Launch of the International Year of the Natural Fibres
Jacques Diouf,
Director-General
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
National Maritime Museum in Sydney, Sydney, Australia
20 May 2009
Excellencies,
The Honourable Minister Tony Burke
Distinguished Colleagues,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I should like first to express my profound gratitude to the Australian Wool Innovation, Cotton Australia and the Cotton Research and Development Corporation for having kindly invited me to the celebration of the launch of the International Year of Natural Fibres. It is indeed a great pleasure for me to join The Honourable Tony Burke, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and other special guests from the wool and cotton industries during this celebration at this wonderful venue in the National Maritime Museum in Sydney.
The idea of the United Nations International Year dedicated to natural fibres arose in December 2004 during a meeting of FAO's Intergovernmental Groups on Hard Fibres and on Jute, Kenaf and Allied Fibres. The proposal to declare 2009 as the International Year of Natural Fibres was subsequently endorsed by the FAO Conference in November 2005 and was transmitted to the United Nations Secretary-General.
The main objective of the International Year of Natural Fibres is to raise the profile of these products and to emphasise their value to fighting hunger and poverty and to overall economic growth.
Globally, each year, farmers harvest around 35 million tonnes of natural fibres from a wide range of plants and animals - including sheep, rabbits, goats, camels and alpacas, from cotton bolls, abaca leaves and coconut husks, and from the stalks of jute, hemp, flax and ramie plants. Those fibres form fabrics that have been fundamental to society since the dawn of civilization.
Over the past 50 years, natural fibres have been replaced in much of our clothing, household furnishings and industry by low-cost synthetic fibres produced from petrochemicals, which now account for an estimated 60% of world textile production.
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Why are natural fibres so special for us?
Natural fibres are a healthy choice - Natural fibres provide natural ventilation. Wool garments act as insulators against both cold and heat.
Natural fibres are a high-tech choice - Natural fibres have good mechanical strength, low weight and low cost. That has made them particularly attractive to the automobile industry.
Natural fibres are a sustainable choice - We are moving to a "green" economy, based on energy efficiency, renewable feed stocks in polymer products, industrial processes that reduce carbon emissions and recyclable materials that minimize waste. Natural fibres are a renewable resource, par excellence.
Natural fibres are a responsible choice - The production, processing and export of natural fibres are of significant economic importance to many developing countries and vital to the livelihoods and food security of millions of small-scale farmers and processors.
Natural fibres are a fashionable choice - Today, natural fibres are at the heart of an eco-fashion or "sustainable clothing" movement that focuses on all of those global concerns: for the environment and for the well-being of producers and consumers.
It is for these reasons that I believe the International Year of Natural Fibres is well worth celebrating.
FAO is contributing to this International Year by sponsoring symposia to study the problems facing the natural fibres sector and identify opportunities. More than 70 events will be held by our partner organizations, including international conferences in Frankfurt and London. Activities have been supported through FAO's own resources, donations from the Common Fund for Commodities and donor countries, as well as from cotton, wool and jute industry organizations, among many others.
FAO welcomes the support from both governments and the private sector to realize the full potential benefits of the International Year of Natural Fibres. We all have a stake in a vibrant, productive and sustainable global natural fibres sector.
I thank you for your kind attention.