Food security facing climate change
Climate change challenges necessarily require a global approach that integrates adaptation and mitigation, involving all partners. This was the very statement that the OSS Executive Secretary, Mr. Nabil Ben Khatra, took to start his intervention during the “The challenges of vulnerability, food security and avenues for adaptation" side-event, organized at the Francophonie Pavilion by the Tunisian Ministry of the Environment and the International Labour Organization (ILO).
Mr. Ben Khatra insisted on the importance of advocacy, awareness-raising and communication as major societal issues and declared that despite the alarming climate projections, the achievements and the voices of commitment are true signs of hope. The ES then recalled that, to face these environmental crises, it is imperative to mobilize the relevant stakeholders and the necessary funds to come up with the adequate changes to face the problem. Mr. Ben Khatra gave the example of oasis systems whose resilience is lying under stress due to increasing climate and anthropogenic pressures.
Indeed, many regions are very close to the breaking point of irreversible degradation. The ES explained that it is in this context that we recommended the food security, water and energy nexus approach as a management model. At the same time, value chains provide crucial opportunities to reduce pressures by improving and diversifying sources of income. Mr. Ben Khatra concluded his speech by emphasizing the importance of joining efforts in order to build a more resilient future to face climate challenges.