Register Now For the First IFOAM Conference on Organic Wild Production Advance Registration Discount Available Until March 15th
Register Now For the First IFOAM Conference on Organic Wild Production
The first IFOAM Conference on Organic Wild Production will take place from May 3rd-4th2006 in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Don't let the opportunity to participate in this exciting, important conference pass you by! Bosnia and Herzegovina is a peaceful and beautiful country, and transportation to the conference is
both economical and simple.
Register online today: www.organicwildconference.org
Introduction
There is significant trade in “organic” wild products, including products for direct consumption, such as berries, mushrooms and a wide variety of herbs. There is also a growing interest in organic
wild products by the body care medicinal herb sectors. Statistics for this type of production are vague, and parallel to the “organic” market, other concepts such as the Non-Timber Forest Product
scheme of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and other company-specific schemes have been developed.
This conference will focus on the harvesting of wild vegetable products from forest, “natural” lands, pastures and uncultivated land in the agriculture landscape. It will concentrate on current
production that enters the organic market stream, but will? also extend? to other concepts, such as Fair Trade, sustainable forest management certification and Good Manufacturing Practices.
“Wild harvested production” as a concept is very broad, and also encompasses commodities used for fibrous or industrial production. It could even include some types of animals (e.g. snails). Wild
products may also come from the sea (shellfish) or from lakes (wild rice). The term “wild” is not fully appropriate, as many so-called wild products are collected in areas such as pastures, commons
and marginal or uncultivated agricultural land. Additionally, the concept of “wild” implies a lack of management, although in reality almost all land is managed, and the collection of “wild”
products themselves should be subject to sustainable management. Nevertheless, for lack of better alternatives, the word “wild" harvested production is used here. It is also a term used in the
IFOAM Basic Standards. Other systems use other terms to describe similar production, e.g. natural/biodiversity products, Non Timber Forest Products, Non Wood Forest Products or minor forest
products. Some products that are “wild” can also be cultivated. This conference will not focus on such cultivation; however one session will address it.?
Don't let the opportunity to participate in this exciting, important conference pass you by! Bosnia and Herzegovina is a peaceful and beautiful country, and transportation to the conference is both economical and simple.
Register online today: www.organicwildconference.org
Introduction
There is significant trade in “organic” wild products, including products for direct consumption, such as berries, mushrooms and a wide variety of herbs. There is also a growing interest in organic wild products by the body care medicinal herb sectors. Statistics for this type of production are vague, and parallel to the “organic” market, other concepts such as the Non-Timber Forest Product scheme of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and other company-specific schemes have been developed.
This conference will focus on the harvesting of wild vegetable products from forest, “natural” lands, pastures and uncultivated land in the agriculture landscape. It will concentrate on current production that enters the organic market stream, but will? also extend? to other concepts, such as Fair Trade, sustainable forest management certification and Good Manufacturing Practices.
“Wild harvested production” as a concept is very broad, and also encompasses commodities used for fibrous or industrial production. It could even include some types of animals (e.g. snails). Wild products may also come from the sea (shellfish) or from lakes (wild rice). The term “wild” is not fully appropriate, as many so-called wild products are collected in areas such as pastures, commons and marginal or uncultivated agricultural land. Additionally, the concept of “wild” implies a lack of management, although in reality almost all land is managed, and the collection of “wild” products themselves should be subject to sustainable management. Nevertheless, for lack of better alternatives, the word “wild" harvested production is used here. It is also a term used in the IFOAM Basic Standards. Other systems use other terms to describe similar production, e.g. natural/biodiversity products, Non Timber Forest Products, Non Wood Forest Products or minor forest products. Some products that are “wild” can also be cultivated. This conference will not focus on such cultivation; however one session will address it.?
General objectives of the conference
- Establishment of the state of the art in organic wild production, the volumes, the participating countries and communities
- Clarification of terms and definitions
- Increasing the understanding of the various initiatives for NTFP, NWFP, wild collection, etc.
- Exploring the possibilities of bringing initiatives together
- Identification of challenges and opportunities for the sector
- Information exchange and networking between actors in the sector, including forging commercial links
- Increased visibility of wild production
- Addressing sustainability in wild harvesting
- Initiating further development of quality assurance and standards
- Assisting IFOAM to further develop the concept of wild harvested production
Target groups:Producers of wild plants
- Communities involved in collection of wild harvested products
- Processors of wild plants
- Buyers and users of wild plants
- Developers of standards and certification systems for wild plants and their collection
- Governmental or intergovernmental organizations involved in the sector
- Service providers to any of these groups (consultants, researchers etc.)
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Exhibition
An exhibition will be linked to the conference. It is expected that exhibitors will be producers, buyers/processors and service providers (consultants, certification bodies, institutes). Sponsors and partners may also wish to exhibit.
Sponsored Participants Program
You are invited to take advantage of the opportunity to apply for funding that will partially subsidize your participation in the 1st IFOAM Conference on Organic Wild Production.
The deadline for submitting applications is March 15th, 2006.
Applicants must fulfill all of the criteria below as determined by IFOAM to be eligible for this funding.
List of Criteria:
- The applicant must be from a developing country or a South Eastern European country.
- The applicant must be able to partially fund his/her own participation in the conference or have confirmation of being co-funded by another organization.
For more information and to register online today, visit: www.organicwildconference.org
It's a decision you won't regret!
IFOAM Special Announcement, Responsible: Angela B. Caudle, Contact: Neil Sorensen
Head Office Contact
Charles-de-Gaulle-Str. 5
53113 Bonn, Germany
Tel: +49-228-92650-10
Fax: +49-228-92650-99
Email: headoffice@ifoam.org
http://www.ifoam.org
