biodiversity and Genetic Engineering, which provoked a major debate among the IUCN membership. At the 9th session of the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD 9) in New York, IFOAM’s Board members were present to input directly into the UN documents, resulting in organic agriculture being recognized in paragraph 16 as a sustainable choice for producing, distributing and consuming energy.
2002: In Johannesburg at the UN World Summit on Sustainable Development (Rio+10) IFOAM secured support for organic agriculture as a ‘means of implementation’ in paragraph 99(b) of the Summit outcome document (the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation): ‘’Support voluntary WTO-compatible market-based initiatives for the creation and expansion of domestic and international markets for environmentally friendly goods and services, including organic products, which maximize environmental and developmental benefits through, inter alia, capacitybuilding and technical assistance to developing countries contribution to both food security and biodiversity.’’
keynote speech, expressing strong support for organic agriculture as an effective means of conserving biodiversity at the International IFOAM conference on biodiversity at the UNEP headquarters in Nairobi. After several years of lobbying two IFOAM motions on genetic engineering, one calling for a moratorium, were adopted by IUCN at their 2004 conference. In 2004, IFOAM’s formal work on climate change started with a scoping study on the role of organic agriculture in mitigating climate change. A major achievement of raising awareness and visibility of organic food and farming in the EU was the establishment of the European Action Plan for Organic Food and Farming, creating a framework for future action to further develop organic markets and farming.
2003: The IFOAM EU Group was formally constituted as a regional group within IFOAM. It focuses on providing expertise to EU institutions and advocating in EU policy processes. Additional to the continuous work on the EU organic regulations, the EU group advocates for a greener EU Common Agricultural Policy, for a strengthened organic share in EU research policies, for consistent rules in food labeling and for legislation that protects the organic sector from contamination with GMOs. It additionally takes a stance on many EU environmental policies.
2004: IFOAM established the IFOAM Africa Office with a major focus on advocacy, especially food security. Also in 2004, IFOAM broadened its vision of the organic guarantee system by fully assisting and supporting Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS) around the world. Advocacy efforts of IFOAM members, especially in Latin America, has subsequently resulted in official recognition of PGS by several regulations as well the ongoing development and strengthening of existing and emerging PGS initiatives. The promotion of PGS was supported by the release of the IFOAM position on ‘The Full Diversity of Organic Agriculture’ in 2004. 2004 was also an important year for IFOAM’s work on biodiversity. IFOAM jointly organized the first World Conference on Organic Seed with the FAO and the International Seed Federation at the FAO headquarters in Rome. The then UNEP Executive Director gave a
Harnessing Africa’s Potential in Organic Agriculture - Nairobi, Kenya (2004)
2006: IFOAM opposed the so-called ‘new green revolution for Africa’ promoted by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and multinational agribusiness corporations, with concerted advocacy action through the African Network that had been built up by the IFOAM Africa office. A counter-event was organized to present diverse and effective examples of organic alternatives for addressing food security and rural development in Africa. Meanwhile, the IFOAM Liaison Office in Rome started attracting high-level attention from FAO through side events it organized during the FAO mid-term review of world food summit targets that resulted in a commitment by FAO to organize a conference on Organic Agriculture and Food Security the following year.
2007: The FAO conference on Organic Agriculture and Food Security was a huge success. It provided a thorough assessment of the state of knowledge on Organic Agriculture and Food Security, including recommendations for research and policy development. The collaboration with FAO significantly raised the profile of IFOAM and organic agriculture. At the EU 13