Gestión comunitaria y sostenibilidad en sistemas de riego andinos mediante indicadores de uso eficiente del agua en la agricultura

There is little evidence of the implementation of the Principles for Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems between universities and businesses, and there is even less research that prioritizes people and implements sustainable development with a territorial focus. In this article, we address a form of collaborative work that integrates academia with business, where the Principles for Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems (CFS-RIA) are seen as an opportunity to promote and strengthen the management of a business in the communities where it operates, and determine a new way of working from its links with the university. The experience is developed in the provinces of Santiago Rodríguez, Valverde (Mao), and Dajabón in the Dominican Republic, with the aim of contributing, using this new approach, to economic, social, environmental, and governance development in the territory. The conceptual and methodological basis for the university–business link is Working With People, a model that integrates key elements of planning such as social learning, collaborative participation, and project management models. The main catalysts of the experience are the business values and the stakeholders who insert the principles into their programs and projects. Among these is an innovative Family Social Responsibility Program with female entrepreneurs and organic banana production. It is concluded that the implementation of the CFS-RIA Principles has a significant impact on the sustainable development of the region and that the university–business link reinforces the social responsibility of companies, providing an opportunity for the entry of new actors.

Since 2008, a global ‘land rush’ has been unfolding and so have efforts by international, national and regional actors to position themselves as the principal authorities in the determination of appropriate usages of land. This article examines three of the most influential ‘soft law’ instruments: the Principles for Responsible Agricultural Investment; the Principles for Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems and; the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure. Despite their substantive differences, all three documents share a specific form of state-centrism. They imagine the host state of such large-scale investments as internally unitary and externally independent and entrust it with the bulk of responsibilities regarding the management of land investments. However, I argue that this particular form of state-centrism obscures the legal and administrative realities of the post-colonial state that is often legally bifurcated and subject to pervasive forms of international authority. Rather, an appreciation of the multitude of actors who claim jurisdiction over the lands of the South enables a better understanding of the legal mechanics of land-grabbing. Sierra Leone, which has been positioned as a ‘poster child’ for the implementation of such ‘soft law’ instruments, serves as the focal point of this jurisdictional approach to land-grabbing. In this context, the promise of ‘soft law’ instruments to make the post-colonial state the guarantor of universally beneficial large-scale land acquisitions is shown to be a false one.

The Principles for Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems (CFS-RAI) are suitable standards for contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the area of sound consumption and sustainable food. In this context, food banks have demonstrated their significant role in supporting vulnerable groups and reducing food waste through the implementation of various projects and activities. This study identifies and classifies the good practices of 54 food banks that comprise the Spanish Federation of Food Banks (FESBAL). The methodology applied was based on the Working with People model, integrating a social and collaborative learning process based on the accumulated experience of food banks over 35 years. The analysis was carried out based on four dimensions of sustainability, namely social, economic, environmental, and governance, in alignment with the CFS-RAI Principles. The results obtained show the good practices of food banks, highlighting their positive effects on the dimensions of sustainability, consistent with the CFS-RAI Principles, and the SDGs, evidencing improved food security and a holistic contribution to sustainable development.

The Principles for Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems (CFS-RAI) are shown as suitable instruments to contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) in rural areas. Local Action Groups (LAGs) have proven to be effective governance structures for the implementation and management of rural development projects based on participation and collective action. This research integrates the implementation of the LAG from the CFS-RAI Principles for the design of a rural development strategy. The foundations of these new structures are analyzed and the process of creating a LAG linked to the El Mantaro Regional Development Center (RDC) of the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos (UNMSM), in the Junín region (Peru), is described. The methodological process incorporates the “Working With People” (WWP) approach and the LEADER (Liaison Entre Actions de Développement de l’Économie Rurale) specificities for the analysis of empirical information obtained in surveys and workshops, with 350 people involved in the process. The results indicate that the LAGs, as multi-stakeholder partnerships linked to the RDC, are a novel way to integrate the CFS-RAI principles from participation, proximity management, strengthening local communities and promoting sustainable development through projects. These results contribute to the empowerment of civil organizations and motivate their participation in local political decisions related to sustainable rural development.

