Programme Committee

Introduction

1. At its 81^st session of May 1999, the Committee requested that an annual report be henceforth submitted "to indicate important programme changes that had occurred during the year." The present report has been prepared accordingly.

Scope

2. The expression "important programme changes" can be interpreted in different ways. The Committee is well aware through its consideration of past Programme Implementation Reports (PIRs), that planned activities and outputs, as presented to and eventually endorsed by the Conference in the biennial Programme of Work and Budget, are subject to some degree of change during implementation, for a variety of reasons. The Secretariat understands the scope of the present report as to cover only situations of significant additional resource requirements which would stem from decisions or developments since the adoption of the Programme of Work and Budget, or of major departures from the approved Programme of Work. The changes of a more "routine" nature to the Programme of Work, implying deviations from that approved by the Conference, e.g. the cancelled or unscheduled sessions, the substitution of planned publications by others, the delays experienced during implementation for specific activities and outputs, etc. would continue to be reported as in the past in the Programme Implementation Report, or in eventual successor documents of similar global scope.

3. Accordingly, the present report covers:

• changes, which needed to be introduced to the structure of Programme 2.1.3, Livestock;
• the establishment of a new post of Secretary to the Desert Locust Commission for the Central Region;
• an increase of resources for Prior Informed Consent (PIC) activities, in follow-up to the adoption of the Rotterdam Convention; and
• the addition of the FAO-Iceland Conference on Responsible Fisheries in the Ecosystem.

Programme 2.1.3, Livestock (changes to the structure)

IMPORT OF CHANGES

4. The Programme of Work and Budget 2000-2001 included, as for all substantive programmes under Chapter 2, Technical and Economic Programmes, and Major Programme 3.1, Policy Assistance, a new structure of constituent entities for Programme 2.1.3, Livestock. This structure comprised six Technical Projects (TPs) and one Continuing Programme Activity (CP), while support to the field programme was consolidated under one Technical Service Agreement (TS).

5. The structure embodied the first attempt to draw on the benefits of the new programming model. However, the new Director of the AGA Division took up his duties in April 1999 which meant that there was not enough time for him to carry out the needed thorough consultations within this relatively large division and with its outposted staff in Regional and Sub-regional Offices, to complete the review of the structure prior to the publication of the Programme of Work and Budget. This was all the more urgent in order to take account fully of the rapidly evolving context for the livestock sector.

6. Therefore, several amendments had to be made to the structure shown in the Programme of Work and Budget, with some consolidation of entities (one TP less) and changes in the titles to reflect transfers of some component activities across the entities. The revised structure resulting from the above thorough consultations, is as follows:

Programme 2.1.3 - Livestock (Programme Change)

7. It would have been possible to delay the formal introduction of this new structure until its presentation in the Medium-term Plan 2002-2007 and the Programme of Work and Budget 2002-2003 and its subsequent endorsement by the Conference. However, this would have greatly complicated management of the programme in the interim period, while staff is thinking in terms of the new structure, and at the same time is still having to monitor progress and record expenditures in terms of the old one.

JUSTIFICATIONS

Global Livestock Information, Livestock Sector Analysis, and Livestock (Production and Health) Policy Analysis

8. In the first instance, it was necessary to assemble all of the former and largely uncoordinated livestock information activities (feed, production technology, farm animal diversity, disease intelligence, trypanosomiasis, natural resource inventory) on a common platform, with the aim of:

• building a comprehensive livestock information programme, including a global animal agriculture atlas, and
• securing more substantial support and collaboration in the development of this programme both within FAO (e.g. the WAICENT unit and the Information Systems and Technology Division) and from external partners.

9. Secondly, comprehensive, current, objective and relevant livestock information needed to be more effectively analysed and interpreted to:

• assist decision-making and capacity building at international and country levels, and
• guide AGA's technical work and support FAO's policy and technical advice in livestock production and health matters.

Besides forming the backbone of the revised entity 213P1, these core functions of information, sector and policy analysis are now assembled in a Livestock Information, Sector Analysis and Policy Branch (AGAL).

