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Highlights
for Thursday, 20 June 2002
On Thursday,
participants met in plenary to discuss and adopt the Adelboden
Declaration on SARD Mountains. Gerard Viatte, former OECD Director for
Agriculture, outlined the drafting process and introduced the draft
declaration. Manfred Boetsch, Director, Swiss Federal Office for
Agriculture, moderated the session. Delegates also met in informal
meetings with stakeholders followed by a Roundtable discussion chaired
by Jacques Paul Eckebil, Assistant Director General of FAO.
Above photos: Delegates rushing out of the plenary for a group picture
Late
Thursday afternoon, Jacques Paul Eckebil, Assistant Director
General of FAO, presented his concluding remarks on the conference. He
said that progress had been achieved on numerous issues on SARD in
mountain regions, which if implemented would make a positive difference
in the lives of mountain people. He added that agreement had been
reached on a list of specific actions as well as on concrete initiatives
such as SARD and the International Partnership for Sustainable
Development. He stressed
that SARD-M2002 was a beginning rather than an end in itself. He noted
agreement on bringing the declaration to the attention of the WSSD and
Bishkek Mountain Summit and, establishing the Adelboden group on SARD.
He added that opportunities existed both at Bishkek and WSSD to further
explore the nature and functions of this group. Eckebil thanked the
participants, Swiss authorities, FAO officials, Crea consultants and
others.
Manfred
Boetsch noted that SARD-M2002 was filled with "great moments, great
events and interesting lively discussions." He noted that the work on
preparing the Adelboden Declaration embodied the spirit of Adelboden. He
thanked participants, organizers, translators, and assistants and
declared the conference over at 6:45 pm.