Making Sustainability Standards Work for Small-scale Farmers. A Pre-UNCTAD XII Event Arusha, United Republic of Tanzania.
7-9 April 2008
Organized by UNCTAD in partnership with UNEP, FAO, ITC, IISD, IFOAM, TOAM, BOKU, IIED, ISEAL and EPOPA.
With the financial support of the Governments of Austria and Norway and DFID more...
The meeting will aim to:
1) Identify the impact of the spread of sustainability standards on smallholder farmers in developing countries, particularly in Africa;
2) Map effective strategies to minimize the costs and maximize the benefits of this persistent and important global trend for smallholders; and
3) Identify real economic, social and environmental win-win-win opportunities and related supportive policies and supportive/flanking measures.

The Conference will provide a platform for dialogue between experts from the public and private sector in Africa as well as selected international resource persons. Moreover, as this is a pre-event to the main UNCTAD XII Conference (20-25 April 2008 in Accra, Ghana), key messages from the meeting will be transmitted to UNCTAD XII. This event is being organized by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in cooperation with the:
- United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP);
- Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nation (FAO);
- International Trade Center (ITC);
- International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD);
- nternational Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM);
- Tanzania Organic Agriculture Movement (TOAM);
- University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU);
- International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED);
- International Social and Environmental Accreditation and Labeling Alliance (ISEAL); and
- Export Promotion of Organic Products from Africa (EPOPA).

New series of three books just published! more...
New series of three books synthesizing the regional experience with challenges and opportunties posed by the new breed of private sector standards in export markets for fresh fruit and vegetables from developing countries.
These private standards, although voluntary in legal nature, are often de facto mandatory for producers and exporters through the buying power of large, globally active retailers setting and applying them. These new standards are often a comprehensive package, blending environmental, health, food-safety and social requirements. They generally require a transition to high-precision agricultural production methods that are well documented, audited, tested and certified.

High Level Meeting on Fostering a Mutually-supportive Trade and Environment Regime: Perspectives and Lessons Learned at Regional Level. Geneva, Switzerland. 29 Nov 2007
The United Nations Economic Commissions for Africa (ECA), Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and Western Asia (ESCWA), in cooperation with UNCTAD, are pleased to announce the high level meeting on “Fostering a Mutually- Supportive Trade and Environment Regime: Perspectives and Lessons Learnt at Regional Level” to be held in Geneva on 29 November 2007. The meeting will present the findings of the inter-regional project “Capacity Building in Trade and Environment” jointly implemented by ECA, ECLAC, ESCAP and ESCWA, in partnership with UNCTAD, UNEP and the WTO.

ITC, UNCTAD, UNEP Statement on Soil Association Air Freight Consultation. UNCTAD/DITC/TED/MISC/2007/4
The Soil Association is proposing to ban airfreighted products on environmental grounds. The ITC, UNEP and UNCTAD believe that airfreight is not a useful indicator of environmental damage for the following reasons:
- the need to consider carbon footprint from farm to fork; and
- the Soil Association, whilst proposing a ban on access for airfreighted products, certifies UK products that are highly energy intensive further information.

Market access is a key issue for developing countries. Developing countries have been concerned that domestic environmental policies in developed countries may adversely affect market access of products from developing countries. Producers in developing countries may lack the technical and financial ability to comply with the environmental regulations of industrialised nations. A key concern is the extent to which environmental standards and regulations, as well as sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures in developed country markets have the potential to create barriers to trade, particularly for products exported by developing countries.