SECTION II - PANELS OF EXPERTS

AGRICULTURE

(Cat. 3)

Panel of Eminent Experts on Ethics in Food and Agriculture (AGD-702)

Purpose

To reflect and promote reflection upon ethical issues arising out of food production and consumption as well as agriculture development, including forestry and fisheries, in the context of food security and sustainable rural development against an environment of rapid global change, and advise the Director-General on the possible role and policies of FAO.

Terms of Reference

1. The Panel of Eminent Experts shall reflect and promote reflection upon ethical issues arising out of food production and consumption as well as agriculture development, including forestry and fisheries, in the context of food security and sustainable rural development against an environment of rapid global change.

2. The Panel shall in particular consider ethical issues relating to the interests of present and future generations regarding the sustainable use of natural resources, the safeguarding of biodiversity and the balanced mix of traditional and modern technologies to increase food security and sustainable agriculture.

3. Based on the above considerations the Panel shall:

1. promote an overall sense of international responsibility with regard to the development of necessary policies and instruments aimed at maximizing global benefits, while minimizing risks arising from the application of modern technologies to food and agriculture;
2. seek to increase the awareness of States, intergovernmental organizations, non-governmental organizations, civil society and public opinion worldwide, with regard to ethical issues in food and agriculture in order to promote international understanding and appropriate action on such issues, bearing in mind that different communities have different cultural values;
3. advise on possible international, regional or national action or the preparation of instruments, as appropriate, to best respond to ethical issues arising out of food and agriculture, with due regard to interdependence among generations, among countries and between food security and other community needs;
4. encourage exchange of information on all issues of an ethical nature arising out of food and agriculture.

4. The Panel may consider any other issue related to the above.

5. In its consideration of the above, the Panel shall advise the Director-General on the possible role and policies of FAO.

Working Languages

Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Spanish.

Current Status

The Panel was established as of 1 January 2000 for an initial period of four years. It held its first Session on 26-28 September 2000, and prepared a report dealing with basic ethical concerns, the identification of ethical issues in food and agriculture, and biotechnology, including genetically- modified organisms. Its Second Session was convened from 18 to 20 March 2002.

ANIMAL PRODUCTION AND HEALTH

(Cat. 3)

Panel of PAAT Advisory Group Coordinators (AGA-709)

Purpose

Conference Resolution 5/97 requested the Director-General to establish this Panel to replace two Panels of Experts on Ecological, Technical and Development Aspects of the Programme for the Control of African Animal Trypanosomiasis and Related Development, which were abolished by that Resolution. The Terms of Reference are:

1. To provide technical expertise and advice to the Programme Partners on all technical and scientific aspects in the fields of trypanosomiasis, tsetse control and rural development in affected areas;
2. To provide a contact group of experts and constitute a technical and scientific focal point for activities of the Programme, thus stimulating cooperation and an increased spirit of collaboration among all the partners;
3. To collect, collate and disseminate technical information on all activities performed under PAAT;
4. To review the technical and scientific aspects of the activities conducted under the Programme and provide advice to the PAAT Committee;
5. To participate, as required, in an advisory capacity in meetings of the PAAT Committee.

Membership

The Panel consists of 19 experts from Member Nations of the Organization. All experts are appointed by the Assistant Director General, Agriculture Department.

Working Language

English.

Achievement 2000-01

The Sixth Session of the Panel of PAAT Advisory Group Coordinators (PAG), held in September 2000, recommended to reinforce efforts in the development of Action Plans. In this regard, inputs from various PAAT partners require to be coordinated and harmonised. The Panel advised PAAT and associated partners to concentrate, as a priority, on the development of strategic plans for area-wide tsetse and trypanosomiasis control in selected, well-demarcated priority areas, such as the Cotton-belt in West Africa (Mali and Burkina Faso) and the River Basins in Ethiopia. These recommendations were considered and approved by the PAAT Committee in November 2000.

Noting the creation of the Pan African Tsetse and Trypanosomosis Eradication Campaign (PATTEC) by the African Heads of State and Government in July 2000 and the endorsement of its Plan of Action in July 2001 by the same body, the Panel, at its Seventh Session held in September 2001, advised to progress towards PAAT-PATTEC harmonisation, and to identify and clarify the respective responsibilities, based on the principle of comparative advantages. It was recommended that PAAT should provide support to and assist PATTEC. The Panel recommended that strategic planning of area-wide tsetse and trypanosomiasis control, similar to that developed for West Africa, should be developed for East and Southern Africa. Considering that the strategic planning exercises were in progress and given that the process of PAAT-PATTEC harmonisation was to be concluded, no further PAAT Committee meeting was held in 2001.

FORESTRY

(Cat. 3)

Panel of Experts on Forest Gene Resources (FO-736)

Purpose

To help plan and coordinate FAO's efforts to explore, utilize and conserve the gene resources of forest trees and, in particular, help prepare detailed short- and long-term programmes of action (including lists of priority species by region and by activity), and to provide information to Member Governments.

Working Languages

English, French, Spanish.

