African countries should use ecolabelling to increase market access, says Ouedraogo

Addis Ababa, 12 June 2007 - Africa should exploit the niche market provided by the global preference for eco-labeled products to increase market access for its products and contribute to poverty reduction, Josephine Ouedraogo, Acting Deputy Executive Secretary of Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), said yesterday at the opening of a three-day regional experts meeting on “Developing an African Ecolabelling Scheme”.

The meeting, which is jointly organized by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and ECA, attracted about 30 experts from 21 institutions from within and outside Africa who are major players in certification, standards development and consumer protection at local, national, subregional and regional levels.

They will take stock of lessons from the major ecolabel-related initiatives from within and outside the region and provide input to the development of an African ecolabelling scheme.

The development of an African ecolabelling scheme is one of the important activities identified in the African 10-year Framework Programme on Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP).

In a welcoming address, the representatitive of UNEP, Strike Mkandla, said that this activity was being undertaken to assess the situation and lay down a common strategy through which the Africa region can maximize the benefits from the new opportunities provided by ecolabelling.

In his statement, Nadir Meran representing the African Union Commission (AUC) said the African ecolabelling scheme would improve the environmental profile of Africa's products and expand market access for the region's commodities.

He reiterated AUC's commitment to work with ECA and UNEP in developing the scheme.

Click here for the Opening Statement of Ms. Ouedraogo, here for Mr. Mkandla's welcoming address and here for the statement of the African Union Commission.

For meeting presentations (Powerpoint), click here