This brief is intended to provide general information on the upcoming United Nations Ocean Conference on scaling up ocean actions based on science and innovation for the
implementation of Agenda 2030 - Sustainable Development Goal 14 (SDG 14), with a view to stimulating more active, engaged participation of the Caribbean in the discussions. The
United Nations Ocean Conference will be co-chaired by Kenya and Portugal, and hosted by the Government of Portugal in Lisbon, during 2021. The objective of this conference is consistent with the 2017 UN General Assembly proclamation on the Decade of Oce…
The Caribbean subregion is exceptionally vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and extreme weather events. Vulnerability is a key multidimensional concept at the heart of resilience building, relating to each country’s multiple spatial and socioeconomic risks and conditions. In fact, due to its geographical location and concentration of population and activities in low-lying coastal areas, the Caribbean is the second most hazard-prone region in the world...Moreover, impacts of extreme weather events on Caribbean small economies are of national proportions. For example, in the hurricane s…
The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic affects the activities of the food system (food production, processing, distribution, marketing and consumption) and its outcomes —particularly food security and social well-being. The United Nations Secretary-General has drawn attention to the need for an immediate response to avoid a food crisis. This report, co-edited by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), offers policy recommendations for sustaining demand and administering the food trade during…
Caribbean countries face vulnerabilities that include high exposure to the devastating impact of climate change and natural disasters. At the same time, heavy indebtedness and serious structural and fiscal constraints limit their ability to make adequate investments in climate change adaptation and risk mitigation. As a result, the subregion anticipates with great anxiety the advent of the hurricane season every year which threatens the long-term environmental, economic and social development of Caribbean countries, further compounding their high levels of public debt, limited capacity t…
Los países caribeños enfrentan vulnerabilidades que incluyen la alta exposición al impacto devastador del cambio climático y de desastres naturales. Al mismo tiempo, su alto nivel de endeudamiento y graves nudos estructurales y fiscales limitan su capacidad de invertir de manera adecuada en la adaptación al cambio climático y la mitigación de riesgos. Por ende, todos los años la subregión espera con gran ansiedad el comienzo de la temporada de huracanes que amenaza el desarrollo ambiental, económico y social de largo plazo de los países caribeños y exacerba aún más sus altos niveles de deuda p…
Os países caribenhos enfrentam vulnerabilidades que incluem a alta exposição ao impacto devastador da mudança climática e de desastres naturais. Ao mesmo tempo, seu alto nível de endividamento e graves problemas estruturais e fiscais limitam sua capacidade de investir de maneira adequada na adaptação à mudança climática e mitigação de riscos. Assim, todos os anos a sub-região espera com grande ansiedade o começo da temporada de furacões que ameaça o desenvolvimento ambiental, econômico e social de longo prazo dos países caribenhos e exacerba ainda mais seus altos níveis de dívida pública, sua …
The impacts of COVID-19 are growing daily. The pandemic has triggered not only a health crisis, but also an economic one. Its consequences and duration are still unknown, but we know that its impact on poverty rates and food security has no recent precedent.
In such a scenario – in which achieving economic, social and environmental sustainability is increasingly indispensable for the planet – the agrifood system needs urgent and innovative solutions. In this respect, digitalization is a recommendable path to follow.
Digitization has become a key driver for rural transformation, creating new op…
Los impactos de la COVID-19 crecen a diario. La pandemia ha desatado una crisis no solo sanitaria, sino también económica. Sus consecuencias y duración aún se desconocen, pero sabemos, por ejemplo, que su impacto sobre los índices de pobreza y la seguridad alimentaria no tiene precedente reciente alguno.
En semejante escenario – en el que lograr la sostenibilidad económica, social y ambiental es cada vez más indispensable para el planeta –, el sistema agroalimentario necesita soluciones urgentes e innovadoras. Al respecto, la digitalización es un camino recomendable a seguir.
