In 1999, at the 25th session of the CFS, the Committee discussed "BROADENED PARTICIPATION OF CIVIL SOCIETY AND OTHER PARTNERS IN THE WORK OF THE COMMITTEE ON WORLD FOOD SECURITY...

As I move forward with my PhD research, and dive deep into the literature, I hope to start posting more thoughts and relevant analysis linking academic theories and findings to what we see happening in global food security governance and world food security policy. I am reading through an academic forum on limitations and blind spots within global governance literature and came across an interesting section related to the engagement and participation of the Global South/ third world. Global governance scholars are quick to suggest that global governance is an inherently Western concept that is difficult to translate out of the English context and for this, and other reasons, the processes which it describes are those developed and favoured by the West, which exclude the South.

This afternoon I will be giving a talk titled "World Food Security, Pastoralism and Governance: Reflections on global food security, governance and participation in the wake of the 2007-2008 food...

Woman Pastoralist (Image from www.maragindia.org)
Yesterday the Mera Declaration was adopted by the Global Gathering of Women Pastoralists.  I facilitated the Declaration working and drafting group and I can say that the women worked hard to ensure that the declaration addressed all of the key issues facing women pastoralists today. The result is a declaration outlining their commitment to continue to protect ecological biodiversiy and to forward equitable and just pastoralist societies.

“Pastoralist societies face more threats to their way of life now than at any previous time. Population growth; loss of herding lands to private farms, ranches, game parks, and urban areas; increased commoditization of the livestock economy; out-migration by poor pastoralists; and periodic dislocations brought about by drought, famine, and civil war are increasing in pastoralist regions of the world.” Fraktin, Elliot. 1997. “Pastoralism: Governance and Development Issues” in Annual Review of Anthropology. 26:235-261.

From the newsletter of the Working Group on Agrarian Reform and Territory, of the International Planning Committee for Food Sovereignty - IPC: How to participate in the Online Consultation of Civil Society Organizations´ Proposals to the FAO Guidelines on Responsible Governance of Land and Natural Resources Tenure Following the process for the elaboration of the civil society document set out by the International Facilitating Team at the beginning of 2010, the drafting committee has prepared the first draft for wide consultation. The document has been drafted based on the outcomes on the four regional consultations held in Kuala Lumpur, Brasilia, Rome and Nyèlèni and on the inputs collected through an online questionnaire. The reports of these four CSO consultations can be found elsewhere on the website.

This month I will be headed to India to support the work of the Global Gathering of Women Pastoralists. I will be doing my best to blog regularly from the Gathering. ...

Three Civil Society representatives are presenting the Civil Society Mechanism (CSM) to mediate their participation as participants in the UN Committee on World Food Security (CFS). I have outlined the mechanism...