ALiSEA participation to the Asia and Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development 2023

From 28 to 30 March 2023, a delegation of the ALiSEA network participated for the first time to the Asia Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development.

The Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development (APFSD) is an annual, inclusive intergovernmental forum to support follow-up and review of progress on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the regional level, while serving as a regional preparatory meeting to the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF).

The 10th APFSD was organized from 27-30 March 2023 under the theme “Accelerating the recovery from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at all levels in Asia and the Pacific” in Bangkok, at the United Nations Conference Center (UNCC).

The ALiSEA delegation, composed of the Policy Dialogue Coordinators of the Board of Members from ALiSEA Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, as well as the Policy Dialogue Expert from GRET, was able to join this major event. ALiSEA representatives could gain a regional perspective on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development by identifying regional trends and learning from best practices and lessons learned shared by a high diversity of participants. The APFSD was a rich occasion for the Network to engage directly with governments, civil society, the private sector, and other stakeholders together involved in SDGs’ implementation.

The team attended several side-events, amongst which the ASSET meeting “Harnessing agroecology through partnerships to transform food systems”. This side-event, co-organized by FAO, CIRAD and UN-ESCAP focused attention on multilateral and multi-stakeholder cooperation to accelerate the uptake of agroecology approaches in support of food system transformation. ALiSEA members attended a second side-event on “Transforming Food Systems in Asia and the Pacific: A Regional Stocktake”. This event, gathering representatives from several countries of Asia and Pacific, consisted in a (1) roundtable on Food systems transformation as SDGs accelerator to feature country progress and good practices and a (2) moderated discussion on Regional Messages towards the July Food Systems Stocktaking Moment.

Finally, the ALiSEA team actively participated to the 2-days Workshop organized by ASSET on Policy for agroecology transition in South-East Asia. The discussion gathered Government officials designated as national focal points for the Lao-facilitated Initiative on Agroecology (LICA), as well as civil society members, universities and development partners. ALiSEA team could get the latest information on the development of national and regional policy platforms for AE, including LICA and CASIC, and be updated on the upcoming steps toward the development on ASEAN Guidelines on Sustainable Agriculture. ALiSEA members also actively contributed to scoping policy guidance for agroecology transition and making recommendations for strengthening institutional support.

The ALiSEA Policy Dialogue Coordinators returned to their countries enriched from the learnings on sustainable development gathered during these subsequent workshops and events, with clear objectives for ALiSEA’s policy engagement and advocacy in 2023.

All information on APSFD meeting are available here