INTERVIEW WITH MARK LUNDY

My name is Samuel Lundy and I’m currently working on my Personal Project. As a topic, I have chosen to analyze some of the 17 SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) set by the UNDP. The goals I have decided to analyze are; Zero hunger (goal 2), affordable and clean energy (goal 7) and decent work and economic growth (goal 8).

After a good amount of research, I believed it was pertinent to have some interviews with certain experts about the different aspects of these goals. 

I know you have worked with goal # 2 in the past, so I had a few questions about it.

Questions:

1. Do you believe the 17 SDGs are achievable by 2030? (Not continuing living BAU) The SDG goals are meant to be challenging. Sometimes they are referred to as stretch goals in the sense that they are aspirational. Despite their challenging nature, these goals are more or less achievable depending on where each country was when the goals were announced and the level of effort or commitment that they applied to meeting the goals. If a country was far off from the goal but has made a real commitment to meet it including investments and use of other resources, it might well be able to do it. In other cases, some countries relatively close to the goals will miss the target due to lack of efforts or the assumption that BAU is sufficient to achieve the target. At a global scale, the achievement of the goals also requires collaboration, shared funding and the use of best policies and knowledge by governments and others. This remains challenging at the global scale especially in the current political environment where bilateral or multilateral efforts continue to be criticized.

2. Do you believe they truly promote equal and fair sustainability for all governments and peoples? If achieved, yes, the SDGs would represent important steps towards sustainability. Having said that, it is unlikely that the SDGs (or any other global pact like this one) can fully ensure equality and fairness for all governments and peoples. The unequal distribution of resources within and between countries will not change just because of the SDGs. Other structural issues remain that need to be addressed including unfair terms of trade between countries, unequal distribution of financial capital and human development opportunities as well as unequal treats from issues like climate change and conflict.

3. Are developing countries at a disadvantage to fulfill these goals? If so, what can they do to overcome this disadvantage? Normally developing countries posses fewer resources than developed countries to achieve these goals. This means that they can't buy their way to a solution. They need to be more creative and make efficient use of the resources and knowledge they have to solve their challenges. In some cases, more developed countries face significant challenges in meeting goals they should have already surpassed (zero hunger, for example) simply because of dysfunctions or unfair distribution of opportunities. For example, the US should not have anyone going hungry. However, due to unequal wealth distribution and other structural issues chronic hunger remains a critical issue even in areas of apparent high development. Changing rules and behaviors to address this is at least as challenging as finding creative solutions to achieve food security for low-income populations in the global south.

4. Can a small local community have a big impact on achieving these goals? How? Small local communities can show how things can be done. Often novel solutions can be piloted, evaluated and improved in local conditions and then learned from to change processes, policies or practices at a larger scale. Small communities can try new approaches faster and cheaper than larger communities. They serve as a test bed to identify and share ideas that work with others. Ideally certain underlying conditions can be identified across multiple small communities that can the underpin larger change. This means that each small community's answer to an SDG challenge won't be a perfect solution on its own but, when combined with others, can show the way to key changes that should be made at a larger scale.

Now into more specific questions:

Goal # 2: Zero Hunger

1. What are the main causes of famine worldwide? There are several kinds of malnutrition currently present in the world. These include famine (i.e. not have enough calories to eat), micro-nutrient deficiencies (i.e. having enough calories but not getting the necessary micro-nutrients due to poor diet) and obesity (i.e. eating too much, becoming obese and suffering from non-communicable diseases like heart problems, diabetes and others). Collectively this is know and the 'triple burden' of malnutrition. Globally enough calories are produced for everyone. However, these calories are not equally available to all populations with some people getting too few calories or too few micro-nutrients while others get too many calories. The worst case scenario as seen in Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico is where people suffer from both micro-nutrient deficiencies (i.e. anemia) while also being obese. This comes from an unbalanced diet too rich in energy dense foods (i.e. highly processed carbohydrates) and poor in less processed foods like whole grains, vegetables, fruits and animal-based products. You might take a look at the presentations available at the following link (see the one on Latin America to see how Colombia stacks up): https://cgiar-my.sharepoint.com/:f:/g/personal/m_lundy_cgiar_org/EvBke17jplRJqfsHnpuodI4Bo2zgIPjrMqLxo4Zn4KztjQ?e=3h7zhm or in the full report available at:  http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/user_upload/hlpe/hlpe_documents/HLPE_Reports/HLPE-Report-12_EN.pdf

2. What economic impact (negative or positive) would the solving of this problematic have worldwide? Achieving zero hunger would have important positive economic outcomes including: (a) greater educational attainment; (b) less illness and time away from work; (c) more opportunities for a greater number of people to thrive world wide; (d) greater productivity/incomes; and, (e) improved quality of life (days without illness) for most of the global population. Negative effects would be muted since we are already producing enough calories to feed the world. Nonetheless these gains remain under threat from climate change, desertification, water stress and rising sea levels. Society needs to decide how to achieve zero hunger while not sacrificing the natural resources needed to underpin life in the process.

