APPENDIXES

APPENDIX 1

About the FAO - Plant Production and Protection Division (AGP)
&
Plant Protection Service (AGPP)

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations was founded in 1945 with a mandate to raise levels of nutrition and standards of living, to improve agricultural productivity and to better the condition of rural populations.

Today, FAO is one of the largest specialized agencies in the United Nations system and the lead agency for agriculture, forestry, fisheries and rural development. An intergovernmental organization, FAO has 180 member countries plus one member organization, the European Community.

Since its inception, FAO has worked to alleviate poverty and hunger by promoting agricultural development, improved nutrition and the pursuit of food security - defined as the access of all people at all times to the food they need for an active and healthy life.

Food production has increased at an unprecedented rate since FAO was founded in 1945, outpacing the doubling of the world's population over the same period. Since the early 1960s, the proportion of hungry people in the developing world has been reduced from more than 50 percent to less than 20 percent. Despite these gains, however, more than 790 million people in the developing world - more than the total population of North America and Western Europe combined - still go hungry.

A specific priority of the Organization is encouraging sustainable agriculture and rural development, a long-term strategy for increasing food production and food security while conserving and managing natural resources. The aim is to meet the needs of both present and future generations by promoting development that does not degrade the environment and is technically appropriate, economically viable and socially acceptable.

FAO is composed of eight departments: Administration and Finance, Agriculture, Economic and Social, Fisheries, Forestry, General Affairs and Information, Sustainable Development and Technical Cooperation.

Plant Production and Protection Division

The Plant Production and Protection Division (AGP), one of the six Divisions of the Department of Agriculture, addresses the development of sustainable agricultural systems to improve crop and grassland productivity, to create conditions for enhanced food security and general eonomic development and to conserve the environment through the development of agriculture's biological resources.

AGP's activities include the provision of regional and global fora for common action among countries and programmes on the conservation of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture (PGRFA), crop improvement and seed production development, and environmentally sound management of pests including Integrated Pest Management (IPM).

Major outputs cover seed security, a rolling Global Plan of Action for the conservation and sustainable use of PGRFA, biosecurity in relation to the spread of plant pests and weeds including International Standards for Phytosanitary measures, reduction of risks of pesticide use to the human health and the environment and ecological approaches to achieve sustainable intensification of crop and grassland production and diversification opportunities.

The AGP Division includes:

1. The Office of the Director (AGPD);
2. The Crop and Grassland Service (AGPC), which provides technical advice to FAO Members on increasing sustainable crop and grassland production through plant improvement, application of plant biotechnology techniques, development of integrated production systems and rational grassland management.
3. The Plant Protection Service (AGPP), which promotes effective plant protection, safe to human health and the environment, so as to avoid or reduce crop losses caused by plant pests, during growth, in transit and in storage. It aims at reducing emergency situations caused by transboundary pests; and
4. The Seed and Plant Genetic Resources Service (AGPS), which provides technical advice to FAO Members on seed programmes and policies, including seed and planting material improvement, production and processing, storage, testing, quality control and certification, and seed security. It assists and advises on effective conservation and sustainable utilization of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture (PGRFA) and promotes the implementation of the Global Plan of Action on PGRFA by all stakeholders.

Plant Protection Service

The Plant Protection Service (AGPP) of FAO addresses international aspects of plant protection and closely cooperates with regional and national plant protection organizations and programmes. The programme addresses plant quarantine in the Secretariat to the International Plant Protection Convention, setting standards, exchanging information and fostering cooperation. Concerning pesticide management, the programme promotes the implementation of the International Code of Conduct on the Distribution and Use of Pesticides; it implements with UNEP the PIC procedure on banned and severely restricted pesticides and, with WHO, makes recommendations for maximum residue levels.

On Pest Management, the Service supports the establishment of Integrated Pest Management Programmes. including the application of Biological Control and weed management.

