Costa Rica seeks to enhance the contributions of agriculture to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals
As part of its efforts to promote the implementation of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Costa Rica has organized the “Agro ODS 2021” forum, in which UNESCO was invited to participate. This event, which takes place virtually on 25, 26 and 27 August, seeks to make visible initiatives of the agriculture, fisheries, and livestock sectors, as well as the promotion of synergies and strategic alliances, to enhance the impact of the Costa Rican agricultural sector in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs, known as ODS in Spanish).
The purpose of this event is to provide a space to highlight initiatives in the agricultural sector that are linked to the goals of the 2030 Agenda, as well as to share experiences and discuss challenges, lessons learned and opportunities in meeting these goals from this sector. It is also a space for participants to identify opportunities to access financing for their initiatives related to sustainable development. In addition, “Agro ODS 2021” will generate inputs to quantify the sector’s contributions to the SDGs and to improve public policies and planning instruments for sustainable agricultural development.
UNESCO participated in the session entitled “Responsible production and consumption”. This session included presentations by Ms. Laura Brenes, from the Technological Institute of Costa Rica, who presented a project to reduce food loss and waste; Ms. Mónica López, from the non-governmental organization Fundecooperación para el Desarrollo Sostenible, who presented the initiative “Tourism – Engine for Local Development”; Mr. Erick Vargas, from the Costa Rican Gastronomy Foundation, who focused on the National Plan for Sustainable and Healthy Gastronomy; and Ms. Caroline Munier, Culture Programme Specialist of the UNESCO Office in San José, who focused on the relationship between culture, food and sustainable development, which has a direct impact on key aspects of the 2030 Agenda, such as social inclusion, education and environmental sustainability.
“Agro ODS 2021” has been organized under the leadership of the Ministry of Planning and Economic Policy of Costa Rica (MIDEPLAN), in collaboration with Fundecooperación para el Desarrollo Sostenible, the Executive Secretariat for Agricultural Sector Planning (SEPSA), the Secretariat for Environmental Sector Planning (SEPLASA), the National Council of Rectors (CONARE), and the United Nations System in Costa Rica.