Food production faces significant economic, social, and environmental challenges. The Principles for Responsible Investment in Agriculture (CFS-RAI), aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), provide a framework for implementing actions and investments in sustainable food production. Farmers are the primary investors in their agricultural activities, playing a fundamental role in the sustainability of rural territories. This study aims to analyze the rural development innovation system implemented by the Fundación Casa Campesina Cayambe and its alignment with the CFS-RAI principles and SDG. Focusing on 129 women producing healthy food within the Kayambi people and adopting a mixed-methods approach, including participant observation, interviews, and focus groups, the research examines the integration of public institutions, academia, and civil society in promoting sustainable rural development. The findings indicate that key innovation processes include a participatory, community-based, and gender-sensitive microcredit system implemented by the Foundation. Additionally, the technical and scientific support provided by the Universidad Politécnica Salesiana enhances investment capacity and knowledge acquisition, strengthening both individual and collective capacities for food production and commercialization. The study concludes that a decentralized and coordinated cooperation system, involving multiple territorial stakeholders, fosters the economic autonomy of female producers while adhering to the principles of CFS-RAI and the SDG.

Since its launch in 2006, the work of the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) has resulted in responsible investment becoming a central part of mainstream investment practice. This chapter – written by the PRI’s chief executive officer (CEO) and chief responsible investment officer (CRIO) – suggests that the PRI will focus its future efforts in two main areas. The first is the implementation of the Principles across the investment industry; this will include pressing for legal clarity on the roles and responsibilities of investors, raising awareness of the financial case for responsible investment, working with the PRI’s signatories to accelerate the implementation of responsible investment, and driving transparency across the investment industry. The second is to ensure that the investment industry plays its role in supporting a timely transition to a low-carbon economy, helping society respond effectively to unavoidable climate change and supporting the delivery of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

From a simple idea to unite asset owners in their quest for responsible investment (RI) at its launch in April 2006, the United Nations supported Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) have grown in just one decade into an initiative with more than 1500 fee-paying signatories. Jointly, the PRI’s signatories hold assets worth more than $80 trillion, making it one of the more prevalent not-for-profit organizations worldwide. Furthermore, the PRI’s ambitious mission to transform the financial system at large into a more sustainable one makes it a worthwhile subject of inquiry from an institutional perspective. We undertake an empirical investigation of the adoption of the PRI by asset owners during five crucial years of the association’s emergence: 2007–2011. Following a tripartite view of institutional theory proposed by Scott (Institutions and organizations. Foundations for organizational science, A Sage Publication Series, London, 1995), we explore if regulative, normative, and cultural–cognitive factors influence an asset owner’s decision to subscribe to the PRI. Applying both parametric and non-parametric survival analysis, we find that asset owners are indeed significantly affected by normative, cultural–cognitive, and regulative aspects. In particular, (i) public service employee and labor union pension funds (ii) from social backgrounds more culturally aligned with values represented by the RI movement (iii) with historically more voluntary legislation on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues are most likely to sign the PRI. In contrast, institutional environments with a higher number of pre-existing mandatory ESG regulation decrease the likelihood of signing the PRI. Our results indicate that normative and cultural–cognitive factors were crucial contributors to the PRI’s growth. With respect to the regulative environments, our results imply that some asset owners may use the PRI as a collective industry initiative to substitute for mandatory legislation. Conversely, a high level of historical mandatory legislation may constrain organizational resources that could otherwise be dedicated to voluntary initiatives such as PRI. Our findings are robust to relevant controls and econometric concerns.

