Eco Mark Africa: Leveraging Green Trade Opportunities for African Producers Purity Karuga
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Transcript of Eco Mark Africa: Leveraging Green Trade Opportunities for African Producers Purity Karuga
Eco Mark Africa:
Leveraging Green Trade Opportunities for African Producers
Purity KarugaAEM Programme Coordinator19th October 2011, Addis Ababa
Overview
Challenges• UNECA: “Trade confined within the RECs appears
to be less optimal than trade at the Africa wide level.
“Need to redouble efforts to harmonize community markets to create a larger Africa-wide marketplace”
• Imposed standards can create barriers to trade Standards for Africa need to take into account
specific local conditions
• Climate Change poses a threat to the production systems especially of smallholders
Need to adapt African producers to the detrimental effects of climate change
1. UNECA 2010: Assessing Regional Integration in Africa IV – Enhancing Intra-African Trade
Opportunities
The Global Organic Market Reached USD 54.9 billion in 2009
1 SIPPO 2011: The organic market in Europe
Excellent Export Potential for Sustainable African Products in International Markets
• Since 1999, the global market for organic products more than tripled1
• The largest part of the turnover was in Europe (48%) and North America (48.1%)1
• The US and Europe combined constitute at least 50% of [conventional and organic] exports for a number of RECs, and more than 60% in many others2
1 WILLER & YUSEFFI-MENZLER 2008: Ökologischer Landbau weltweit2 UNECA 2010: Assessing Regional Integration in Africa IV – Enhancing Intra-African Trade
But Why (Only) Seek So Far Afield?
Between 2000 and 2007…
• growth in intra-African trade outpaced the growth in Africa’s trade with the rest of the world by about 10%
• Intra-REC exports in general registered an average growth rate of 15%
• growth in intra-Africa exports was 25%
UNECA 2010: Assessing Regional Integration in Africa IV – Enhancing Intra-African Trade
Introduction to the Eco Mark Africa:An opportunity for Africa
EMA credibly verifies the sustainability profiles of African products to make them more competitive in international markets and secure them improved market access at
national regional and international level.
Thus, EMA creates incentives for the shift towards sustainable consumption and production patterns in Africa and supports adaptation to climate change.
EMA adheres to the WTO principle of non-discrimination and addresses the concerns of developing countries in Africa.
Where Have We Come From?The African Eco-labelling Mechanism (AEM) as the pan-African political structure and technical framework will award the Eco Mark Africa (EMA) label on the basis of a clear set of sustainability criteria.
Implementation
The EMA Standard shall consist of threshold criteria and indicators suitable for the African continent, aligning the three dimensions of sustainability in order to specifically address the challenges of climate change.
The standard will be designed in such a way that: existing standard systems may be benchmarked against it accredited certifiers may use it to certify companies.
In both cases, operators who fulfil the requirements of the EMA standards may use the EMA label.
To include a large number of African smallholders, the EMA will also develop a capacity building programme.
EMA – how will it work?
At a later stage, the scope of the AEM shall be expanded to additional sectors
Priority Sectors
AEM Structure to Award the Eco Mark Africa
Structure
Clear sets of Principles & Criteria
As generic as possible Criteria on the following Principles are generic for the four sectors:
1. Legal Compliance2. Social and Environmental Management Systems3. Good Social Practice
As sector-specific as necessary Criteria on sector-specific issues such as stock management for
fisheries or soil management for agriculture and forestry
Principles Agriculture Fisheries Forestry Tourism
Legal Compliance
S & E Management System
Good Social Practices
Conservation of Biodiversity
Stock Management
Soil Management
Water Management
Energy Efficiency
Air and GHG Management
Pesticide Management
Waste Management
Good Business Practices
Multi Stakeholder Involvement
Time frame: December 2009 – March 2013
Partners: AUC (African Union Commission) ARSO (African Organisation for Standardisation) ARSCP (African Roundtable for Sustainable Consumption and Production)UNEP (UN Environmental Programme)RECs (African Regional Economic Communities)UNIDO (UN Industrial Development Organisation)UNECA (UN Economic Commission for Africa)GIZ (German Development Cooperation)
Commissioned and funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) within the framework of its International Climate Initiative.
PartnershipsInstitutionalization of the AEM
Please visit us at www.ecomarkafrica.com
Thank you for your attention!