| Programme Entity | Title | Type | Lead Division |
|---|---|---|---|
| 313A1 | Support to the Development of a Regulatory Framework for Food and Agriculture | Technical Project | LEG |
Rationale
- Development problem to be addressed: regulation of agriculture is increasingly subject to principles of international law and non-binding instruments. Governments require assistance for the development of principles for national implementation. FAO is engaged in supporting regulatory frameworks in all areas of its mandate. It is necessary to place these sectoral efforts into a coherent whole.
- Proposed contribution to problem resolution: the assistance to countries is specifically targeted at the application of international norms to national contexts.
- Intended end beneficiaries: by ensuring coherence of FAO' support, national authorities should be able to establish effective regulatory frameworks as relates to food and agriculture. Ultimately, this should serve sound policies and programmes in the concerned countries.
Objective
- Effective national implementation of international norms in priority areas.
Indicators
- Demands for information for preparation of national regulations in priority areas.
- Evidence of national regulations adopted on the basis of guidelines, manuals, codes of conduct and action plans.
2004-05 Implementation Progress - Achievements, Success Stories and Lessons Learnt
- This programme entity supplemented and strengthened the delivery of outputs under 313P1 and 313S1 by focusing on methods and approaches for enhancing the harmonization of national regulatory frameworks with international agreements, plans of action and other instruments. Laws and regulations developed with assistance from the Development Law Service reflected obligations, standards and guidelines enshrined in recommendations of regional fisheries bodies and such international instruments as the Codex Alimentarius, the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC), the Rotterdam Convention, the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, the Code of Conduct on the Distribution and Use of Pesticides, and relevant WTO agreements. Special attention was given to the development of guidelines for the preparation of legislation in the substantive areas of relevance to FAO. In particular, "Perspectives and guidelines on food legislation, with a new model food law" was published in 2005. Comparable work on fisheries legislation is under way.
| Major Output | Biennial Output | Title | Type | Contributing Divisions (Lead Division in bold) | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 001 | Assessment of food and agricultural regulations; guidelines, manuals, codes of conduct and action plans. | ||||
| 401 | Preparation of guidelines, manuals, codes of conduct and action plans to provide the basis for national legislation related to international legal instruments in the priority areas of food law and fisheries law | Methodologies and guidelines (including pilot testing and demonstration) | Completed | ||
| Programme Entity | Title | Type | Lead Division |
|---|---|---|---|
| 313P1 | Collection and Dissemination of Legal Information | Continuing Programme Activity | LEG |
Rationale
- Development problem to be addressed: as essential tools to assist countries in improving their legal and institutional frameworks for agricultural development and natural resources management, FAO's comprehensive legal database needs to be continuously updated and augmented, and publications issued on important legal dimensions of food and agriculture development.
- Proposed contribution to problem resolution: practical legislation, reflecting appropriate policies, strengthens the impact of development programmes; enhances the security of rights of farmers, encouraging them to improve agriculture; facilitates agricultural investment and trade to the benefit of producers and consumers; and promotes sustainability in natural resource use.
- Intended end beneficiaries: national authorities, and ultimately producers and users of natural resources.
Objective
- Improved legislation for food and agriculture and greater national capacity to frame such legislation.
Indicators
- Effective use of information in drafting national legislation.
- Outreach of publications.
2004-05 Implementation Progress - Achievements, Success Stories and Lessons Learnt
- The programme entity has continued to make a significant and growing contribution to the collection, generation and dissemination of information and lessons concerning legal aspects of agricultural and rural development. Under this programme entity, the Legal Office maintains FAOLEX and associated legal databases (fisheries and water law databases), representing the world's largest online database of national legislation and treaties concerning agriculture, food and natural resource management. FAOLEX grew steadily during the biennium, with the addition of approximately 15 000 new records with linked full legislative texts, all of which users can access via the Internet using a sophisticated search interface. With this extension, FAOLEX has become a unique information source, capacity-building tool and legal-drafting reference for governments, international organizations, NGOs, legal practitioners, researchers and others. Seven books on comparative law topics were produced during the biennium and disseminated worldwide. These publications have been targeted to new and emerging areas of law, such as intellectual property rights in plant varieties, urban and peri-urban forestry and greening and animal genetic resources, and to recent developments in the areas of forestry, groundwater in international law, fisheries and food. A Web-based publication series - "FAO Legal Papers Online", a series of articles and reports on legal issues of contemporary interest in the areas of food policy, agriculture, rural development, biodiversity, environment and natural resource management - grew considerably over the biennium and is widely cited. In addition, individual technical papers on selected legal issues were produced in support of several initiatives of other FAO divisions and other partners. FAO, The World Conservation Union (IUCN) and UNEP have entered into a partnership, called ECOLEX. The visibility and central importance of the database have been enhanced. In particular, a common keyword and indexing system was developed during the biennium. This will facilitate consolidation of the search and retrieval systems adopted by the partners and enhance Web-searching capabilities.
| Major Output | Biennial Output | Title | Type | Contributing Divisions (Lead Division in bold) | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 001 | FAOLEX database. | ||||
| 404 | Merger of FAOLEX and ECOLEX and constant updating of the database | Information (products, systems, databases) | LEG | Completed | |
| 002 | Food and agriculture law publications. | ||||
| 403 | Dissemination of legislative studies | Studies and analyses | LEG | Completed | |
| Programme Entity | Title | Type | Lead Division |
|---|---|---|---|
| 313S1 | Provision of Technical Advice | Technical Service Agreement | LEG |
Indicators
- Number of appropriate laws or regulations adopted
2004-05 Implementation Progress - Achievements, Success Stories and Lessons Learnt
- The Development Law Service (LEGN) of the FAO Legal Office provided technical assistance on improving legal frameworks for food and agriculture to several countries in all regions of the world. Assistance was extensively provided on the full range of subject matter covered by FAO, including legal aspects of food safety, plant genetic resources, plant protection, seeds, pesticides, animal health and veterinary services, marketing and rural institutions, community-based natural resource management, forestry, land tenure and land use, fisheries, water, trade, protected areas and wildlife. An important focus of the assistance was on capacity-building of legal professionals within government and civil society, and of the judiciary. Assistance was provided primarily through the formulation, implementation and backstopping of TCP and Trust Fund projects. During the biennium, LEGN was involved in the delivery of a large number of TCP projects, both as a lead technical unit and as a collaborating unit. Furthermore, legal advisory activities were carried out through the FAO/World Bank Cooperative Programme and in collaboration with other development banks, as well as through Trust Fund projects.
| Major Output | Biennial Output | Title | Type | Contributing Divisions (Lead Division in bold) | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 001 | Professional advice to governments on food and agriculture law and complementary training | ||||
| 401 | Direct advice, including draft legislation, and on-the-job training of national legal staff, for up to 30 countries | Direct advice to Members; field programme support | LEG | Completed | |