FAO, 26th Session of the Committee on Forestry
On October 3-7, 2022, and celebrating its 50th anniversary, the Committee on Forestry (COFO) of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations discussed how FAO should proceed with work on linkages between agriculture, forestry and climate change, and examined preparations for the 2025 edition of the Global Forest Resources Assessment (FRA).
Issues discussed include:
- FAO’s flagship report, The State of the World’s Forests 2022: Forest pathways for green recovery and building inclusive resilient and sustainable economies;
- the outcomes of the XV World Forestry Congress held from 2-6 May in the Republic of Korea;
- FAO’s Strategic Framework 2022-2031, which seeks to support the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development through the transformation to more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agri-food systems;
- implementation of the UN Strategic Plan for Forests and strengthening FAO’s contribution to the International Arrangements on Forests;
- the action plan for the implementation of the FAO Strategy on Climate Change 2022-2031;
- linkages between agriculture and forestry.
FAO, Halting Deforestation from Agricultural Value Chains, the Role of Governments
This report, released by the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO), summarizes the current state of concepts and approaches for addressing deforestation in the trade, marketing and production of agricultural commodities that have a disproportionate impact on forests at international, national and landscape level. The publication focuses on the role of “producer country” governments at national and local level to support efforts to decouple agricultural production from deforestation. Nuts and fruits are among the food groups covered.
EU-Morocco Green Partnership
The program “Terre Verte” aims to contribute to the national strategies of Morocco “Green Generation” and “Moroccan Forests” covering the period 2020-2030. It aims to promote an ecological transition conducive to the creation of decent work opportunities in Morocco in the agricultural and forestry sector.
The program has three specific objectives:
- support for sustainable agricultural value chains,
- protection and management of forestry,
- job creation and social inclusion across the two sectors.
EU: European Commission Work Program for 2023
On October 18, 2022, the European Commission adopted its 2023 work program setting out the next steps and targeted actions. It also lists the key legislative proposals that should get priority in the legislative process to ensure swift implementation on the ground across all six of the Commission’s headline ambitions.
New initiatives include:
| Policy objectives | Initiatives |
| Waste Reduction | Revision of food waste and textiles aspects of the EU waste framework Directive (legislative, incl. impact assessment, Articles 191 and 192 TFEU, Q2 2023) |
| Sustainable Food Systems | Legislative framework for sustainable food systems (legislative, incl. impact assessment, Q3 2023) |
| Healthy Soils | Initiative on protecting, sustainably managing and restoring EU soils (legislative, incl. impact assessment, Article 192(1) TFEU, Q2 2023) |
Pending proposals include:
| Full title | References |
| Proposal for a regulation on the sustainable use of plant protection products and amending Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 | COM (2022)305 final 2022/0196 (COD) 22.06.2022 |
| Proposal for a regulation on prohibiting products made with forced labor on the Union market | COM (2022)453 final 2022/0269 (COD) 14.09.2022 |
| Proposal for a directive on Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence and amending Directive (EU) 2019/1937 | COM (2022)71 final 2022/0051 (COD) 23.02.2022 |
Chile: Survey to Prioritize Areas for Sustainability Standard for Prunes
To support their work on the development of the sustainability standard for Prunes, the Association of Processors and Exporters of Prunes of Chile (Chileprunes) is requesting relevant stakeholders, from Chile and beyond, to answer a prioritization survey to identify focus areas in the development of the sustainability standard.
The survey focuses on the relevance and impact of various aspects of the primary production (on-farm) and agro-industrial adaptation processes such as drying and packaging of dried plums.
GRI: Sustainability Reporting, Revised Universal Standards Now Available in Chinese
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is looking to increase engagement with organizations in China. According to GRI, two launch events for the Chinese translations were attended by over 1,200 stakeholder representatives in the region.
The Universal Standards 2021 will come into effect for reporting from January 1, 2023. Applying to all GRI reporting organizations, they are comprised of three standards:
- GRI 1: Foundation – introduces the purpose and system of GRI reporting, setting the key reporting concepts, requirements and principles;
- GRI 2: General Disclosures – disclosures on reporting practices, activities and workers, governance, strategy, policies and practices, and stakeholder engagement;
- GRI 3: Material Topics – step-by-step guidance and revised disclosures on how the organization determines, lists and manages each of its material topics.
EU: Trade Agreements to Respect Environmental, Labor and Human Rights
On October 6, 2022, the European Parliament adopted a resolution that emphasizes the need of EU’s free trade agreements to contribute to carbon-neutral economies, by prioritizing trade in goods and services provided through sustainable practices while respecting human rights.
While the Commission proposes the application of the new Trade and Sustainable Development (TSD) rules only to future and ongoing trade negotiations, the Parliament would extend them to all existing trade agreements, including to those the signature of which is pending.
Council conclusions on the Trade and Sustainability review of October 17, 2022, noted the “support to the Commission’s commitment to strengthen further the implementation and enforcement of TSD provisions in all future negotiations of trade agreements and to reflect it in the ongoing negotiations as appropriate, including by proposing to apply the compliance stage of the general state-to-state dispute settlement to the TSD chapter of such agreements. The Council invites the Commission to use review clauses and, where relevant, joint committees to align existing trade agreements with the new TSD approach, as appropriate.”