The second United Nations sustainable development goal is to achieve zero hunger among the global population by 2030. The focus is to reduce the global population of undernourished individuals. The resolve is to address hunger and famine, particularly in developing and underdeveloped countries that have a high record of vulnerable populations. The recognition that malnutrition hinders development informs the UN agenda to attain a world in which there is zero hunger (UN, 2018). Besides, the understanding that extreme hunger has direct relations with environmental degradation and biodiversity loss makes this goal relevant today. The UN envisions a world in which children have access to nutritious food in sufficient quantities for their survival by 2030. By 2030, the UN has set goals to have in which there are no deaths be recorded that results from extreme hunger conditions or malnutrition cases. A key focus area is to address the causes and consequences of drought as a key factor that promotes hunger. Achieving the goal of zero hunger by 2030 will involve supporting farmers to enhance food security. Issues such as access to land are priority areas the UN focuses on to facilitate expanded food production. The UN targets to improve technology use in farming as a measure to promote food security.
The Environment
Environment is the totality of all factors that have an impact, both positive and adverse, on the survival of different organisms. It entails the various physical external surroundings on which both humans and animals depend and derive their livelihoods. The environment includes all elements and factors that have an influence on developments.
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A sustainable environment
A sustainable environment is a state achieved when all developments are undertaken in a manner that satisfies the present generation’s demands and sets safeguards to ensure the future generation benefits from the limited environmental resources, as well. All processes of developments should conform to the principles of inter-generational equity to attain a sustainable environment. A sustainable environment is that in which development partners are keen to adopt a holistic approach with a view of the environment as consisting of related systems. Development partners must embrace the interdependence between diverse elements and processes in the environment. They must embrace an understanding that a negative consequence to one aspect of the environment causes serious effects to the entire system.
A sustainable environment is that which development partners promote social justice based on the acceptance of the central contribution of the recognition of fundamental human rights. It depends on the need to ensure equal opportunities to all members of the society. As a fundamental principle, regards should be on the sustainable management of critical natural resources including land with the focus to preserve them for future generation’s use. Biodiversity conservation is a central element in a sustainable environment. Integration is important to ensure policies and development programs are in cohesion as they serve to promote economic and social goals in the environment. At the center of integration is the principle of public participation in which key development partners, governments and other agencies involve the beneficiaries and consider interests of the public in project implementation.
Hunger and its relation to the sustainable environment
Food insecurity is the key cause of hunger that affects a significant part of the global population. Foods insecurity warrants efforts of diverse development partners to resolve considering its effect on other aspects of the environment such as compromising conservation efforts through deforestation. Food security, therefore, is a critical environmental issue as identified by the UN. Besides, the contemporary effects of climate change on food production demands a multi-sectoral approach to address. Despite a decreasing level of food production because of climate change effects, the global population is expanding and creating more demand for food to feed the growing number of consumers. Achieving an end to hunger demands that development partners at the global, regional, national and local levels work towards setting sustainable food production processes.
Agriculture is among the sectors most affected by climate change. The escalating levels of water scarcity, flooding, and eminent soil erosion, for instance, have significantly reduced agricultural productivity in many parts of the world. Addressing climate change is a critical measure to save the agriculture sector from a further decrease in production. Addressing climate change demands that development should be in consideration of the necessity to attain a balance between the present and future generations’ demands and ability to satisfy their needs. The UN recognizes the need to ensure global cooperation among development partners and ensure minimum greenhouse gas emissions.
Ending hunger demands that governments, especially in developing countries, focus on sustainable agriculture to expand productivity. It demands that governments set policy measures and implement programs to ensure support for small-scale farmers. Sustainable food production demands efforts aimed at supporting pastoralists and fishers to use systems that are sustainable. When global partners join to ensure development processes embrace sustainability principles, climate change will be resolved and its effects on agriculture mitigated. Mitigating climate change impacts of reduced agricultural production serves as a critical measure to promote food security and, consequently, ending hunger.