The sustainable development of agrifood systems is a pressing global challenge, highlighting the need for frameworks that guide responsible investment and community engagement. The Principles for Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems (CSA-IRA), approved by the Food Security Council in 2014, provide such a framework. Recognizing this opportunity, the FAO selected the Gesplan Research Group of the Polytechnic University of Madrid in 2016 to promote these principles in Latin America, the Caribbean, and Spain, leveraging the expertise of PhD graduates in Projects and Planning for Sustainable Rural Development. The main objective of this research was to explore how teaching, research, and civil society engagement can be integrated to operationalize CSA-IRA principles and foster sustainable development. To achieve this, the study applied the “Working with People” model across multiple countries and contexts, using university–business collaborations to implement practical, socially responsible initiatives. Over nine years, the approach generated a network of 46 universities and 52 agrifood companies across 12 countries, demonstrating effective multi-stakeholder collaboration. The accumulated experience led to the proposal of the Metauniversity—a “university of universities”—as an innovative instrument to scale knowledge transfer, research, and community engagement. These findings highlight that structured, collaborative networks can translate CSA-IRA principles into tangible actions, offering a replicable model for sustainable agrifood development globally

From a simple idea to unite pension funds in their quest for responsible investment at its launch in April 2006, the United Nations supported Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) have grown in just one decade into an initiative with more than 1,500 fee paying signatories. These signatories consist of asset owners (e.g. pension funds, charities), the asset managers that serve them and service providers to both groups. Jointly, the PRI’s signatories hold over $60 trillion in assets under management, which makes PRI into one of the more prevalent non-for-profit organisations worldwide. This paper undertakes an empirical investigation of the stakeholder relationships PRI and its asset owner signatories during five crucial years of PRI’s emergence: 2007-2011. Guided by stakeholder salience theory, we explore the factors that drive asset owners to subscribe to PRI. Using a variety of public data sources, we overcomes the limitation of self-reported data qualifying the findings of Majoch et al. (2016). We find that for asset owners the most salient factors are utilitarian power, societal and pragmatic legitimacy, management values, and coalition building though the relevance of individual factor is not static but evolves over time with PRI’s emergence.

Digital finance platforms - BigFintechs (BFTs) - have significant impacts, both positive and negative, on the path towards achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). At present, however, there is no systematic or holistic international governance framework that manages potential negative impacts or effectively encourages positive impacts. As such, this Technical Paper of the UN Taskforce on Global Digital Finance Governance provides an overview of the ways in which a select set of SDGs are reflected in international governance and their potential lessons and implications for the governance of BFTs. The paper begins by discussing the international human rights system — a well-established ‘hard law’ framework — as it touches on almost the full range of the SDGs. From this, we turn to several other SDGs where there has been significant focus and where well-developed international approaches have emerged. In particular, we consider the international frameworks addressing, in turn: decent work and economic growth (SDG 8); gender equality (SDG 5); climate change (SDGs 12, 13, 14 and 15); and peace, justice and strong institutions (SDG 16). We begin with the international human rights law (IHRL) framework because of its unique complementarity to the SDGs. Analysis shows that more than 90 per cent of the SDG targets are intrinsically linked to specific provisions of international and regional human rights instruments and labour standards. However, while IHRL is typically associated with state-based actors, we discuss the important shift that is currently taking place as IHRL broadens its applicability to private actors as well, thus including BFTs. The growing movement and imminent applicability of mandatory corporate human rights due diligence is a significant shift for which many companies are unprepared, and few understand. At present, most companies do not appreciate the true nature and extent of their human rights impacts. We discuss some of the implications that transplanting or subsuming notions of state obligation may have on current notions of corporate (social) responsibility and what this could mean for BFT corporate strategy in relation SDG impacts. On the matter of decent work and economic growth (SDG 8), we discuss recent developments and issues of concern that are both internal and external to BFT operations. As BFTs hail from a wide expanse of sectors such as e-commerce, social media and ride hailing services, the challenges to labor and their working conditions are equally as complex and varied. Internally, pertinent labor issues can include the hazardous nature of workplace environments, such as warehouses and call centers; the contestation over the right to be considered a ‘worker’ rather than an independent contractor (in the ‘gig economy’), and the ensuing labor protections that are associated with the former; and the application of artificial intelligence (AI) to supervise labor in sometimes discriminatory ways. To highlight, we discuss the UK Supreme Court’s recent decision on Uber’s driver policies and the labor union decision at Amazon. With regards to external challenges, we discuss the issues of modern slavery and supply chain due diligence, and how they arise in the context of BFTs. In all cases, we highlight the need for BFTs and regulators to strike a balance between protecting vulnerable workers while developing appropriate governance frameworks that can fulfil the tremendous potential of platform-based business models. Our coverage of climate change (SDGs 12, 13, 14 and 15) complements Technical Paper 3.1. Whereas Technical Paper 3.1 presented some of the initiatives being pursued by prominent regulators, such as the European Commission, in this paper we broaden that scope to consider governance initiatives by the private sector as well. We situate BFTs within the sustainable finance context as either financiers or issuers and present relevant frameworks such as the Equator Principles (EPs) and the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI). In so doing, we highlight how we are currently in a relatively nascent stage in the development of international governance ‘green’ and sustainable capital markets. This development will require considerable effort and alignment of purpose and initiative across both the public and private sectors. Finally, we provide an overview of governance initiatives pertaining to SDG 16 (peace, justice and strong institutions). The primary international governance frameworks in this domain are those for anti-money-laundering (AML), countering the financing of terrorism (CFT) and anti-corruption/anti-bribery. This discussion of how a range of existing approaches and their relationship to the SDGs are reflected in the international governance of BFTs demonstrates the significant impact that BFTs have in our drive towards achieving the SDGs. However, the discussion equally highlights that much work is still required if we are to effectively manage that impact. Given the potential of BFTs’ platform-based model to offer catalytic opportunities for economic development, particularly in developing countries, it is important for policymakers and regulators to develop appropriate governance frameworks that are infused with the right principles and values.

