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(Cat. 3)
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:
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 a period of four years. It will hold its first meeting in the latter part of year 2000.
(Cat. 3)
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:
Working Language
English.
Achievement 1998-99
At its Fourth Session held in October 1998, the Panel advised that FAO, IAEA, OAU-IBAR and WHO should further define the modalities of collaboration, that more emphasis should be placed on PAAT's delivery at field level, and that PAAT should seek to identify large-scale, area-wide tsetse control programmes, aiming at rolling back tsetse infestations where most rewarding. The Sterile Insect Technique and the Sequential Airspray Technique were considered important in this regard. The Panel recommendations were subsequently endorsed by the PAAT Committee, the supreme programme body.
The Fifth Session held in September 1999 provided the opportunity to further nuance these recommendations and to explore the scope for truly large-scale programmes. With over nine million square km of sub-Saharan Africa infested by different tsetse species, the need to flag the negative impact of human and animal trypanosomiasis at the highest political level and to prepare ready-to-go Plans of Action for East and West Africa was noted. These recommendations were considered and approved by the PAAT Committee in November 1999.
(Cat. 3)
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 1998-99
At its Eleventh Session (September 1999), the Panel noted the expansion in technical coverage, the increase in number of institutes and agencies involved, and new developments at the policy, institutional and scientific/technical levels as well as their implications for the forest genetic resources work of FAO. It recognized FAO's international leadership role and stressed the need for FAO to continue to provide a point of reference in the forest genetic resources field, and to catalyze, support and help coordinate action at national and international levels. Noting the contribution to rural development that work related to forest genetic resources could provide, the Panel stressed the need for FAO to help ensure that, technically and scientifically, reliable information on status and trends, alternative strategies, traditional and new technologies and their wise application, was available to relevant national and international forestry and non-forestry fora. 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 the direct and indirect contributions which such action made to food security. It highlighted the need to further emphasise the compatibility of resource conservation and genetic management with the managed utilization of forest resources to meet present-day needs. The importance of continued FAO assistance in the elaboration of dynamic regional/sub-regional action plans, based on priorities and needs identified by countries, was considered of paramount importance, with a view to develop, in the coming future, a country-driven, participatory global action framework for the conservation and sustainable utilization of forest genetic resources. The Panel up-dated the lists of priority species by Region and by operational activity regularly prepared by it based on country-derived information.
JMPR (Cat. 3)
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.
Memberhsip
There are four FAO Panel of Experts on Pesticide Residues in Food and the Environment and seven WHO Toxicological Core Assessment Group on Pesticide Residues and about 19 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 1998-99
During the Twenty-fourth Session of the Panel of Experts on Pesticide Residues in Food and the Environment, a total of 30 pesticides were reviewed (one of them for the first time) 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 336 new MRLs and Guidance Levels (GLs) were estimated, while 132 were recommended for withdrawal. The Panel also developed and published an FAO Manual on the Submission and Evaluation of Pesticide Residues data for the Estimation of Maximum Residue Levels in Food and Feed, FAO, Rome 1997. This Manual is already contributing to a better understanding of the governing principles involved and is leading to wider acceptance of Codex MRLs.
PIC (Cat. 3)
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 1998-99
The PIC-procedure has now become a legally-binding instrument through the adoption of the Rotterdam Convention in 1998. Additional new FAO pesticide specifications were defined and a new procedure for the development of such specifications was established in 1999, which changed the procedure drastically. The process of updating the Code of Conduct was initiated.
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