Recovery, Renewal, Resilience

Latin America benefits from vast access to natural resources, however many people living in rural areas have limited access to locally produced food and rely heavily on imported goods. The fragilities in food supply chains were exacerbated by COVID-19, which left people at risk of not being able to meet their immediate food needs. Recovery and renewal provides an opportunity to support Latin Americas rural agricultural sector to renew its practices, promote community health and resilience, and contribute to achieving environmental sustainability. Consider the actions proposed by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) for COVID-19 recovery and renewal:

Transform food production

• Finance and support the production of a diverse range of agricultural products. Invest in multi-crop programs together with small and medium producers
• Reduce food waste by providing access to locally produced food and resources
• Prioritise local consumption and distribution of agricultural products over exports
• Promote the adoption of healthy diets with local produce through voluntary information groups, labelling policies, eating healthy campaigns, and fiscal incentives to schools that purchase local produce

Rural development

• Provide quality education and skills-training to the rural agricultural sector
• Establish sustainable practices in the agricultural sector, that recognize the diversity of the ecosystem and the cultural and traditional practices or its habitants
• Increase the infrastructure for public services and connect with urban areas. This can help to reduce rural vulnerability and enables producers to access urban markets for their products

Sustainable agriculture

• Promote water conservation and soil maintenance practices
• Protect the ecosystem by delimiting conservation areas outside of agricultural practices
• Implement early warning systems and risk reduction programmes focused on local hazards

CarbonBrief have developed an interactive grid where you can explore and track the progress of how different countries across the world are implementing green recovery and renewal plans which aim to cut emissions in the aftermath of COVID-19. Below, we offer some examples of diverse initiatives from across the world:

• France allocated funding to “promote and support environmental performance” in their food and agricultural sector, e.g. funding to support farmers to adapt their farming systems to lower their impact on the environment. France have also allocated funding to create over 1,000 “eco-responsible restaurants in rural communities”, along with investment in “energy efficiency of public and private buildings, social housing, insulation and low-carbon heating”
• Sweden allocated investment to raise the “energy performance of Sweden’s housing stock and to support improvements in rental properties”
• Finland plan to “phase out oil heating in both households and public buildings” and allocated funding to the “wood constriction programme which promotes the use of timber by enhancing industry expertise, developing legislation and building regulations, and providing factual information”
• Chile have committed to plant trees on 24,000 hectares of land and invest in better fire management as part of its “mitigation and adaptation commitments related to forests and biodiversity”. Chile will also have invested in modernisation and irrigation projects for farmers, as part of the COVID-19 budget response

The ‘Going for Growth 2021: Shaping a Vibrant Recovery’ (OECD) report argues that structural policies can deliver a “stronger, more resilient, equitable and sustainable COVID-19 recovery”. Key to building resilience will be policies that transform environmental policies to drive the ‘Green Transition’. A challenge which lies ahead will be public perception and acceptability of environmental policies, specifically those which are market-focused (e.g. carbon tax). These have the potential to raise public concerns on the implications of such policies for employment security and cost of living - due to their impact on certain sectors (e.g. mining). The report offers strategies that can build public support of environmental policies. To illustrate the report uses the change to carbon pricing as an example:

• A phased-in and transparent approach (e.g. gradual raising prices) to give households sufficient time to adapt to the change as necessary
• “Revenue recycling”, which can fund universal transfer payments, reduce taxes, and provide targeted support for communities and households impacted by the change
• Communication with the public and education campaigns on the change, which promote the benefits of carbon pricing and counter misinformation
• Policy naming and branding which does not imply taxation (e.g. “Levy”), to mitigate the development of mistrust of the change amongst the public

COVID-19 has strained food producers and distributors (e.g. disrupted food supply chains, problematized crop harvesting, impacted logistics and distribution), and this has impacted the amount of food waste created in the supply chain. COVID-19 has also changed household food waste creation by affecting household income, shopping habits and consumption patterns. The implications are broad. For example, the real cost of food has increased for some vulnerable households, who must purchase from supermarkets that will deliver rather than shop at their usual 'cheaper' shops. Food waste has become an important concern for organisations and households, and some countries are taking strong action. Consider:

