Youth, agriculture and COP18: Time to engage!

COP18 for Dummies

COP18 is the 18^th edition of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). They meet annually to assess progress in dealing with climate change.

There are now 195 parties to the convention taking part in climate change negotiations. All parties to the UNFCCC are represented at the COP. During the conference, they review the implementation of the convention and any other legal instruments that the COP adopts. They furthermore take decisions to promote the effective implementation of the convention.

For instance, in 2010, governments agreed that emissions needed to be reduced so that global temperature increases could be limited to below 2 degrees Celsius.

The Asia-Pacific UN regional Group is the next host of the Conference of the Parties. It is taking place from November 26 to December 7, 2012 in Doha, Qatar.

Read more about what COP is on COP18 website.

Youth in Agriculture: what’s there for you?

You probably know better than anyone why Climate Change issues need to be addressed within the frame of the agricultural sector. Agriculture needs to have its space at the negotiation table at COP18 in order to influence effective implementation of solutions focusing on agricultural activities.

There are key sessions where your voice as a professional in agricultural-related topics would bring much water to the mill in order to influence decisions that will impact significantly the sector of agriculture.

There are also two key events that focus on agriculture at COP18 (coordinated by CGIAR).

Agriculture, Landscapes and Livelihoods Day 5

The Agriculture, Landscapes and Livelihoods Day 5 will be held on 3^rd December. It is entitled: “Solutions for People in Drylands and Beyond”.

Natural resource and agriculture community will share solutions for climate change adaptation and mitigation in agricultural landscapes with key stakeholders and decision makers

It aims to develop solutions that can feed into 2013 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) discussions.

The objective is to identify existing and large scale solutions to specific mitigation and adaptation challenges that can benefit farmers, in particular small scale farmers. Gaps and potential trade-offs in term of existing solutions, implementations and knowledge available would be brought particular attention.

Forest day: interconnections between forests and agriculture

Forest Day 6 will look at the interconnections between forests and agriculture and their impacts on people and society.

It is held in conjunction with Agriculture, Landscapes and Livelihoods Day 5 under the theme of 'Living Landscapes'.

Look at the agenda of the discussions forum.

Aside from the traditional plenary sessions, the conference will have several discussion forums.  Members of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests, and other interested organisations, will host these sessions.  Check the themes for the discussion forums.

Participate online!

Now, the good thing is: You don’t need to be physically present at a conference to learn, contribute and engage into the debate! That’s the magic of Social Media, as we learned in the GCARD2 debate! Get online and get involved!

Give a voice to Youth in Agriculture, as an individual and as a core group of "YPARDians"!

HOW? See our blogpost: How to engage Now!