Disciplinary Integration

10. In technical projects 213A3, Contribution of Livestock to Poverty Alleviation, and 213A8, Decision-support for Efficient Livestock Resource Use, several sub-disciplinary thrusts, such as: animal husbandry, animal genetic improvement, animal feeding, animal health and hygiene and product processing were integrated to capture synergies and develop effective solutions for both poverty alleviation and productivity enhancement. Of particular relevance in this context is the mainstreaming of animal genetic improvement work (breeding), thereby enhancing the integration of the Initiative for Domestic Animal Diversity (IDAD) into the whole programme.

Mainstreaming Environmental Concerns in Decision-support on Livestock Resource Use

11. The current rapid growth of the livestock sector (often referred to as the "Livestock Revolution"), which is associated with phenomena of geographic expansion, intensification, specialisation, industrialisation and concentration, raises serious environmental concerns (e.g. water pollution, loss of animal biological diversity, expansion of grain feeding, degradation of common property resources). Decisions on livestock resource use should adequately address these concerns.

12. This is particularly important for those areas where livestock production is rapidly intensifying, and for those regions where it is still expanding in terms of land use (e.g. through deforestation in fragile ecosystems). There are substantial externalities associated with intensive livestock production and the options and opportunities for internalising these external costs must be analysed.

13. The new programme entity 213A8, Decision-support for Efficient Livestock Resource Use, is to examine specifically the technical and environmental challenges of the intensification and expansion of the livestock sector in an integrated manner. It will directly relate technology evaluation with its environmental implications. It subsumes, and expands on work under the previous entity 213A4, Protection and Enhancement of Natural Resources in Livestock Systems.

Building Competence in Monitoring and Managing (Veterinary) Public Health

14. The (re-oriented) TP 213A6, Veterinary Public Health Management and PAAT, addresses, from an animal production and health perspective, the issues of animal feed and product food safety. It will also expand AGA's capabilities in both parasitic and infectious zoonoses, emphasising those related with the intensification of livestock production. Work on production related diseases has been transferred to the integrated livestock production-orientated programme entities 213A3, Contribution of Livestock to Poverty Alleviation, and 213A8, Decision-support for Efficient Livestock Resource Use. The Programme Against African Trypanosomiasis (PAAT) remains as a separate component.

Positioning Livestock in an International Public Goods Context

15. It is also useful to perceive the above changes in the perspective of three main public goods: natural resources; (veterinary) public health; and equity. FAO's livestock programme should aim to protect and enhance these public goods, to address the trade-offs between them, and thus to contribute more effectively to food security. In the public goods approach adopted, and for analytical clarity, food security is viewed as a derived function of the primary public goods: equity, natural resources and (veterinary) public health and of their successful protection and enhancement. In fact, the previous somewhat "artificial" entity 213A2, Contribution of Livestock to Food Production and Security, needed to be refocused on, and limited to, resource use efficiency (213A8) and food security lifted as the overarching objective of Programme 2.1.3 as a whole.

16. The resulting six entities (plus the Technical Service Agreement 213S1) are considered to represent a more coordinated and balanced portfolio of activities in support of the international public goods (see diagram in Annex I).

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE PROGRAMME ENTITIES AND THE CORPORATE STRATEGIES IN THE FAO STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK

17. Now that the Strategic Framework 2000-2015 has been approved by the FAO Conference, it is possible to illustrate the links of the new structure to the Corporate Strategies:

18. It may also be recalled that entities 213A5, Developing the Global Strategy for the Management of Farm Animal Genetic Resources, and 213A7, EMPRES - Livestock, host two FAO flagship programmes with substantial visibility and ongoing inter-governmental processes and commitments (e.g. the report on State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources, Global Eradication of Rinderpest).

IMPACT ON PLANNED OUTPUTS FOR 2000-2001

19. The list of planned outputs for the biennium 2000-2001 for Programme 2.1.3 which was posted on the FAO's Internet Website, had to be revised. For information purposes, the new list is included in the 2000-01 Planned Outputs Database, available at http://www.fao.org/pwb.