Achievement 2000-01

At the Twelfth Session of the Panel, held 21- 23 November 2001 in Rome, the Panel took note of the debate which had taken place in other international for a, notably the recent approval by the Thirty-first Session of the FAO Conference of the International Treaty on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, and the deliberations of the Seventh Session of the SBSTTA of the Convention on Biological Diversity, in which forest biological diversity had been among the main issues on the agenda. The Panel Members reported on the forest genetic resources activities in the various regions covered by each of them, and reviewed global developments and the work of FAO in the past biennium.

The Panel passed a number of specific recommendations stressing the need for continued and increased attention to:

1. support to national institutes in the development and implementation of forest genetic resources programmes, including support to regional and sub-regional forest genetic resources workshops and strategies; support to institutional networking and twinning;
2. further development, dissemination and adaptation of methodologies and pilot activities in the conservation and sustainable use of forest genetic resources to meet present-day social, economic and environmental needs, with due attention to woody perennials used in agro-forestry systems, as carbon sinks, and in desertification control;
3. facilitation of exchange of technologies and forest reproductive materials for evaluation and conservation purposes, on mutually-agreed terms;
4. dissemination of information on benefits and potential adverse effects of the use and application of new biotechnologies; and on access, benefit-sharing and biosafety;
5. provision of up-to-date information on the state of the world's forest genetic resources, notably through continued development of the FAO World-Wide Information System on Forest Genetic Resources (REFORGEN); and
6. raising of awareness of forest genetic resources issues and their impacts and benefits, through well-targeted documentation, using traditional and new methods of information dissemination.

The Panel stressed the need to continue to raise awareness of the social, economic and environmental benefits of conservation and wise utilization of forest genetic resources, and of their direct and indirect contributions to national and rural development. It stressed the need to further emphasize the compatibility of conservation and genetic management with the managed utilization of forest resources to meet present-day, as well as future, needs.

PLANT PRODUCTION AND PROTECTION

JMPR (Cat. 3)

Joint Meeting of the FAO Panel of Experts on Pesticide Residues in Food and the Environment and the WHO Toxicological Core Assessment Group on Pesticide Residues (AGP-716)

Purpose

To advise the Director-General on all aspects regarding pesticide residues in food and the environment. The panel was originally established in 1963 as a Working Party of Experts on Pesticide Residues.

Membership

The FAO Panel of Experts on Pesticide Residues in Food and the Environment is made up of five Panel Members, the WHO Toxicological Core Assessment Group on Pesticide Residues consists of five members and the Panels are assisted by about 13 Temporary Advisors and Consultants.

Working Language

English.

Pattern of Sessions

Every third week of September held alternately each year at FAO Headquarters in Rome and WHO Headquarters in Geneva.

Achievement 2000-01

During the Twenty-fifth and Twenty-sixth Sessions of the Panel of Experts on Pesticide Residues in Food and the Environment, a total of 46 pesticides were reviewed and the residues resulting from their use, under specified conditions, were evaluated and re-evaluated. New or revised Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs) were agreed and recommended, based on use patterns and in response to the periodic review programme of the Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues (CCPR). Overall, a total of 376 new MRLs and Extraneous Residue Level (ERLs) were estimated, while 96 were recommended for withdrawal. The Panel also revised the FAO Manual on the Submission and Evaluation of Pesticide Residues data for the Estimation of Maximum Residues Levels in Food and Feed, FAO Rome 2002.

PIC (Cat. 3)

Panel of Experts on Pesticide Specifications, Registration Requirements, Application Standards, and Prior Informed Consent (PIC) (AGP-717)

Origin

The Panel was originally established in 1963 as a Working Party of Experts on the Official Control of Pesticides. In April 1975, a Panel of Experts on Pesticide Specifications Registration Requirements and Application Standards was formed by the Ad Hoc Government Consultation on Pesticides in Agriculture and Public Health.

Purpose

To advise the Director-General on all aspects regarding the management of pesticides arising from the "Code of Conduct on the Distribution and Use of Pesticides" with the objective to support agricultural development while at the same time reducing the risk associated with their use. Since its inception in 1985 the Code of Conduct has been amended once in 1989 to include the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) procedure, which is now covered by the Rotterdam Convention. In addition to the development of standards for pesticide management, the major functions of this Panel are to review and update the Code of Conduct and to support the production of pesticide management guidelines for the implementation of the provisions of the Code.

Membership

The Panel consists of 23 experts from Member Nations of the Organization. All experts are appointed by the Director-General.

Working Language

English.

Achievement 2000-01

Four sessions of this Panel were held during 2000-2001. A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between WHO and FAO to develop pesticide specifications together leading to Joint FAO/WHO Meetings on Pesticide Specifications (JMPS) in the future. Eleven additional specifications were developed under the 'new' procedure, which was introduced in 1999. The last eight specifications were finalized under the 'old' procedure. This 'old' procedure was phased out by the end of 2001. Specifications have now been developed for 235 different pesticides. The process of updating the International Code of Conduct on the Distribution and Use of Pesticides continued with consultations and inputs from Governments and other stakeholders. The result, the draft Revised Code of Conduct, was presented to the Thirty-first Session of the Conference in November 2001. The draft was found acceptable with the exception of one paragraph, to be addressed in 2002.

As of December 2001 the Rotterdam Convention has been ratified by 18 participating states.

INDEX OF FAO STATUTORY BODIES AND PANELS OF EXPERTS