| Employment opportunities The ORER engages staff under a range of flexible arrangements including ongoing (permanent) or non-ongoing (contract or temporary) positions at either full-time (37.5 hours a week) or part-time (between 3 and 35 hours a week) hours. Additionally, the ORER maintains a temporary staff register for short term, non-ongoing vacancies. Given the short term nature of these engagements, it would be advantageous if individuals expressing an interest in short-term work were already located in Canberra. If you wish to be included on this register, please email your resume to orer@orer.gov.au GO TO |
| Water is a national priority issue, and households account for about 16% of the consumption of the mains-supplied water in Australia, the second largest share of mains water use after agriculture. There are growing pressures on urban water supplies, driven by increasing urban populations and by climatic factors. Everyone has a role to play in reducing water consumption. Choosing a water-efficient product is one way to do this while saving money. The Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards (WELS) Scheme can assist purchasers of household water-using products to compare the relative water efficiency of the available models. To find out more about the WELS Scheme, follow the links on this page. See the key transition dates to phase in the WELS scheme GO TO |
| Links to organic agriculture Web sites The designations employed and the presentation of materials contained in these Web sites do not imply the expression of any opinion on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations GO TO |
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| Organic Agriculture. |
| Organic agriculture is an increasingly important part of the agriculture sector. Its environmental and economic benefits have captured the attention of many countries. Consumer demand for organically produced food and fibres products - and society's demand for more sustainable development - provide new opportunities for farmers and businesses around the world. It also presents new challenges for FAO. In particular, member countries need advice and information on the potential of organic agriculture to contribute to sustainability in order to direct research, extension efforts, and tap national and international market opportunities. Organic agriculture: offers the opportunity to discover, through traditional knowledge and modern science blending, new and innovative production technologies; provides market opportunities; promotes the national and international public debate on sustainability by creating awareness of environmental and social concerns that merit attention. FAO has the responsibility to give organic agriculture a legitimate place within sustainable agriculture programmes and to assist member countries in their efforts to respond to farmer and consumer demand in this sector. Collaboration with IFOAM FAO held, from 19 to 20 March 1998, a brainstorming meeting with the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) aimed at defining future FAO's involvement in organic agriculture and identifying potential areas of collaboration between FAO and IFOAM (see Conclusions and recommendations or download full report). Subsequently, FAO participated in IFOAM's Scientific Conference in Mar del Plata, Argentina, 16-19 November 1998, and presented the document "Evaluating the potential contribution of organic agriculture to sustainability goals". Users may download the full document (Word 6.0 for Windows, zipped, 40K) or browse the following summary: Introduction Defining organic agriculture Growing interest in organic agriculture Evaluating the potential of organic agriculture: Difficulties in evaluating the feasibility of organic agriculture Issues for scrutiny when contemplating a shift to organic agriculture Potential impacts Summary and conclusions FAO Committee on Agriculture The FAO Committee on Agriculture met in Rome on 25-29 January 1999. It considered a position paper on Organic Agriculture, COAG/99/9 (see paper in English, French and Spanish), and provided guidance, in its Report (also in English, French, Spanish), on how FAO might best shape a coherent programme on organic agriculture. IFOAM presented a position document at this meeting. Document COAG/99/9, approved by the Committee on Agriculture, represents the FAO position on organic agriculture. The document defines organic agriculture, according to the proposed FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius definition. It discusses the opportunities and constraints of organic agriculture from the perspectives of markets, farm productivity, and environmental impacts and sustainability. It considers public policies that influence the adoption of organic agriculture. It proposes a cross-sectoral FAO programme in organic agriculture with several distinct functions, all aimed at enabling member countries to make informed choices about organic management. Codex Alimentarius Commission The FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission, the highest international body on food standards, met in Rome from 28 June to 3 July. The Commission adopted international "Guidelines for production, processing, labelling and marketing of organically produced foods" (downloadable here in PDF format in English, French and Spanish). The standards clearly define the nature of organic food production and prevent claims that could mislead consumers about the quality of the product or the way it is produced. The final objective is to provide the consumer with a choice while giving assurances that organic agricultural standards have been met. Organic Agriculture Programme Following FAO governing bodies' recommendation to develop a cross-sectoral programme on organic agriculture, an inter-departmental working group has been established to initiate and implement activities. The organic agriculture programme collaborates and builds partnerships with interested institutions including national organic programmes or associations; NGOs such as the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM); and national and international research centres. Activities will focus on five main functions: provision of information on organic production and trade through studies, statistics, networks and fora; facilitation of research and extension to respond to the multi-disciplinary needs of organic agriculture; institutional support and policy advice for members countries to fully understand the magnitude of the organic sector; technical assistance for developing skills, organic standards and certification capacities; and pilot projects that explore and promote feasible organic agricultural techniques. Information base The Environment and Natural Resources Service (SDRN) is developing the information basis for organic agriculture. An annotated list of links to organic agriculture web sites has been compiled as well as a list of meetings related to organic agriculture. GO TO |