31/10/2022

For most of human history, people around the world lived in small communities. However, over the past few centuries – and particularly in recent decades – there has been a mass migration of populations from rural to urban areas. In fact, in 2007, the number of people in urban areas around the globe overtook the number in rural settings. 

While the world’s changing climate is taking a toll on basic city services, infrastructure, livelihoods and health, cities are also a large contributor to climate change. Cities consume almost 80 percent of the total energy produced globally and intake up to 70 percent of the world’s food supply. At the same time, they produce about 70 percent of global waste and emit between 50 and 60 percent of the world’s total greenhouse gases.

The need to drastically improve city living is clear. From curbing food waste to expanding green spaces, the FAO Green Cities Initiative (GCI) is helping urban areas to adopt holistic, sustainable strategies, improving their resilience to shocks and enhancing the wellbeing of their residents.  

Launched in 2020, the GCI is linked to FAO’s Urban Food Agenda and works with cities of all sizes, collaborating closely with mayors and local authorities and providing technical guidance and training to improve the urban and peri-urban environment. Through implementing partners and city partnerships, the GCI is working to transform urban food systems and increase green spaces, ensuring that city dwellers have access to affordable, safe and nutritious food from sustainable agrifood systems. After just two years, GCI activities are well underway in close to 100 cities. 

Six African cities were the first to embark on the GCI. Here are just three inspiring examples of their success

See https://www.fao.org/fao-stories/article/en/c/1610687/