FAO/Netherlands Conference on the Multifunctional Character of Agriculture and Land
THE REPORT OF THE CHAIR OF THE CONFERENCE IS NOW AVAILABLE
NEW: Click here for the Report of the Chair (PDF Veresion Here)
NEW: Click here for the opening and closing addresses
Please send in your comments and views to the WebForum - we will distribute them immediately to Conference Delegates and to internet participants of the Virtual Maastricht electronic conference. Please Click Here or send an email to agr-99-conference@fao.org
|
Images from
Maastricht |
|
|
|
Hans Alders, elected Conference Chairperson addressing Conference Delegates in the morning session on Monday, 13 September, 1999. The text of his speech is now available here Photograph reproduced courtesty of IISD |
|
Paul Nicholson of Via Campesina and Alex McCalla, Director of Rural Development at the World Bank listening to a presentation on the Issues Paper on Monday, 13 September 1999. Photograph reproduced courtesty of IISD |
|
|
|
Henri Carsalade, Assistant Director-General, Sustainable Development Department is heading the FAO Delegation at the Conference Photograph reproduced courtesty of IISD |
|
Delegates divided into regional groups to discuss the MFCAL Appraoch guided by a series of case study presentations. Here was can see the Africa group. A report of this session can be found in the Sustainable Developments daily Conference bulletin for Tuesday, 14 September produced by the IISD element of the WebForum Team (See Here) Photograph reproduced courtesty of IISD |
|
|
|
Bruce Moore, Co-ordinator of the Popular Coalition to Eradicate Hunger and Poverty stressing the need to extend secure access to land and other nature resources for the rural poor throughout the world |
|
Saad Nassar from Egypt, reporting to Plenary on the findings and conclusions of the Regional Group meetings on Tuesday morning |
|
- Participants from over 100 countries and around 50 inter-governmental and non-governmental organisations are meeting in Maastricht in order to discuss the Multifunctional Character of Agriculture and Land (MFCAL).
- The
Conference began with a series of opening addresses. The
speakers were:
- Geke Faber, Secretary of Agriculture, Nature Management and Fisheries of the Netherlands,
- Jacques Diouf, Director-General of FAO
- Fawzi H. Al-Sultan, President of IFAD
- Gerard Doornbos, President of the International Federation of Agricultural Producers (IFAP)
- Hans Alders, Queen's Commissioner of Groningen and former Minister was appointed Chair of the Conference.
- Text versions of all the opening speeches are now available Here
- Monday was devoted to the presentation and discussion of the two main technical documents - the Issues Paper and the Stock-Taking Paper - and was followed by a wide-ranging discussion on many of the issues and themes surrounding the MFCAL topic.
- Tuesday discussions were centred on case-studies. Participants split into smaller groups based on broads regional groupings.
- Detailed reports of the discussions on Monday and Tuesday are available via the WebForum Here
- Conferece participants will enjoy a series of field visits throughout Wednesday, returning to plenary discussions on Thursday morning.
- A full Conference Report, pictures from the the first three daysand audio clips have been provided by IISD, one of the WebForum's partners. Here (Photos and Audio Clips are here)
- Find out more about the WebForum Here
- See
the views and ideas of people from around the
world involved in the Virtual Maastricht
electronic-conference Here
- The Background Papers are now available on-line Here
- You can follow all all the proceedings of the e-conference Here
- Information on the WebForum is now available Here
- Information on how to subscribe to the E-Conference is available Here
- On-line Versions of the two main Technical Documents are now available in English, French and Spanish Here
- See also the new MFCAL Tour for summary information on the Conference and the main Technical Documents Here
- A Logistic Note for Participants at the Maastricht Conference is now available on-line Here
Welcome
Welcome to the official website site of the FAO/NL Conference on the Multifunctional Character of Agriculture and Land. The Conference will take place in Maastricht in the Netherlands from 12-17 September, 1999.This site provides you with both information and answers on the actual Conference in Maastricht, the preparatory process, available documentation, several related initiatives taking place in the run-up to the Conference and during the event itself, and finally, important contact information.
A short Overview of the whole process is also available.
About the Conference
- The FAO/NL MFCAL Conference is a high-level technical Conference bringing together over 350 government-designated and non-government technical experts from around the world.
- The Conference is being jointly organised by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and The Ministry of Agriculture, Nature Management and Fisheries of the Government of the Netherlands.
- The Conference will explore the utility of the so-called MFCAL Approach (click here for a short summary of the MFCAL Approach).
- The discussions and findings of the Conference will assist the preparation of FAO's contribution to CSD-8
- The Conference is not about trade
Conference Goals
The overall objective of the Conference is to identify both the new practices and the necessary enabling environments that will lead to the increased sustainability of agriculture and related land-use.Particular emphasis will be placed on raising international, national and local awareness of the range and diversity of the contribution that agriculture and related land-use can make in terms of heightened environmental sustainability and food security.
Inputs to the Conference
Conference participants will have access to three types of material: (click on the heading to find out more about the different inputs)
- Technical Documents
- Background Papers
- Case-Study Materials
During the Conference
Maximum effort will be made during the Conference to keep as many people as possible informed about discussions, progress and issues. These efforts will be centred on the Virtual Maastricht WebForum. The WebForum will involve:
- E-Mail Conference
- Daily Conference Reports on the Internet
- On-line Documentation
- Selected Other On-line Resources
Conference Outputs & Reporting
The Conference will have two main outputs: