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BookletJapan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
Fostering success in Codex standards setting
2021Also available in:
No results found.The exponential increase of food trade has been accompanied by the emergence of food safety related incidences in both domestic and imported food products. Therefore, Codex Alimentarius was created to protect consumer health and ensure fair practices in food trade. Countries and regions have responded by establishing food-safety laws and regulations based on these Codex Alimentarius standards even though they are not mandatory. The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), a regional organization with ten country members, has recognized the importance of participation in Codex and the application of its standards at both the national and regional levels. However, the diverse development levels of the various countries are also reflected in the degree of implementation of food safety and quality standards at both national and regional levels. To address this diversity, the region has set up interregional groups and task forces to establish its position on food safety, particularly regarding Codex issues. ASEAN also collaborates with other countries to get support in terms of funding and experience on how to improve and strengthen the capacities of each of member. One of the long-term partnerships established through the years is with the Government of Japan, which is actively involved with the region’s Codex work through funding and providing expertise. This document includes a compilation of endeavours conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), Government of Japan through FAO in strengthening the capacity of ASEAN countries to participate in Codex Alimentarius activities. These have created a huge impact in the region in increasing awareness about the importance of Codex and their country’s capacity to be involved in Codex work even with limited resources. Among the products resulting from these endeavours have been data, toolkits, infographics and protocols. These outputs would not have been possible without the collaboration and contribution of each of the country members. ASEAN still needs to engage in further collaboration, as evidenced by the current needs of the region. Therefore, the FAO project, Enhancing Capacity in Codex for Effective Participation and Contribution of Selected Countries in Asia (GCP/RAS/278/JPN), will continue to implement activities on the enhancement of effective engagement in Codex work, building capacity to implement risk analysis frameworks, and provide technical support on data generation for establishment of food safety standards in selected ASEAN countries. -
Book (series)Present and future markets for fish and fish products from small-scale fisheries - Case studies from Asia, Africa and Latin America. (Available online only) 2008
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No results found.At the twenty-sixth session of the FAO Committee on Fisheries, FAO was requested to identify how trade in fish and fish products could further benefit small-scale fisheries and generate additional income and employment within the sector. Following this request, case studies were carried out in selected Latin American, African and Asian countries to study the importance of small-scale fisheries trade and identify opportunities for better integration into regional and international fish trade. The findings and recommendations of the case studies were presented and discussed at the tenth session of the FAO Sub-Committee on Fish Trade, held in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, from 30 May to 2 June 2006. In the countries studied, the contribution of the small-scale fisheries sector to the total marine catch was significant and ranged from 70 to 95 percent. The studies show that products from small-scale fisheries are largely focused on the domestic market. In Africa regional trade in small-scale fisheries products was found to be very important for meeting the protein requirements of poor people. Women are actively involved in fish processing and marketing and also participate in capture fisheries in coastal areas and estuaries as well as in other forms of harvesting of aquatic organisms. Their involvement results in increased well-being of their households since womens income is largely spent on food and childrens education. Study findings suggest that women can gain from increasing trade opportunities through their involvement in value adding activities and enterprises. The studies identified several avenues for better integration of small-scale fisheries into regional and international fish trade. Among them are product diversification, value addition, improvement of product quality and the access to new markets. However, a number of constraints need to be overcome before this can be achieved. Post-harvest losses due to poor infrastructure and lack of sto rage and transportation facilities need to be reduced and knowledge of proper fish handling methods needs to be improved. While products for export are meeting high quality standards, products for domestic and regional markets are often processed using substandard hygienic methods. Small-scale fisheries are also excluded from international markets because of the costs and difficulties encountered when trying to comply with international standards and those imposed by supermarket chains and other customers. The studies suggest that efforts should be aimed at improving facilities for preserving fish onboard, at the establishment of hygienic fish landing sites, increasing storage facilities and the supply of ice as well as improving roads, which connect fishing communities to markets. Equally important are the improvement of technical support and extension services to enable fishing communities to access appropriate technologies and information and training on quality improvement, p roper fish handling procedures and storage, product diversification, value addition as well as on packaging. Fishing communities should also be assisted in assessing their fisheries and aquatic resources and identifying those that have potential for trade in the domestic, regional and international markets. Small-scale fishers and processors can get better prices for their products by shortening the fish supply chain and increasing their bargaining and lobbying power. In this regard, the fo rmation of marketing cooperatives should be encouraged and existing associations of small-scale fishers and processors should be strengthened by providing support for institution building. There is also a need to raise awareness among microfinance institutions regarding the needs of the small-scale fisheries sector for credit and savings services. -
Book (stand-alone)Sustainable management of Miombo woodlands
Food security, nutrition and wood energy
2018Also available in:
No results found.The Miombo woodland is a vast African dryland forest ecosystem covering close to 2.7 million km2 across southern Africa (Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe). The woodlands are characterized by the dominance of Brachystegia species, either alone or in association with Julbernardia and Isoberlinia species. It is estimated that the woodlands – through their numerous goods and services which include various non-wood forest products (NWFPs) (e.g. insects, mushrooms, fruits, tubers, medicine, fodder, honey, seeds) and woodfuels, which, for simplicity, will be referred to as non-timber forest products, or NTFPs, throughout the publication – sustain the livelihoods of more than 100 million rural poor and 50 million urban people. The charcoal sector alone employs vast numbers of rural people and offers additional income to many poor rural families. Communities moreover rely directly on the woodlands for food and nutrition. NWFPs add vital micro- and macronutrients to local diets and contribute to diversified food systems, while woodfuel is essential for cooking and sterilizing, thus ensuring proper nutrient absorption and providing clean water for drinking. Forests and trees, if managed sustainably, are an important source of resilience for rural people in the Miombo woodlands, supporting households to absorb and recover from climatic or economic calamities and contributing to resolving the underlying causes of food insecurity, undernutrition and poverty by providing nutritious edible products and woodfuel for cooking in addition to conserving biodiversity and water resources, buffering extreme weather conditions and preventing land degradation and desertification. Generally speaking, it is now accepted that forests managed for both timber and NTFPs retain more biodiversity and resilience than forests managed solely for one aspect, e.g. timber and exotic timber plantations. However, a growing population in high need of agricultural land and unsustainable use and overharvesting of natural resources in parts of the Miombo woodlands, combined with climate change impacts (e.g. drought, fires), leave insufficient time for many trees and associated species to regenerate naturally, posing a serious threat to the products and services of the woodlands, and to the livelihoods depending on them. Compounding the problem and hindering development of the Miombo ecosystem, are: i) lack of an enabling policy environment; ii) unsustainable management; iii) limited willingness and ability to pay for and access to energy-efficiency technologies; iv) inadequate awareness and information, including technical capacity; v) high poverty levels; and vi) limited access to microcredit facilities. With the Committee on World Food Security’s endorsement of the recommendations presented in the High Level Panel of Experts Report on Sustainable Forestry for Food Security and Nutrition in late 2017 – which include promoting multifunctional landscapes, integrated food-forestry systems, and research on associated linkages, among other things – forests and trees are expected to play a greater role in future land-use decisions and related policies. This paper provides an overview of these linkages in the context of the Miombo woodlands, in the hope that future land use, policy decisions and financial investments are shaped to support the contributions of forests and trees to the health and livelihoods of communities in the ecoregion. The following key messages were formulated: • Forests and trees, if managed sustainably, are an important source of resilience for rural people in the Miombo woodlands, supporting households to absorb and recover from climatic or economic calamities and contributing to resolving the underlying causes of food insecurity, undernutrition and poverty by providing nutritious edible products and woodfuel for cooking in addition to conserving biodiversity and water resources, buffering extreme weather conditions and preventing land degradation and desertification. • Current data bases referring to the value of the Miombo must be analysed and used as evidence to improve policy-making. • Miombo woodlands may be dominant (spatially), but they have not been addressed as a single unit but as part of the region’s forests. They form part of the overall forestry strategies and no specific mention in the conventions does not suggest that their importance is underplayed. • The management of Miombo will require some changes in management structures, especially in providing benefits emerging from trade in forest products to local managers. • Local forest managers should play a greater role in allocating resources for feedstock for charcoal production.
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