Establishment of New Post of Secretary to the Desert Locust Commission for the Central Region

20. At its last session of November 1999, the FAO Conference "endorsed the call from the concerned Members of the Near East Region to reinstate the post of Secretary of the Desert Locust Control Commission for the Central Region, and urged the Director-General to give high priority to identifying resources from the Regular Budget or extra-budgetary resources for this purpose as soon as possible."

21. In effect, the Members of this region had expressed their interest in the reinstatement of this post for quite some time. It is recalled that it was abolished several years ago primarily for reasons of budget stringency. Regrettably, no extra-budgetary resources have been forthcoming so far to respond to this request. In view of this long-standing interest and the relevance of the post to activities of the EMPRES programme in the sub-region, the Director-General instructed the concerned division, AGP, to re-establish this post and to take the actions necessary to fill it. Every effort will be made to meet the additional cost, while avoiding negative impact on the remainder of planned activities of the Division and associated outposted staff.

Follow-up to the Adoption of the
Rotterdam Convention

22. The last Conference also discussed follow-up to the successful conclusion of the negotiations for the Convention on the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade and its adoption in Rotterdam, the Netherlands in September 1998. The Conference welcomed the cooperation of FAO and UNEP, both in the negotiation of the Convention and the joint provision of the Interim Secretariat. While it "expressed appreciation that a number of countries had made resources available for the implementation of the Convention, it noted with concern that resources remained insufficient, and requested that further resources should be made available to the Secretariat through additional Regular Programme funding, which could imply corresponding savings in other areas."

23. The provision of interim core Secretariat services is presently a shared responsibility of FAO and UNEP. Implementation of the Convention implies commitment of resources well beyond meeting the cost of the core Secretariat, as advised to the Conference in document C 99/4 and Addendum 1. Extra-budget support is actively being sought towards this end. However, even for the FAO share of the core Secretariat, resources available in the Programme of Work and Budget 2000-01, as approved by the Conference, are insufficient (only US$ 140,000 per annum). It may be recalled that strengthening of the Secretariat was one of the additional priority areas proposed under the Real Growth scenario included in the Programme of Work and Budget document.

24. Therefore, in view of the strong interest of the membership, as transpired in the above Conference recommendation, the Director-General has decided to grant the concerned division, AGP, an additional allotment for the year 2000 of US$ 200,000 in order to provide a more adequate level of funding for the core Secretariat services devolving on FAO. Should extra-budgetary support continue not to materialize to cover the full cost of the Secretariat, consideration may need to be given to further increase this additional allotment during the year. Similar arrangements are foreseen for 2001. Again, every effort will be made to avoid detrimental impact on other valuable activities outside the PIC area.

FAO - Iceland Conference
on Responsible Fisheries in the Ecosystem

25. The possibility of this Conference, which is to be sponsored by the Government of Iceland, has been under discussion for some time but it is only recently that it has been confirmed that the event should take place towards the latter part of 2001.

26. While the Conference was not included in the Programme of Work and Budget for 2000-2001, it does contribute to and complement a number of the Fisheries Department's objectives for the biennium. For example, the work on Resources Assessment and Management of Marine Fisheries (2.3.2. P1) and the activities on Reduction of Environmental Impact from Fisheries (2.3.3. A1) will be enhanced by the results of this Conference. Similarly, it will provide valuable inputs to FI's work on Monitoring and Reporting on Global Marine Resources and Relevant Environmental and Ecological Changes (2.3.2. A4). Finally, we expect a significant contribution to the Organization's advisory activities on environmental issues as well as to our goal to promote sound fisheries management (2.3.2. S1).

27. While the core costs of the Conference will be funded through the generous assistance of the Government of Iceland, it is probable that some Regular Programme resources (e.g. staff time, additional travel costs for staff, etc.) will need to be redirected to this effort so as to ensure the maximum possible impact. In addition, this will result in some change to the outputs produced by the department although, given the contribution by the Government of Iceland, there will, no doubt, be an increase in overall production.

28. The overall impact on outputs will be reported to the Governing Bodies in the usual way through the Programme Implementation Report.