This publication is a summary of the presentations and discussions that took place during the meeting on "Voluntary Standards and Certification for Responsible Agricultural Production and Trade" organized by FAO in April 2004. It presents the situation of the main import markets for certified products and the evolution of demand. Case studies aimed at comparing sustainable farming methods with conventional methods are presented. These comparisons focus on production cost, yield, price premium and net profit. The difficulties with which the producers are confronted are analysed and possible solutions to overcome them are explored. The publication also discusses the roles of nongovernmental organizations, private stakeholders and other institutions involved in sustainable agriculture and explores ossibilities for greater collaboration among them.

Workplace safety and environmental sustainability can be promoted by agreed standards, certification and labelling. This publication contains 22 case studies on the impact of standards and certification programmes for cash crops in developing countries, including organic agriculture, fair-trade labelling, "Social Accountability 8000", the Rainforest Alliance Sustainable Agriculture Programme, the Ethical Trading Initiative, ISO-14001 and EurepGap. It examines the origins, scope and certification systems of these initiatives, as well as stakeholder involvement, the standard-setting process, verification methods, the relationship with the World Trade Organization agreements and the potential role of governments.

Bananas are the most-consumed fruit in the world. In the United States alone, the public eats about twenty-eight pounds of bananas per person every year. The total value of the international banana trade is nearly five billion dollars annually, with 80 percent of all exported bananas originating in Latin America. There are as many as ten million people involved in growing, packing, and shipping bananas, but American consumers have only recently begun to think about them and about their working conditions. Although European nations have helped create a “fair trade” system for bananas grown in Mediterranean and Caribbean regions, the United States as a country has not developed a similar system for bananas grown in Latin America, where large corporations have dominated trade for more than a century. Fair Bananas! is one of the first books to examine the issue of “fair-trade bananas.” Specifically, Henry Frundt analyzes whether a farmer-worker-consumer alliance can collaborate to promote a fair-trade label for bananas—much like those for fair-trade coffee and chocolate—that will appeal to North American shoppers. Researching the issue for more than ten years, Henry Frundt has elicited surprising and nuanced insights from banana workers, Latin American labor officials, company representatives, and fair-trade advocates. Frundt writes with admirable clarity throughout the book, which he has designed for college students who are being introduced to the subject of international trade and for consumers who are interested in issues of development. Frankly, though, Fair Bananas! will appeal to anyone who wants to know more about bananas, including where they come from and how they get from there to here.

Bananas are grown in all tropical regions and play a key role in the economics of many developing countries. The volume of bananas exported worldwide in the period 1985-2002 grew at an unprecedented average annual rate of 5.3 percent, twice that of the previous 24 years. This expansion was accompanied by minor technological changes but major developments in the world trade situation. This publication reviews the impacts of these events on the world banana economy. It is the first of a series of FAO Commodity Studies that focus primarily on themes relating to individual commodities or commodity groups.

The book provides step-by-step guidance for development practitioners, managers, and all those interested in how development organisations can help small-scale producers build effective collective businesses.

Biofuels are currently in the middle of a heated academic and public policy debate. Biofuel production has increased fivefold in the past decade and is expected to further double by 2020. Most of this expansion will happen in developing nations. This volume is the first of its kind, providing a comprehensive overview of the biofuel debate in developing countries. The chapters are written by a multidisciplinary team of experts, exposing the key drivers and impacts of biofuel production and use. The book covers impacts as diverse as air pollution, biodiversity loss, deforestation, energy security, food security, greenhouse gas emissions, land use change, rural development, water consumption and other socioeconomic issues. Its wide focus accommodates examples from countries in Africa, America and Asia. As such, this book will become an indispensable companion to academics, practitioners and policy makers who wish to know more about biofuel issues in the developing world.

Emerging to the forefront of sustainable production and consumption are a promising and rapidly evolving concept known as Voluntary Standard Systems (VSS). They encompass the three pillars of sustainability – social, environmental and economic aspects and consequently they can be considered as a tool, which makes sustainable development visible. Currently, they are becoming a significant element in international trade and in the promotion of sustainable development strategies, especially in the context of globalised markets and supply chains. This volume provides a comprehensive overview of the current VSS concepts: from their nature and functioning, to the future outlook for their development. It places VSS in the broader context of global development issues and challenges, including development policy and international sustainability commitments, progress towards achieving ‘green economy’ and meeting climate protection targets. The volume contains also a representative selection of case studies which demonstrate their wide range of application in different sectors of the economy.

Standards and regulations are an integral, if easily overlooked, part of our daily life. They determine whether a plug fits into a socket, whether food is safe for human consumption or whether a bank is allowed to take deposits. They are also an indispensable part of international trade. Using new evidence from ITC databases, this report reveals how standards and regulations are holding SME competitiveness back, but crucially, what SMEs and other stakeholders can do to make standards and regulations work for, and not against, SMEs. In this report, advice targeted at SME managers is presented, as well as how Trade and Investment Support Institutions and policymakers can influence the business environment to boost competitiveness, and integration into global markets.

Biodiversity and its conservation are among the main global topics in science and politics and perhaps the major challenge for the present and coming generations. This book written by international experts from different disciplines comprises general chapters on diversity and its measurement, human impacts on biodiversity hotspots on a global scale, human diversity itself and various geographic regions exhibiting high levels of diversity. The areas covered range from genetics and taxonomy to evolutionary biology, biogeography and the social sciences. In addition to the classic hotspots in the tropics, the book also highlights various other ecosystems harbouring unique species communities including coral reefs and the Southern Ocean. The approach taken considers, but is not limited to, the original hotspot definition sensu stricto and presents a chapter introducing the 35th hotspot, the forests of East Australia. While, due to a bias in data availability, the majority of contributions on particular taxa deal with vertebrates and plants, some also deal with the less-studied invertebrates. This book will be essential reading for anyone involved with biodiversity, particularly researchers and practitioners in the fields of conservation biology, ecology and evolution.

This volume discusses topics of global sustainability involving sustainability indicators, stakeholders' participation, and technological and strategic advances with the goal of "thinking locally to act globally". Scientists, academics, policymakers, and planners are currently focused on escalating global socioeconomic and ecological issues, such as rising inequality, adverse anthropogenic impacts on the environment, and deficiencies in natural resources. These variables are pushing the earth system's resistance capacity past its breaking point, with additional pressures incurred by a global pandemic. Therefore, this book looks to impart knowledge on participatory learning action research for human and environmental health and well-being. Sustainable development planning and management are needed in these pressing circumstances, and they necessitate an analytical interpretation of ongoing processes, current and future challenges, and an understanding of available tools and technologies. The main sections of the book focus on challenges and management practices for global sustainability, promoting educational values, smart initiatives in urban contexts, and integrating emerging sustainability dimensions in policies and legislation. The primary audience for the work is policy makers, urban planners, social scientists, economists, NGOs, and students, researchers, and educators engaged in environmental social science and sustainability management.