Home About GFU Archive Site map EU Novel Food Regulation Surveys Case Studies Strategic Documents Who is doing What Funding and Donors Underutilized Species	The Global Facilitation Unit for Underutilized Species (GFU) was created to ease and increase information and knowledge exchange in the field of underutilized and neglected species. More detailed information on: History Initiators of the Unit Mission Steering Committee Meetings & Conferences Documents Staff Contact History During the first Conference of the Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR) in Dresden, Germany, in May 2000 a working group recommended an involvement of GFAR in underutilized species in order to increase the visibility and valorize the work already done and to stimulate activities at regional level. The group also recommended to establish a Facilitation Mechanism operating at global level. In two follow-up meetings of an informal group consisting of representatives of FAO, IFAD, IPGRI, ICUC and BMZ this idea was further developed. BMZ provided funds for the establishment of a Facilitation Unit and IPGRI offered to host the Unit. In July 2002 a Steering Committee was appointed to give overall guidance and support to the Facilitation Unit. The lifespan of the Unit will depend on the necessity for such a unit felt by the stakeholders and available funding. The initial phase lasted from May 2002 – February 2005. The project was evaluated by an external consultant commissioned by the donor in May 2004 and as an output of the positive assessment funding has been secured by BMZ (till December 2007), the ToR slightly changed and the focus of the work is placed in the following three areas: Documentation, Information and communication Policy analysis and advice to decision makers Public Awareness Initiators of the Unit Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations International Center for Underutilised Crops (ICUC) International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) Bioversity International [former International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI)] Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammnenarbeit und Entwicklung (BMZ), Germany Mission Promote and facilitate the sustainable deployment of underutilized plant species to increase food security and alleviate poverty among the rural and urban poor. Objective Support and strengthen organizations and networks working on different aspects of underutilized species through: providing improved access to information and financial resources increasing public awareness on the role of underutilized species for improving livelihoods giving advice to policy makers on how to create an enabling policy environment for the deployment of underutilized species Steering Committee On the initiative of GFAR, an informal group of representatives of FAO, IPGRI, ICUC, IFAD and BMZ, all committed to support underutilized species have developed the concept of a Global Facilitation Unit (GFU). The informal group has decided to form a small Steering Committee to guide the work of the Facilitation Unit. As proposed at the meeting in Bonn, July 2001 (meeting report - pdf; 68 Kb) the SC will be composed of a representative of FAO, IFAD, ICUC, IPGRI and BMZ. These members will select a chairperson. The coordinator of the Global Facilitation Unit shall act as secretary to the SC. The SC may co-opt additional members. During the meeting in March 2003 GFAR was welcomed as a new member. Members will serve on their institutional capacity for a period of 3 years (2002-2005) or the duration of the project. The Steering Committee meets at least once a year and provides a record of its meetings to the GFAR SC which will include a report from the Unit Coordinator. Travel expenses and per diem incurred in attending SC meetings should be borne by the member institution. In exceptional cases the Facilitation Unit and the SC members will explore the possibility of assuming the costs by the Facilitation Unit. It is up to the SC to decide on the venues of the meetings. Current Members FAO: Eric Kueneman - Chairperson (Alternate - Caterina Batello) IFAD: Shantanu Mathur (Alternate - Alessandro Meschinelli) Bioversity International: Mauricio Bellon (Alternate - Stefano Padulosi) BMZ: Marlene Diekmann GFAR: Ajit Maru Observers ICUC: Hannah Jaenicke Terms of Reference Provide overall guidance on the program of the Global Facilitation Unit and the implementation of the project Assist the Global Facilitation Unit to link with regional and national stakeholders Advise the Global Facilitation Unit on scientific and regional matters related to the identification, assessment, improvement, development, sustainable use and marketing of underutilized species and assist in identifying additional sources of information Approve workplan of the Global Facilitation Unit and support its efforts to mobilize additional resources Review and assess the progress made by the Global Facilitation Unit and make recommendations for future work Provide progress reports to the GFAR Steering Committee Meeting Minutes Ist Meeting, 22 January 2001 (pdf; 75 Kb) IInd Meeting, 02 July 2001 (pdf; 68 Kb) IIIrd Meeting, 19 July 2002 (pdf; 31 Kb) IVth Meeting, 12 March 2003 (pdf; 95 Kb) Vth Meeting, 28 March 2004 (pdf; 141 Kb) VIth Meeting, 10 January 2005 (pdf; 192 Kb) VIIth Meeting, 12 December 2005 (pdf; 105 Kb) VIIIth Meeting, 22 January 2007 (pdf; 89 Kb)   Meetings and Conferences co-organized or attended by the GFU GFAR statuatory meeting, Manila, October 2002 Internationale Grüne Woche - International Green Week, Berlin, January 2003 International Workshop on Underutilized Plant Species, Leipzig, May 2003 Workshop on Marketing Strategies and Capacity Strengthening, Macerata, January 2004 Consultation on the Role of Biodiversity in Achieving the UN Millennium Development Goal, Chennai, April 2005 Consultation on the Consultation workshop on "Strategy for research and development of underutilised plant species in Asia", Colombo, 16 and 17 March 2006 Consultation on the Consultation workshop on "Strategy for research and development of underutilised plant species in Africa", Nairobi, 24 and 25 May 2006 See also meeting minutes of the Steering Committee (above) Documents GFU Brochure English (pdf, 1.229 Kb) GFU Factsheet English (pdf, 300 Kb) GFU Factsheet French (pdf, 486 Kb) GFU Factsheet Spanish (pdf, 476 Kb) GFU Factsheet German (pdf, 280 Kb) GFU Portal Factsheet (pdf, 36 Kb) Staff Irmgard Hoeschle Zeledon [ i.zeledon@cgiar.org ] Coordinator GFU for Underutilized Species Paul Bordoni [ p.bordoni@cgiar.org ] Scientific Assistant Contact Global Facilitation Unit for Underutilized Species E-mail: [ underutilized-species@cgiar.org ] Via dei Tre Denari 472/A 00057 Maccarese Rome Italy Irmgard Hoeschle Zeledon E-mail: [ i.zeledon@cgiar.org ] Tel: ++39 06 6118 292 Fax: ++39 06 61979661 Paul Bordoni E-mail: [ p.bordoni@cgiar.org ] Tel: ++39 06 6118 302 Fax: ++39 06 61979661	Search Resources Search by keyword Advanced search
	Global Facilitation Unit for Underutilized Species Via dei Tre Denari 472/A, 00057 Maccarese, Rome, Italy Tel: ++39 06 6118 292 - Fax: ++39 06 6197 9661 [ underutilized-species@cgiar.org ] [ www.underutilized-species.org ] Disclaimer