CITYFOOD Network launched by RUAF foundation and ICLEI in Bonn

In response to increasing demands for information, training and technical and policy advice by international cities, ICLEI and the RUAF Foundation started the CITYFOOD network on resilient city-region food systems and urban agriculture. The network was launched during a series of three session at the Urban Food Forum organized at Resilient Cities 2017 in Bonn 4-6 May 2017. These sessions were supported by FAO and IWMI, both core partners of WLE, as well as many representatives from urban centers.

The CITYFOOD network aims to accelerate government action on sustainable and resilient city food systems at the local and regional level by providing training, policy guidance and technical expertise to its network members. Open to local and regional governments, the network will build a strong learning and exchange platform and raise awareness of resilient city-region food systems and urban and peri-urban agriculture. 

IWMI, which co-lead’s WLE’s Rural-Urban Linkages Research Theme (RUL) with the RUAF foundation, is supporting this new alliance with research on tools and methodologies which allow cities to understand and improve their food security, while also addressing the interlinked challenges of food waste management and climate change adaptation.

Resilient Cities 2017 was attended by Katharina Felgenhauer who represented IWMI at sessions like Finance and Insurance systems, while Pay Drechsel, co-lead of RUL, presented on the links between urban food systems, food waste and urban resilience in view of extreme climate events. 

IWMI’s work in Colombo, Sri Lanka is supported by the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture via RUAF and FAO.