SummaryMotivationLatin America has witnessed massive increases in production and consumption of chicken meat over the last 60 years and well beyond its share of the developing world's population. Chicken is now a major source of livestock protein in regional diets; leads livestock production in 25 out of the region's 33 countries; production, slaughtering, and sales provide millions of jobs.PurposeTo analyse growth rates for chicken meat in Latin America, why they have differed, how the role of innovation and development policies contributed to bringing about this growth, in turn leading to the patterns of governance of these activities today.Methods and approachThis study used a modified value chain framework along with FAO statistics, national data, published and unpublished studies to analyse macro‐level developments and their linkages to shifts in the organization of activities in the value chain for chicken from pre‐production through to consumption and trade from past to present.FindingsDifferent natural resource endowments, demographics, and dietary preferences combined with frequent innovations and an array of policy measures led to a spectacular surge in output and productivity, lower costs, and facilitated a steady rise in consumption. As part of that growth, these activities became increasingly concentrated in Brazil, Mexico, and Peru and within those countries in a few very large firms. Their operations expanded in the value chain beyond the farm gate, across the region, and in some cases around the world.Policy implicationsThis paper has implications for greater transparency in grower contracts, better working conditions for slaughterhouse workers and bird catchers, more environmentally and bird‐friendly chicken production, accelerated adoption of practices as per Principles for Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems in the value chain for broilers in Latin America and the Caribbean, and improved enforcement of laws and regulations governing the technical and financial operations of value chains for chicken, along with renewed collaboration among government authorities to that effect.

Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals Requires Transdisciplinary Innovation at the Local Scale

Since its inception in 2006, the United Nations-backed Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) have grown to over 1300 signatories representing over $45 trillion. This growth is not slowing down. In this paper, we argue that there is a set of attributes which make the PRI salient as a stakeholder and its claim to sign the six PRI important to institutional investors. We use Mitchell et al.’s (Acad Manag Rev 22:853–886, 1997) theoretical framework of stakeholder salience, as extended by Gifford (J Bus Eth 92:79–97, 2010). We use as evidence confidential data from the annual survey of signatories carried out by the PRI in a 5-year period between 2007 and 2011. The findings highlight pragmatic and organizational legitimacy, normative and utilitarian power, and management values as the attributes that contribute most to the salience of the PRI as a stakeholder.

A decadal outlook for global aquaculture

<scp>IFST</scp> vision for a <scp>UK</scp>‐wide national food strategy