La digitalización…
La pandemia de la enfermedad por coronavirus (COVID-19) tiene efectos sobre las actividades del sistema alimentario (producción, transformación, distribución, comercio y consumo de alimentos) y sus resultados, sobre todo en términos de seguridad alimentaria y bienestar social. El Secretario General de las Naciones Unidas ha resaltado la necesidad de una reacción inmediata para evitar una crisis alimentaria. Por ello, en este informe, preparado en forma conjunta por la Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL) y la Organización de la Naciones Unidas para la Alimentación y la Ag…
As the pandemic has progressed, governments have had to face new challenges. While countries initially focused on mitigating the effects of severe health restrictions, over the weeks, their attention has shifted to a particularly serious threat: the economic and social crisis. Unfortunately, the outlook is not encouraging.
Resources must be directed to those most affected by this crisis, the vulnerable population, in this case, people without sources of income (the unemployed, the elderly, children and dependents) and informal workers, a group composed mainly of young people, women, migrants a…
Conforme ha progresado la pandemia, los gobiernos han tenido que enfrentar nuevos desafíos. Si en una primera etapa los países se abocaron a mitigar los efectos de las estrictas restricciones sanitarias, con el correr de las semanas su atención se ha desplazado a una amenaza especialmente grave: la crisis económica y social. Los pronósticos, desafortunadamente, no son alentadores.
Los recursos tienen que ser destinados a los principales afectados por esta crisis, la población vulnerable, en este caso las personas sin fuentes de ingreso (desempleados, ancianos, niños, niñas y dependientes) y tr…
If the health and economic crisis triggered by the current pandemic spreads over time, the region as a whole is likely to experience an unprecedented food supply crisis sooner or later. Such a scenario requires that we take the necessary precautions and prepare strategies to deal with a crisis of this magnitude, regardless of whether it eventually happens or not.
Every crisis requires the development of contingency plans, whose primary objective is to predefine and prepare actions in response to the multiple effects of a disaster, catastrophe or crisis. Concerning the current crisis, contingen…
Si la crisis sanitaria y económica desencadenada por la pandemia en curso se extiende en el tiempo, es probable que, tarde o temprano, la región en su conjunto experimente una crisis inédita en materia de abastecimiento de alimentos. Semejante escenario obliga a tomar las previsiones del caso y preparar estrategias que permitan enfrentar una crisis de esa envergadura, sin importar si esta, a fin de cuentas, se materializa o no.
Toda crisis exige desarrollar planes de contingencia, cuyo objetivo primordial es predefinir y preparar las acciones de respuesta a los múltiples efectos de un desastre…
The agrifood sector is key in Latin America and the Caribbean in terms of contribution to the economy and employment generation. Hence, the interruption of food systems normal functioning can have severe consequences on poverty levels and food security. The first case of COVID-19 in the region is still recent, and the fluctuations in agrifood employment are not extreme; even so, we cannot be confident. We must continue to monitor the employment indicators in the sector. Only in this way can we identify the sector’s risks and challenges, and implement early and appropriate measures. It should b…
En esta edición del boletín se analizan los impactos y riesgos del COVID-19 en el mercado laboral agroalimentario y se enuncian algunas propuestas para mitigarlos.…
In this new issue of the bulletin, we analyse health risks to people involved in the food system value chain – from workers to consumers – due to the COVID-19 crisis. Implementing measures to keep workers and consumers from contracting COVID-19 is not enough. It is also imperative to maintain high safety standards in order to keep the spread of foodborne diseases under control and thus prevent them from becoming yet another public health problem.…
En esta edición se analizan los riesgos de salud que afectan a las personas relacionadas con la cadena de valor de los sistemas alimentarios, desde los trabajadores hasta los consumidores, debido a la crisis del COVID-19. En este contexto, no basta con implementar medidas para que trabajadores y consumidores no enfermen de COVID-19, sino que, también, es imperativo mantener altos estándares de inocuidad de modo de mantener a raya la propagación de enfermedades transmitidas por alimentos (ETA) e impedir así, que estas se constituyan en otro problema más de salud pública.…
This edition addresses the risks threatening international agrifood trade in Latin America and the Caribbean. In the previous issue we reviewed the lessons learned by those who have had to manage disasters. We presented a methodology for analysing and managing the crisis in food systems from a disaster risk reduction perspective.…
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