|
|
|||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
| UNCTAD/ TED Palais des Nations, CH - 1211 Genève 10, Suisse trade.environment@unctad.org tél +41 (0)22 917 1330 Terms & conditions Privacy |
International Task Force on Harmonisation and Equivalence in Organic Agriculture (ITF)
ITF Meetings
| Date | Location | Title | M |
| 6-7 Oct 2008 | Geneva, Switzerland | 8th meeting of the UNCTAD/ FAO/ IFOAM International Task Force on Harmonisation and Equivalence in Organic Agriculture | More |
| 27-30 Nov 2007 | Bali, Indonesia | 7th meeting of the UNCTAD/ FAO/ IFOAM International Task Force on Harmonisation and Equivalence in Organic Agriculture | More |
| 9-14 Oct 2006 | Stockholm, Sweden | 6th meeting of the UNCTAD/ FAO/ IFOAM International Task Force on Harmonisation and Equivalence in Organic Agriculture | More |
| 5-7 Dec 2005 | Tunis, Tunisia | 5th meeting of the UNCTAD/ FAO/ IFOAM International Task Force on Harmonisation and Equivalence in Organic Agriculture | More |
| 28 Feb 2005 | Nuremburg, Germany | 4th meeting of the UNCTAD/ FAO/ IFOAM International Task Force on Harmonisation and Equivalence in Organic Agriculture | More |
| 17-19 Nov 2004 | Rome, Italy | 3rd meeting of the UNCTAD/ FAO/ IFOAM International Task Force on Harmonisation and Equivalence in Organic Agriculture | More |
| 8 July 2004 | Rome, Italy | Meeting of the steering committee UNCTAD/FAO/IFOAM International Task Force on Harmonization and Equivalence in Organic Agriculture | More |
| 20-21 Oct 2003 | Geneva, Switzerland | 2nd meeting of the UNCTAD/ FAO/ IFOAM International Task Force on Harmonisation and Equivalence in Organic Agriculture | More |
| 18 Feb 2003 | Nürnberg, Germany | UNCTAD/ FAO/ IFOAM Task Force on Harmonisation and Equivalence in Organic Agriculture | More |
| 2-10 March 2002 | New Delhi, India | Training Workshop for DFID | More |
| 18-19 Feb 2002 | Nuremberg, Germany | Program Committee Meeting for the IFOAM - UNCTAD Conference on International Harmonisation and Equivalence in Organic Agriculture | More |
ITF Coordinators
| Name | Position | Email, tel, fax |
|
| Ulrich Hoffmann | Chief | ulrich.hoffmann@unctad.org | tel: +41 (0)22 917 5780 Fax: +41 (0)22 917 0247 |
| Sophia Twarog | Economic Affairs Officer | sophia.twarog@unctad.org | tel: +41 (0)22 917 5082 Fax: +41 (0)22 917 0247 |
Project UNCTAD/ FAO/ IFOAM web-page
http://www.unctad.org/trade_env/ITF-organic/welcome1.asp
Background
Rapid growth of organic markets in developing countries presents promising opportunities for producers, and exporters, as well as for resource conservation and socioeconomic structures not only in the developed world but also in developing countries.
However, a plethora of certification requirements and regulations are considered to be a major obstacle for continuous and rapid development of the organic sector, especially in developing countries. Sharing great concern in this regard, IFOAM, FAO and UNCTAD decided to join forces and agreed, that harmonization, mutual recognition and equivalency in the organic sector offer the only viable solution to overcome the problems indicated above.
As a first step towards more harmonization and equivalency, the three organizations jointly organized “The Conference on International Harmonisation and Equivalency in Organic Agriculture” in Nuremberg in 2002, to bring together relevant stakeholders from the public and the private sector. One of the key recommendations of the conference was to establish a “multi-stakeholder task force” in order to elaborate practical proposals and solutions.
In response to this recommendation, the “International Task Force on Harmonization and Equivalency in Organic Agriculture” was launched at its first meeting on 18 February 2003, in Nuremberg. According to its Terms of Reference (ToR), the task force serves as an open-ended platform for dialogue between private and public institutions dealing with trade and regulatory activities in the organic agriculture sector. For further information please refer to the "Terms of Reference” for the ITF below. Since its establishment, the ITF has held a number of meetings. At these meetings and out of session discussions several studies have been presented discussed and finalized.
These discussion papers can broadly be grouped as dealing with topics related
to the three main phases of the ITF project:
1) The Review Phase, wherein the current situation is assessed, including its
impact on international trade, extent of international harmonization, and models
and mechanisms of equivalency and mutual recognition.
2) The Proposal Formulation Phase, wherein, building on the results of the
first phase as well as the recommendations of the Harmonization Conferences
in February 2002, and the second ITF meeting in October 2003, the ITF will
formulate proposals for the consideration of governments and relevant intergovernmental
and other bodies.
3) The Political Support Mobilization Phase, wherein the members of the task
force will be asked to seek commitments from their governments and other organizations
to implement relevant solutions.
On the Documents section of the ITF website you will find the draft and final versions of the discussion papers. They are presented in a chronological order and if available together with their presentations as held at the different ITF meetings. This will allow those interested, to track the development of the papers over time. On the Documents section you will also find further background documents with relevance to the work of the ITF.
Some of final discussion papers were also compiled and published
as books. These books can be found on the Publications section of the ITF website.
At the Meetings section you will find the discussion papers, related presentations
and the final reports in a meeting based order. ITF Management and Administration
The ITF is managed by the ITF Steering Committee. The ITF Steering Committee
is made up of representatives of the three conveners (FAO, IFOAM, UNCTAD) of
the ITF and is supported by the ITF secretariat. For further information on
the Steering Committee members and Secretariat team.