The Plant Protection programme provides regular updates on the desert locust situation through the Desert Locust Information Service. A forum for countries to discuss and take action on locust management is provided through the Desert Locust Control Committee and several Sub-regional Commissions. The programme also technically supports and coordinates migratory pest control operations, where so required.

Through the EMPRES programme, the Service assists in early warning, early reaction and research on pests of a transboundary nature. Initial emphasis is on migratory pests, in particular the strengthening and support of the Desert Locust Management System. A cooperative programme has been developed in the Central Region and is being extended to West Africa.

Plant Protection Officers in the regions provide regional, sub-regional and national dimensions to the Programme.

Plant Protection posts exist in the Regional Offices in Africa (Ghana), Asia and the Pacific (Thailand), Latin America (Chile), and the Near East (Cairo), and in the sub-regional office in Tunis, Barbados and Western Samoa. A Locust Officer is posted in Algeria.

The Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programme identifies problems and implements rational plant protection strategies that are economically viable and take into account human health and the environment. This programme deals with the implementation of IPM projects from institutional to farmer level.

FAO's experience has shown that:

• IPM is about people: to succeed it has to be a farmer driven process;
• IPM increases the sustainability of farming systems. It improves ecological sustainability, as it relies primarily on environmentally-benign processes including the use of pest resistant varieties, the actions of natural enemies and cultural control. It improves social stability because it is institutionalized at the level of the farming community and local government. Finally, IPM programmes are economically sustainable as they reduce farmers' dependence on procured inputs.
• IPM addresses far more than purely pest management. It offers an entry point to improve the farming system as a whole.
• The farmers' field school concept can be used to address other farming situations and extension problems.

Ozone Depleting Substances and Methyl Bromide

FAO is not an implementing agency of the Montreal Protocol, but since 1998 it started some work on methyl bromide phase out, conducting joint activities with UNEP on alternatives to the use of Methyl Bromide in agriculture.

The major goal of the work that FAO is carrying out with UNEP is to conduct a comprehensive training on methyl bromide alternatives, which also focuses on the use of IPM principles.

This training is in general based on three major steps:

• A preparatory workshop to identify already validated methyl bromide (MeBr) alternatives and major soil-borne pests
• The training of extension workers and other technical personnel on IPM and MeBr alternatives
• Farmers' Field Schools

FAO / UNEP activities also include the preparation of manuals and reports on methyl bromide alternatives.

For more information about the Plant Protection Service services please contact:

Mr. N. A. Van der Graaff
Chief, Plant Protection Service
Plant Production and Protection Division
FAO
Viale delle Terme di Caracalla
00100 Rome, Italy
E-mail: [email protected]
Tel. +39-0657053441
Fax. +39-0657056347
Internet: www.fao.org

APPENDIX 2

About the UNEP Division of Technology, Industry and Economics

The mission of the UNEP Division of Technology, Industry and Economics is to help decision-makers in government, local authorities, and industry develop and adopt policies and practices that:

• are cleaner and safer;
• make efficient use of natural resources;
• ensure adequate management of chemicals;
• incorporate environmental costs;
• reduce pollution and risks for humans and the environment.

The UNEP Division of Technology, Industry and Economics (UNEP DTIE), with its head office in Paris, is composed of one centre and four units:

• The International Environmental Technology Centre (Osaka), which promotes the adoption and use of environmentally sound technologies with a focus on the environmental management of cities and freshwater basins, in developing countries and countries in transition.
• Production and Consumption (Paris), which fosters the development of cleaner and safer production and consumption patterns that lead to increased efficiency in the use of natural resources and reductions in pollution.
• Chemicals (Geneva), which promotes sustainable development by catalysing global actions and building national capacities for the sound management of chemicals and the improvement of chemical safety world-wide, with a priority on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) and Prior Informed Consent (PIC, jointly with FAO).
• Energy and OzonAction (Paris), which supports the phase-out of ozone depleting substances in developing countries and countries with economies in transition, and promotes good management practices and use of energy, with a focus on atmospheric impacts. The UNEP/RISØ Collaborating Centre on Energy and Environment supports the work of the Unit.
• Economics and Trade (Geneva), which promotes the use and application of assessment and incentive tools for environmental policy and helps improve the understanding of linkages between trade and environment and the role of financial institutions in promoting sustainable development.

