Many people regard the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 as a major milestone in international environment policy. Its results include the Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Convention on Biodiversity, the Convention to Combat Desertification, and the action programme Agenda 21. 20 years later from 20–22 June 2012, the international community meets again in Rio de Janeiro at the Conference on Sustainable Development, when the community of states will discuss the urgent problems in the areas of environment, resources and climate at the highest political level.
In many areas, the organic sector’s ideals correspond to what will concern the world’s leaders at the Rio summit: a greener, fairer and more resource-friendly world that through sustainability can help to reduce poverty in many parts of the globe and stop climate change.
BioFach, the World Organic Trade Fair, gathers the entire international sector for ecologically produced goods in the Exhibition Centre Nuremberg once a year. Besides manufacturing and trade, this includes a large number of political representatives, associations, NGOs and media representatives. Nowhere else do as many people for whom a more sustainable form of agriculture, production and trading is a key driving force for their business meet in one place on four days. The experts use the whole BioFach network in Nürnberg and in the other venues in Japan, the USA, Brazil, China and India as locations from where they can shape the future – not only of their own sector.
On behalf of BioFach, we wish the organizers of Rio+20 in Rio de Janeiro every success and hope that the international community takes a great step forward in the realization of a more sustainable world for the good of all people in this world, including future generations!
Claus Rättich
Member of the Management Board
NürnbergMesse
www.biofach.com
from the certified organic production sector. It implements and supports projects focusing on training, information and awareness of the society on the respect of the environment and the consumption of organic food, like the annual Organic Week taking place in Andalusia, Castile-La Mancha and Extremadura. The association also communicates on the social and environmental benefits of organic farming, organizing broadcasting campaigns and promoting initiatives aimed at the youth such as workshops for young people or Summer Camps for younger children, combining recreational activities with educational ones and organic meals. CAAE supports the producers and the industrial organic sector, highlighting them as best allies to mitigate climate change effects. It also fosters biodiversity through projects like the Diversification of Agrarian Landscapes in Andalusia delivering organic plants and trees for more than 10 years in order to improve both the rural landscape and the sustainability of the farms.
At the international level, and for a few years now, CAAE is developing a cooperation project in Peru to boost the organic production with the aim to improve life conditions sustainably in less-favored communities. It also works together with Portugal with the objective to share experiences and technical knowledge with the organization of congresses on the inter-relation between preservation of the environment and organic farming.
Lots of companies registered in the CAAE Association are pioneers in sustainable initiatives linked to the use of clean energies, sustainable management of water or energy use, promotion of biodiversity, organic tourism, recycling, compost, bio-construction, etc. sharing their experiences in forums and conferences.
