UN-FAO BEFSCI Project to Develop Detailed Criteria and Policies on Sustainable Bioenergy

The Bioenergy and Food Security Criteria and Indicators (BEFSCI) Project, under the United Nations Food and Agriculture (UN-FAO) Climate, Energy and Tenure Division, is currently developing "a set of detailed criteria, indicators, good practices and policy options on sustainable bioenergy production". One of the goals of the sustainable bioenergy criteria is the safeguarding (and possibly fostering) of food security through: (1) information on "the development of national frameworks aimed at preventing the risk of negative impacts (and increasing the opportunities) of bioenergy development on food security", and (2) assistance to developing countries in monitoring and responding to the "impacts of bioenergy production on food security and its various dimensions and sub-dimensions".

A preliminary set of "core" indicators that countries can use to monitor the impacts of modern bioenergy production on food security has been released at the UN-FAO Bioenergy website, in the form of three downloadable appendices: (1) changes in production of, stocks of and trade in main staple crops, as well as changes in domestic use of main staple crops for food/feed/fuel, (2) changes in inflation-adjusted ("real") prices of main staple crops due to bioenergy production and resulting net welfare impacts on poor households, and (3) changes in agrobiodiversity due to bioenergy production and resulting impacts on household dietary diversity. The BEFSCI is currently inviting discussion on the preliminary core indicators, particulary on the following points: (a) whether the indicators are sufficient and robust in scope, (b) whether quantitative approaches (particularly for indicator number 3) would be necessary, and (c) whether challenges are foreseen in the long term measurement of the indicators. More details can be obtained form the UN-FAO Bioenergy website (URL above).