The Geographical Indication Pathway to Sustainability: A Framework to Assess and Monitor the Contributions of Geographical Indications to Sustainability through a Participatory Process

Abstract

Geographical Indications (GIs) are widely considered as tools to contribute to sustainability (The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations—FAO, 2009; 2017), if established and well managed. While the literature may not always agree on the positive effects of GIs in all sustainability dimensions (e.g., economic, social, and environmental), there is evidence that engaging GI producers in a sustainability strategy can maximize their contribution to different components of sustainable development. FAO and oriGIn developed the sustainability strategy for GI (SSGI) to support GI producers and their associations so that they could engage in a place-based and participative approach in order to generate concrete progress and results. This paper presents original research for building both a framework and database for the selection and use of relevant sustainability indicators for GIs. A number of SSGI principles have guided the work throughout an iterative process for reviewing, selecting, and improving relevant indicators, while the Sustainability Assessment of Food and Agriculture (SAFA) has provided the structure to align with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and other widely used and recognized sustainability frameworks. As a result of this work, a database of 372 robust sustainability indicators that are relevant to GIs have been characterized to facilitate their use by practitioners. The discussion highlights the importance of the place-based approach, and the participative, inclusive process that represents the key to empowerment and the ability to develop alliances. It also focuses on action, and the need to strengthen both internal and external communication.

How to Regulate the Infringements of Geographical Indications of Agricultural Products—An Empirical Study on Judicial Documents in China

“…With globalization, the risk of misappropriation of place names is increasing [ 29 ], and the infringements of the illegal use of GIs are increasing [ 30 ]. GIs are mostly regarded as a kind of public resources [ 31 , 32 ], and hitchhiking is common in the field of GIs. The price premium of products with GIs leads to some opportunistic behaviors, such as mixing Indian fragrant rice GI products with other varieties of rice [ 33 ].…”

Estado de la medición de los indicadores geográficos de los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible en Uruguay

“…Solo el hecho de contar con datos aislados ya sea del Catálogo Nacional de Datos Abiertos, de OAN e de IDEUy no es suficiente para abordar un monitoreo de los ODS. Se debería contar un monitoreo geoespacial de los indicadores geográficos, en los que además de permitir la visualización de sus valores en diferentes regiones, posibilitará el análisis espacial con otras variables territoriales, tal vez no constitutivas del indicador, pero si altamente relevantes a la hora de diseñar y/o ajustar políticas públicas (Vandecandelaere et al, 2021).…”

“…Los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible (ODS) están conformados por un sistema de objetivos, metas e indicadores que cuentan con la aprobación y compromiso de utilización por parte de los Estados miembros de la Organización de las Naciones Unidas (ONU). Cabe destacar la importancia del uso de estos indicadores, ya que su principal objetivo es que permitan enmarcar las políticas nacionales e internacionales de desarrollo (Vandecandelaere et al, 2021). Los ODS abarcan una agenda amplia que incluye aspectos sociales, ambientales y económicos del desarrollo sostenible, pertinentes para todos los países del mundo.…”

Predicting agri-food quality across space: A Machine Learning model for the acknowledgment of Geographical Indications

“…For instance, a recent paper written by Crescenzi et al (2021) has provided, for the first time in the literature, econometric evidence that rural municipalities with GIs experience better performance in terms of local economic development than others by supporting population growth and fostering the economic reorganization towards non-farming sectors, which frequently involve higher value-added activities. Nowadays, particular attention is paid in evaluating the potential contribution of GIs in moving the agri-food sector towards a more resilient and sustainable system Vandecandelaere et al (2021).…”