Causes of Hunger, its outcomes and problems
Although there are diverse causes of hunger such as poverty and political instability, reduced agricultural production because of climate change is the greatest contributor to the problem (UNFCCC, 2018). Climate change is attributed to extreme conditions of weather such as drought that does not support farming. Climate change causes massive desertification and land degradation. The world is experiencing sources of irrigation water drying up and rising sea levels that cause floods. The most affected population are the small-scale farmers in rural areas. Extreme weather events such as massive floods destroy crops and cause a major imbalance in agricultural production cycles. Besides, there are few measures set to promote climate change resilience. Climate change’s effects of agriculture are expansive and, therefore, a major hindrance to efforts aimed at ending hunger in the world.
The outcomes of hunger affect a significant population, globally (Fig. 1).
Fig. 1. The Number of undernourished people, globally. (Source: FAO, 2018).
Hunger causes loss of livelihoods to both pastoralists and farmers. Food prices hikes in the face of reduced agriculture production render many poor families to lack enough food to eat.
Fig. 2: Outcomes of Hunger. (Source: FAO, 2018)
It leaves a high population in the world in need of food aid, which is neither sufficient nor sustainable. Besides, malnutrition is a leading cause of death of children in developing countries (fig, 2). Hunger results in a key problem of poverty and loss of lives.
Solutions and Recommendation to hunger in the society
Achieving a climate change resilient society is a feasible solution to hunger. Governments should coordinate the efforts of deployment partners and community members to implement strategies for climate change adaptation. Adaptation of climate change will enable populations to be resilient and, therefore, less vulnerable to climate change effects that cause food insecurity and hunger. Land use planning is an important strategy that would ensure developers undertake environmental assessments of the anticipated impacts of projects and identify mitigation measures. Governments should set policies demanding developments must conform to standards that will ensure environmental sustainability. Ecosystem protects and natural resource conservation measures are feasible strategies to address climate change effects. Environmental conservation is an imperative measure because it supports other measures aimed at reducing hunger such as reducing the effects of desertification and biodiversity loss.
Communities should adopt agricultural practices that reduce their overreliance on weather patterns that have proved unpredictable. Agricultural production should not be dependent on climate-related fluctuations. This underscores the UN’s target to boost communities’ capacity for adaptation to climate change. Supporting small-scale farmers and pastoralists adopt climate change resilience is a fundamental and feasible strategy aimed to address hunger.
UN Targets for (no hunger) sustainable goal 2, by 2030
The UN has set a target to ensure access to safe, sufficient, and nutritious food for the world population of the poor and individuals in vulnerable conditions including infants. It intends to address the nutritional needs of children aged below five years who are malnourished, adolescent girls, and pregnant and lactating women, and individuals of advanced age. Third, the UN has a target to increase to double the present capacity of agricultural productivity from small-scale farming, which is a fundamental aspect of food production. It will be achievable through expanded access to agricultural inputs and productive resources. Another target is to advance knowledge, markets, and opportunities that aid in value addition (UN, 2018).
Fourth, the UN targets a world population that is aware of and practices sustainable food production as well as embracing resilient agricultural processes. It intends to achieve a state of strengthened adaption to climate change among farmers. By 2030, farmers should be resilient from the effects of extreme weather and calamities including drought and flooding. Fifth, the UN targets that, by 2020, farmers should have access to a diversity of seeds and domesticated animals. The UN further targets to expand investments in agriculture, especially in least developed countries. A fundamental target is to implement the Doha resolutions of less trade restrictions in the global agricultural markets. Finally, there are targets to implement measures aimed at expanding access to the food commodity markets.
References
FAO. (2018). The State Of Food Security And Nutrition In The World: Building Climate Resilience For Food Security And Nutrition. Retrieved from http://www.fao.org/3/I9553EN/i9553en.pdf#page=21
UNFCCC. (2018). UN Warns Climate Change Is Driving Global Hunger . Retrieved from https://unfccc.int/news/un-warns-climate-change-is-driving-global-hunger
United Nations (UN). (2018). Goal 2: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture . Retrieved from https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2016/goal-02/
United Nations (UN). (2018). Goal 2: Zero Hunger . Retrieved from https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/hunger/