UNEP DTIE activities focus on raising awareness, improving the transfer of information, building capacity, fostering technology cooperation, partnerships and transfer, improving understanding of environmental impacts of trade issues, promoting integration of environmental considerations into economic policies, and catalysing global chemical safety.

UNEP DTIE OzonAction Programme

Nations around the world are taking concrete actions to reduce and eliminate production and consumption of CFCs, halons, carbon tetrachloride, methyl chloroform, methyl bromide and HCFCs. When released into the atmosphere these substances damage the stratospheric ozone layer - a shield that protects life on Earth from the dangerous effects of solar ultraviolet radiation. Nearly every country in the world - currently 172 countries - has committed itself under the Montreal Protocol to phase out the use and production of ODS. Recognizing that developing countries require special technical and financial assistance in order to meet their commitments under the Montreal Protocol, the Parties established the Multilateral Fund and requested UNEP, along with UNDP, UNIDO and the World Bank, to provide the necessary support. In addition, UNEP supports ozone protection activities in Countries with Economies in Transition (CEITs) as an implementing agency of the Global Environment Facility (GEF).

Since 1991, the UNEP DTIE OzonAction Programme has strengthened the capacity of governments (particularly National Ozone Units or "NOUs") and industry in developing countries to make informed decisions about technology choices and to develop the policies required to implement the Montreal Protocol. By delivering the following services to developing countries, tailored to their individual needs, the OzonAction Programme has helped promote cost-effective phase-out activities at the national and regional levels:

Information Exchange

Provides information tools and services to encourage and enable decision makers to make informed decisions on policies and investments required to phase out ODS. Since 1991, the Programme has developed and disseminated to NOUs over 100 individual publications, videos, and databases that include public awareness materials, a quarterly newsletter, a web site, sector-specific technical publications for identifying and selecting alternative technologies and guidelines to help governments establish policies and regulations.

Training

Builds the capacity of policy makers, customs officials and local industry to implement national ODS phase-out activities. The Programme promotes the involvement of local experts from industry and academia in training workshops and brings together local stakeholders with experts from the global ozone protection community. UNEP conducts training at the regional level and also supports national training activities (including providing training manuals and other materials).

Networking

Provides a regular forum for officers in NOUs to meet to exchange experiences, develop skills, and share knowledge and ideas with counterparts from both developing and developed countries. Networking helps ensure that NOUs have the information, skills and contacts required for managing national ODS phase-out activities successfully. UNEP currently operates 8 regional/sub-regional Networks involving 109 developing and 8 developed countries, which have resulted in member countries taking early steps to implement the Montreal Protocol.

Refrigerant Management Plans (RMPs)

Provide countries with an integrated, cost-effective strategy for ODS phase-out in the refrigeration and air conditioning sectors. RMPs have to assist developing countries (especially those that consume low volumes of ODS) to overcome the numerous obstacles to phase out ODS in the critical refrigeration sector. UNEP DTIE is currently providing specific expertise, information and guidance to support the development of RMPs in 60 countries.

Country Programmes and Institutional Strengthening

Support the development and implementation of national ODS phase-out strategies especially for low-volume ODS-consuming countries. The Programme is currently assisting 90 countries to develop their Country Programmes and 76 countries to implement their Institutional-Strengthening projects.

For more information about these services please contact:

Mr. Rajendra Shende, Chief, Energy and OzonAction Unit
UNEP Division of Technology, Industry and Economics
OzonAction Programme
39-43, quai André Citroën
75739 Paris Cedex 15 France
Email: [email protected]
Tel: +33 1 44 37 14 50
Fax: +33 1 44 37 14 74
www.uneptie.org/ozonaction.html