Programme

Sunday, September 27, 2009.

Arrival and registration of participants


19.00 – 21.30 Welcome dinner (organic)

Monday, September 28, 2009.


Theme: Organic Farming and International Policies on Climate Change
Chairman: Prof Branko Bošnjaković, Supervisory Board Member, Avalon, The Netherlands
08.45 – 09.00 Musical opening
09.00 – 09.10 Greetings and Introduction
  Mr Martien Lankester, MD. Executive Director, Avalon, The Netherlands
09.10 – 09.20 Word of Welcome
  Ms Nona Karadjova, Minister, Ministry of Environment and Water, Bulgaria
09.20 – 09.30 Word of Welcome
  Mr Miroslav Najdenov, Minister, Ministry of Agriculture and Food, Bulgaria*
09.30 – 09.35 Word of Welcome
  Mr Martijn Elgersma, Deputy Head of Mission, Royal Netherlands Embassy Sofia
09.35 – 09.50 The role of Organic Farming in Environmental Protection and the FAO’s Policies
  Dr Rainer Krell, Environment Officer Bioenergy and Climate Change, Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, Italy
09.50 – 10.10 International Organic Farming Movement and Climate Change Policies
  Mr Markus Arbenz, MSc., Executive Director, IFOAM (International Organisation of Organic Agriculture Movements), Germany
10.10 – 10.30 The role of ecosystem restoration in preventing climate change
  Mr John Liu, MSc., Director, Earth’s Hope, the USA
10.30 – 11.00 Coffee break

Theme: Green Farming vs. Black Carbon
Chairman: Mr Martien Lankester, MD. Executive Director, Avalon, The Netherlands
11.00 – 11.40 The Role and Potential of Soil Carbon Sequestration in Protecting Climate
  Prof Rattan Lal, Director of the Carbon Management and Sequestration Center, School of Environment and Natural Resources, the Ohio State University, the USA
11.40 – 12.20 Organic Farming and Climate Change
  Dr Claude Aubert, Organic Agriculture Pioneer, Association of the French Members of IFOAM, France
12.20 – 12.45 Impact of Large-Scale Conversion to Organic Farming on Greenhouse Gas Emissions
  Dr Darko Znaor, Associated Expert, Avalon, The Netherlands/Croatia
12.45 – 13.00 Discussion
13.00 – 14.30 Lunch

Theme: Organic Food and Farming and Climate Change in EU Member States
Chairman: Prof Rattan Lal, Director of the Carbon Management and Sequestration Center, School of Environment and Natural Resources, the Ohio State University, the USA
14.30 – 15.10 Relevance of Organic Farming for Climate Change in Germany?
  Dr Guido Haas, Organic AgroExpertise Consultancy, Germany
15.10 – 15.50 Lower Your Carbon Foot Print and Eat Organic: the Case of Poland
  Mr Tokya E. Dammond, MSc., Chairman and Founder of Symbio Polska S. A., Poland
15.50 – 16.05 Discussion
16.05 – 16.45 Coffee break

Theme: Painting a Wider Picture
Chairman: Dr Rainer Krell, Environment Officer Bioenergy and Climate Change, Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, Italy
16.45 – 17.15 Carbon Mining: the Story of Carbon Disappeared from the Agricultural Soils of Central and Eastern Europe
  Prof. Tamas Nemeth, Head of Research Institute for Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Hungary
17.15 – 17.45 Organic Livestock: Good or Bad for Climate Protection?
  Mrs Kathleen Hewlett, MA., Policy Researcher, the Soil Association, UK
17.45 – 18.00 Discussion
19.00 – 21.30 Dinner (with as much as possible organic ingredients from Bulgaria)
Served with the assessment of the corresponding greenhouse gas emissions

Tuesday, September 29, 2009.


Theme: Organic Farming Soil Carbon: a Tradable Commodity?
Chairman: Mr John Liu, MSc., Director, Earth’s Hope, the USA
09.00 – 09.30 Carbon Neutral Organic Food and Farming Business
  Drs Volkert Engelsman, Managing Director of EOSTA, The Netherlands
09.30 – 10.00 International Carbon Market Mechanisms: is there Any Role for (Organic) Farming?
  Mr Matt McCandless, M.N.R.M., P.Eng., Project Manager, International Institute for Sustainable Development, Canada
10.00 – 10.30 Discussion
10.30 – 11.00 Coffee break

Theme: Successful Project Examples
Chairman: Drs Volkert Engelsman, Managing Director of EOSTA, The Netherlands
11.00 – 11.35 SEKEM Initiative: Farming the Desert Organically (Bio-dynamically)
  Mr Tobias Bandel, Project manager, SEKEM, Egypt
11.35 – 12.05 The Lessons of the Loess Plateau: Fighting Climate Change in China
  Mr John Liu, MSc., Director, Earth’s Hope, the USA
12.05 – 12.30 Discussion
12.30 – 13.00 Presentation, Discussion and Adoption of the King’s Village Declaration on Climate Change and Organic Farming
  Mr Martien Lankester, MD. Executive Director, Avalon, the Netherlands
13.00 – 14.30 Lunch
14.30 – 19.30 Organic Food Excursion (optional and only for those who registered for it)
19.30 – 21.30 Dinner (with as much as possible organic ingredients from Bulgaria)
Served with the assessment of the corresponding greenhouse gas emissions

* Final confirmation pending


Languages

During the Conference, Russian-English simultaneous translation will be provided. Only participants with sufficient proficiency in the indicated language(s) will be admitted.

Questions

If you have any content-wise question or suggestion regarding the programme, please contact Dr Darko Znaor, Programme Co-ordinator at [email protected].