Eight international and regional organizations, including FAO, IFAD and OIE, have agreed to develop and implement a global agenda for the livestock sector aiming to improve its record regarding the environment, human health and social equity.
April 2012: In a joint communiqué, eight international and regional organizations committed to form an alliance to develop and implement a global agenda to improve environmental protection, human health and social equity in the livestock sector.
The communiqué is endorsed by the African Union (AU)-Interafrican Bureau for Animal Resources, Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), World Bank, and World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE).
According to the document, the endorsing organizations aim to develop closer partnerships, a shared vision and complementary programs for a global livestock agenda by: promoting best available scientific evidence; more directly addressing benefits and harms of livestock activities; and developing programs based on lessons learned and the organizations’ understanding of complex systems and new technologies.
The communiqué is the main outcome of a High-level Consultation for a Global Livestock Agenda to 2020. The consultation was co-hosted by the World Bank and ILRI, from 12-13 March 2012, in Nairobi, Kenya. [Communiqué for a New Global Livestock Alliance] [OIE Press Release] [ILRI Report on High-level Consultation for a Global Livestock Agenda to 2020]