3. Is sustainable agriculture more expensive to maintain? Why? There are many definitions of sustainable agriculture. Sustainable agriculture does not necessarily mean organic agriculture, for example. Sustainable agriculture means the efficient use of resources (soil, water, plants and inputs) to achieve yields that can be maintained or improved over time. Many companies are now talking about regenerative agriculture (i.e. http://www.regenerativeagriculturedefinition.com/) which looks at farming as a set of interconnected systems. If we assume that sustainable agriculture = regenerative agriculture, then it should not be more expensive to maintain. It might, however, be more expensive to establish in the first place especially in production systems highly dependent on external inputs like fertilizers and pesticides.

4. How can we ensure sustainable agriculture will not have a negative impact on the everyday farmer? Normally the increased costs of sustainable agriculture are incurred up front (i.e. at the beginning of the process of conversion) while the benefits appear further down the road. This presents a challenge in that it requires some form of support for farmers transitioning from non-sustainable to sustainable practices. In some cases (see https://practicalfarmers.org/events/small-grains-conference/) one of the major challenges lies in finding markets for key rotation crops needed to improve soil health but currently produced at a loss. By providing financial support for transition and establishing profitable markets for rotation crops / livestock we can ensure that farmers who transition to sustainable agriculture can be profitable. In addition work by groups like Practical Farmers or Fundación Cipav here in Cali help share knowledge about what works, under what conditions. You can see some examples of what this looks like in the Amazon from work led by CIAT and Cipav at: https://amazonlandscapes.org/

5. Taking into account the respect for cultural practices (such as rice plantations in Asia) what diplomatic solutions can be proposed to ensure the right of cultural heritage? Food is one of the maximum expressions of culture. People have the right to eat what they consider culturally appropriate. In most cases, however, as countries begin to develop diets shift from traditional to what are considered more modern (or Western) diets. This leads to increased consumption of meat and other animal-based products, fats and processed foods as incomes rise. There is no one ideal diet for the entire world, rather we need to develop county or regional specific diets at respect and reflect culture while, at the same time, contributing to sustainable production and consumption patterns. If you look at some of the initial slides from the presentations I mentioned under point 1, many of the best examples of sustainable diets come from countries people consider poor (i.e. Africa or Asia) and some of the worst from rich countries (i.e. US, Europe). Nutritionists recommend what they call 'food based dietary guidelines' which focus on ensuring adequate nutrition (i.e. the USDA food pyramid) but these often fail to account for environmental or economic costs. Ideally we need to develop food based dietary guidelines that make explicit the trade-offs between achieving adequate nutrition, providing income and employment for the population and preserving natural resources.

6. Which country is currently the most advanced in achieving this SDG? What did that government do to achieve this? I don't know if anyone has measured advances on SDG 2 recently. If it has been done, it would be somewhere in the UN system. You'll have to Google to find out more about this point.

7. How can a small group of people help achieve this goal? By proposing specific interventions / actions that address the root causes of food and nutrition insecurity in a country. See what I wrote in point 4 in the general questions. Other examples of this include https://www.nocomasmasmentiras.org/proyecto-de-ley/ and other consumer initiatives to improve food labeling to disincentivize consumption of junk food. These efforts face a tough battle as they go against the interests of powerful food companies.

8. What is Colombia doing to achieve this goal? Is it working? What should they be doing? See: https://www.ods.gov.co/en/goals/zero-hunger

9. What is Ethiopia doing to achieve this goal? Is it working? What should they be doing? See: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/memberstates/ethiopia and https://www.et.undp.org/content/ethiopia/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-2-zero-hunger.html and https://sdgcafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/SDGS_INDEX_REPORT_2019WEB.pdf

What is China doing to achieve this goal? Is it working? What should they be doing? See: https://www.cn.undp.org/content/china/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-2-zero-hunger.html