• Charge businesses and families that waste food (such as in South Korea, where the proportion of recycling food increased from 2% to 95% in 2009)
• Strengthen partnerships between food producers and distributors and local food initiatives
• Develop local agriculture and growing food in and around cities, e.g. Singapore identified unused spaces in its cities to create urban farms to address supply chain issues cause by COVID-19
• Partner with local volunteer initiatives that tackle food poverty and food waste:
  • Ensure voluntary food distribution groups have the necessary equipment to store nutritious food and distribute that to the community
  • Set up community fridges, e.g. local parishes or town halls to support local groups
  • To ensure food that is not fit for consumption is recycled appropriately
  • Support groups in the collection, transportation and redistribution of food
• Educate households on:
  • How to store food safely after purchasing
  • Safe ways to store and re-use leftovers
  • How to correctly recycle food waste
  • Recipes on for using leftover ingredients
  • How to safely donate excess food
  • How to interpret food labels correctly

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed everyday life which has emphasised concerns about environmental sustainability and resilience. Lessons to consider for dealing with climate change include capitalising on people's increasing interest/knowledge in climate risks, and associated opportunities. Consider how measures can help mitigate or adapt to climate change, or can exacerbate existing barriers:

• Environmental considerations:
  • Implement nature-based solutions that aim to increase the resilience of ecosystems e.g. considering water security and pollution
  • Be aware of potential for increased illegal deforestation and poaching (as a consequence of less governmental control during lockdown)
  • Mitigate the interruption of environmental monitoring projects that can cause data gaps in climate/environmental data
• Social considerations:
  • Assess changes in working conditions e.g. frequent, or sole use of virtual solutions, encouraging car-free days, reductions in energy consumption in businesses, and reductions in waste
  • Renovate and diversify the tourism sector towards sustainability so capitalise on environmental awareness since COVID-19
  • Develop policies that help reduce unemployment and mitigate potentially harmful domestic migration to rural areas that could cause environmental degradation

Many countries face multiple risks from COVID-19 and natural hazards. To combat these dual challenges consider how to:

• Integrate climate change into green recovery plans post COVID-19
• Use COVID-19 as an entry point to engage communities in preparing for other diseases that may be brought about by climate change
• Engage the local community in designing local preparedness and response plans e.g. to address COVID-related food insecurity, distribution of PPE, local finance solutions that meet the communities needs

The Circular Economy calls for all materials in manufacturing to be reused, recycled or biodegradable. COVID-19 has raised new questions about plastics use and sustainability of, for example, using single-use surgical gowns, masks and gloves. Consider:

• investing in new protective materials that are reusable or biodegradable and that replace harmful plastics
• the environmental friendliness of cleaning products that will end up in waterways and oceans
• the potential health implications of contamination

This lesson was contributed to by a Chief Resilience Officer in Denmark, and the source below.

Much of the focus on the environment has been on the burden societies put upon natural resources. However, a people-centered perspective can be more appropriate in some contexts with extreme weather conditions or water shortages. For example, consider:

• that greening energy can raise energy bills which puts cost burdens on people in lockdown. In one US city, energy bills can reach up to 50% of people's income. This puts personal finances at risk which can create other behaviours that adversely impact the environment e.g. eating cheaper foods from less sustainable/environmentally friendly sources
• that telling people the cost of energy to them can encourage them to use less. This can also improve their receptiveness to adopting energy-saving practices

This lesson was contributed by a Chief Resilience Officer in the USA during project data collection.

While disposable masks are necessary for keyworkers, promoting more environmentally friendly alternatives such as reusable masks and more frequent hand washing (opposed to disposable gloves) could be considered. Plastic pollution, already a threat to marine life and oceans has increased as a result of COVID-19 waste. Public campaigns to encourage the use of environmentally friendly alternatives and appropriate disposal could be considered.

COVID-19 has challenged traditional systems and required innovative thinking about how to recover. In the Caribbean consideration is being given to harnessing the power of renewable energies.

The Caribbean is vulnerable to a number of natural disasters and so too is its energy infrastructure. COVID-19 has raised questions about the resilience of energy infrastructure if a disaster such as a cyclone were to hit the region during the pandemic and the cascading impacts of this on critical services and well-being. Renewable energy systems are capable of surviving many types of natural disaster and would provide some protection in the case of an additional emergency during the COVID-19 pandemic[3].

In addition, the wider benefits of renewable energy have been considered for recovery in the Caribbean. The benefits include lower costs of energy, more stable energy provision, and increased independence through diversified and local energy sources which would boost the economy and help develop equitable access to power.

[3] Energy news: http://newenergyevents.com/coronavirus-the-caribbean-is-the-first-domino-to-fall-but-there-is-hope/

This may include retrofitting of building to make them more efficient which supports the green agenda, jobs, economic recovery, and healthier living, while protecting them from other risks such as fire.

As a way to keep people connected with the environment and land during recovery. This will help embed the importance of the environment in the public mind long term.

Reference: Civil Protection expert, Portugal

Reference: Resilience expert, UK