percentage of hungry and malnourished people has declined from 59 percent in 1992—among the highest in the world—to about 38 percent in 2007. One of the conflict drivers concerned access to agricultural land. Even the peace settlement brought further conflict as displaced peoples returned to their homes and farmlands to find them occupied by others, while private entrepreneurs sought to buy up arable land. The resulting clashes delayed an early rebirth of agricultural productivity. However, an interministerial land commission was set up with FAO assistance to facilitate a democratic process to resolve land disputes, and a new land law was enacted in 1997 after consultation with official and citizens’ organizations. This law has been credited with providing the foundation for sustainable development and food security in postconflict Mozambique. In short, just as violent conflict can aggravate food insecurity, effective processes of conflict resolution and post-conflict institution-building can help create greater security in matters of nutrition in the aftermath of long-term violent conflict, thereby replacing a vicious cycle with a virtuous one. Policy Implications This article focuses on the relationship between PSCs accompanied by frequent violence and chronic food insecurity. Media and the policy community, however, largely focus their attention on disasters such as drought, floods, hurricanes and earthquakes, and the rapid responses undertaken by international organizations, national governments and nongovernmental organizations, including Oxfam International, Médecins sans Frontières, International Rescue Committee, CARE and UNICEF. But, at best, these responders provide a bandage to deal with the immediate effects of the disaster without taking adequate longrange actions to alleviate chronic food insecurity or ongoing violent conflict. The result is that countries such as Somalia, which according to the WFP/ FAO report has suffered 15 combined natural and human-induced disasters between 1996 and 2010, go through 36 <strong>SAIS</strong>PHERE the same cycle of disaster on an almost annual basis without any lasting improvements. At worst, humanitarian aid programs, however well-intended, destroy local markets and undercut indigenous agriculture in ways that actually aggravate long-term food shortages by driving farmers out of business or into producing exportable commodities rather than food for local consumption. Aid that is unequally distributed in favor of one group relative to another, captured by particular groups or warlords or diverted by political elites for their personal profit may similarly contribute to conflict rather than alleviating it. Policy should therefore be directed explicitly at promoting long-range local food production and, at the same time, assisting in the management and resolution of local conflicts. Even short-term aid may be more effective without market distortion if aid agencies buy local produce when available. In addition, the goal of international assistance must move beyond disaster relief to offer assistance in food production, conservation, storage and delivery to all segments of the population. Reliance on disaster relief may more easily attract political backing in developed countries where the “CNN effect” provides support for relief in the presence of widespread, visible famine. Leaders in developed countries need to do a better job of educating the public, media and politicians that the only way to avoid repeated cycles of food crises and violent conflict is to engage in sustained efforts to build institutions and infrastructure required to break the cycle. The 2010 WFP/FAO report concludes with the following valuable recommendation: “Modalities of assistance should move beyond the traditional categories of ‘relief’ and ‘development’ to a more diversified approach that includes social protection mechanisms, food security early-warning systems, disaster preparedness, environmental protection and rehabilitation, and building livelihood resilience.” n P. Terrence Hopmann is professor of International Relations and director of the Conflict Management Program. China
By Tabitha Grace Mallory The Sea’s Harvest: and Global Fisheries When we consider agriculture, and in particular the pressing food security issue, we usually think of land-based food cultivation. But the ocean is also a huge food source. Approximately 2.6 billion people depend on the ocean for their primary source of protein. Yet these resources are just as finite as those on land. 2011–2012 37
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