rehabilitation assistance. Norway generously supports fisheries and aquaculture initiatives, sustainable forest management, and initiatives to mitigate and build resilience to climate change.
CONtACts Director
South-South Cooperation and Resource Mobilization Division
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00153 Rome
Tel: +39 0657055242 E-mail: [email protected]
strategic cooperation
Strategic direction for partnership activities between FAO and Norway is provided by the Framework Agreement on Cooperation in the Field of Development. Through this Agreement, Norway and FAO aim to continue strengthening what is already a solid partnership for achieving the global development goals and other shared objectives, with a particular emphasis on:
Poverty eradication
Prioritization of country-related development needs
Capacity building and institutional development
Sustainable development
Promotion of gender mainstreaming
Promotion of rights-based approaches
The 2015 Annual Consultation on activities carried out under the Framework Agreement covered the following topics:
Food loss and waste
The Right to Food
Blue Growth, a new FAO initiative prioritizing
sustainable fisheries and ocean management to address key challenges of the fisheries and aquaculture sector
Climate-smart agriculture
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scaling up climate-smart agriculture
Climate-smart agriculture is a major area of cooperation between FAO and Norway. Since 2011, with a budget of US$4.77 million, Norway has been supporting an FAO project for monitoring and assessment of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from agriculture as well as potential for mitigation.
Now in its final year, the project has been carried out under the Mitigation of Climate Change in Agriculture (MICCA) Programme in support of climate-smart agriculture. Norway’s input to the monitoring and assessment project, together with support from Germany, was instrumental for the creation of a global database on GHG emissions from agriculture – now incorporated in FAOSTAT. It has also assisted countries in preparing GHG inventories.
Still in the same domain, Norway has contributed
US$1.3 million for scaling up climate-smart agriculture among the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
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Ecosystem approach to fisheries
Under a high-impact five-year project, Norway and FAO are working with the fisheries administrations and institutions of 32 coastal African countries to increase national and regional capacities for fisheries management in marine ecosystems. Funded by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) for a value of more than US$17 million, implementation of this successful project entails close collaboration between the Institute of Marine Research (IMR) of Bergen and FAO.
By promoting an ecosystem approach, the project aims to promote sustainable utilization of marine living resources and protection of the marine environment. Activities include data and sample collection and analyses on aspects such as fish stocks, seawater and seafloor mapping, and a dedicated Survey Information System has been set up for managing biological and environmental data from surveys.
Nominated as an FAO success story in 2012, the EAF-Nansen project is moving into a second phase (2016-2020). Thanks to the Norwegian Government’s decision to fund construction of a new research vessel, as of 2016 a new ship – Dr. Fridtjof Nansen – will be available for survey and research in developing countries.
Humanitarian assistance
As FAO’s work in emergencies is almost exclusively funded from extra-budgetary resources provided by member countries and intergovernmental organizations, resources partners such as Norway are vital for emergency response as well as resilience building and livelihoods recovery. Norway is the third largest contributor – (US$68 million in 2013) – to the Central Emergency Response Fund, a major funding mechanism of which FAO is among the lead recipients.
Joint action for food security
FAO also collaborates with the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), which assists refugees, internally displaced persons and returnees.
NRC is a formal “stand-by partner” with FAO, contributing trained personnel for specific emergency interventions. Such stand-by partnerships provide very valuable support to FAO in preparing and responding to emergencies. For example, within a broader framework involving UN Missions and relevant Country Teams, NRC and FAO have agreed to collaborate in this way in support of food security and livelihoods recovery in the fragile cross-border areas between Côte d’Ivoire and Liberia.
Women’s economic empowerment
Norway’s concern for gender mainstreaming was recently evidenced in its funding of a successful FAO project providing legal education and support to rural women to help them secure and exercise land and resource rights. The aim was to ensure that women have more secure land and resource rights, a greater role in land management decisions and the possibility of using their rights for their own socio-economic advancement as well as that of their families. An impact study of the related projects highlighted the direct match between the activities undertaken and the real needs for such support at the community, district government and other stakeholder levels. Overall, the initiative had a positive impact on the quality of governance and contributed to a greater knowledge of communities’ right.
Forest management and climate change
Norway is a generous contributor to sustainable forest management efforts in Europe and worldwide. It has played a prime role in the Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe (FOREST EUROPE), and has been an advocate for FAO’s lead role in the legally binding agreement (LBA) process.
The country is also among the leading resource partners for joint FAO/UNDP/UNEP activities under the UN-REDD Programme for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation in Developing Countries.
Norway and FAO recently signed a three-year partnership agreement – valued at around US$4.5 million – to improve the
capacity of developing countries to monitor and report on their forest resources and changes in forest area. Activities are designed to facilitate countries’
access to earth observation data sources through a user-friendly system, which FAO initially plans to introduce in 13 countries.
Continuous support to fisheries and aquaculture
Norway is an active member of the FAO Committee on Fisheries and the European Fisheries and Aquaculture Advisory Commission as well as several other major fisheries bodies. It is also a strong supporter of the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries and Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries (the SSF Guidelines).
Norway is currently setting up a new Development Cooperation Programme, “Fish for Development”. Covering highly relevant areas, such as education and research, private sector development and fisheries management – including Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing – this cooperation programme has good potential for enhancing Norway’s cooperation with FAO.
The country currently contributes to a wide range of FAO fisheries and aquaculture projects with financial and data inputs as well as expertise.
“Food security and adequate nutrition for all is where sustainable development starts.”
José Graziano da Silva FAO Director-General
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