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PAN AP Institutional Structure

WORKING PRINCIPLES

  1. Pesticide Action Network (PAN) is a network of over 600 participating nongovernmental organizations, institutions and individuals in over 90 countries working to replace the use of hazardous pesticides with ecologically sound and socially just alternatives.
  2. PAN is coordinated by five regional centres. PAN Asia and the Pacific is one of the regional co-ordinating centres for PAN. The other regional centres are: for Africa in Dakar, Senegal; for Latin America in Santiago, Chile, the European coordination is shared by two centres based in London, UK and Hamburg, Germany and for North America in San Francisco, USA.
  3. PAN International Strategic Objectives are to:
    • Protect health and the environment by eliminating (the worst) pesticides from the market and replacing them with sustainable solutions.
    • Resist the development and stop the introduction and use of genetic engineering into agricultural production systems.
    • Promote empowerment of grassroots movements and citizens to fight agrochemical and seed corporations and challenge corporate globalisation
    • Increase public investment, development, adoption and implementation of non-chemical alternative pest management systems.
    • Development of PAN International Structure.
  4. PAN AP's Vision

    "Our vision is a society that is truly democratic, equal, just, culturally diverse, and based on food sovereignty, gender justice and environmental sustainability."

  5. PAN AP's Mission

    PAN AP's mission is to empower people within effective networks at the Asia and the Pacific, and global levels to achieve food sovereignty, gender justice and environmental sustainability.

  6. PAN AP Objectives
    • To protect the safety and health of people and the environment by reducing, with the aim of eliminating, pesticide use, and by resisting genetic engineering in food and agriculture
    • To promote people's food sovereignty based on the right to safe food for all, founded on the right to land and productive resources and the right of communities to decide on their own food and agriculture policies, based on the peoples' convention on food sovereignty
    • To protect and promote the rights, equality and dignity of women, support rural women's rights to health, land and productive resources and to make the role and contribution of women in agriculture visible.
    • To promote and protect biodiversity based ecological agriculture.
    • Monitor and expose the practices and strategies of agrochemical TNCs that violate rights of people and communities and make them accountable.
    • To strengthen people's movements and PAN AP network in the Asia-Pacific region to eliminate hunger and achieve food sovereignty.
  7. As a network, PAN Asia and the Pacific is committed to a participatory holistic approach, a commitment to gender equity and genuine partnerships, the need to confront social injustice and global inequities and to empower people and build a global movement.

    ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE

  8. There are seven elements of the organisation's structure:
    • PAN AP PARTICIPANTS
    • NATIONAL PAN GROUPS
    • PAN PARTNER GROUPS
    • TASK FORCES
    • PAN AP STEERING COUNCIL
    • MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
    • SECRETARIAT

    Participation in PAN AP

  9. PAN Asia and the Pacific welcomes participation of people’s organisations and civil society organisations to the network. Participation in it shall be through:
    • A commitment to its vision, mission and objectives and
    • Actions to support these goals
  10. Organisations can become participants of PAN AP by submitting a completed and signed copy of the PAN AP participant form and after being duly notified by PAN AP Secretariat.
  11. A register of PAN AP participants shall be maintained at the Secretariat.
  12. No organisation or individuals shall speak on behalf of PAN AP unless authorized by the PAN AP Steering Council.

    National PAN Groups in Asia-Pacific

  13. National PAN groups are organisations that use the PAN name and duly recognised by the PAN AP Steering Council. The group should be committed to an open and inclusive process involving organisations who promote ecological agriculture/pest management and oppose pesticides dependence and genetic engineering in food and agriculture, and are committed food sovereignty, women’s, agricultural worker’s and peasant’s rights.
  14. PAN National Groups are committed to PAN AP’s stated objectives and are committed to the goal of alliance building, networking and will act as coordinating points for PAN AP activities in the country. No one organisation or individual is necessarily the exclusive representative of PAN AP in the given country.
  15. No organisation or body should use “PAN” in their name or logo without prior authorization of the Steering Council. “A Memorandum of Understanding” between PAN AP and the PAN National Groups will be agreed upon before any PAN national group comes into operation.

    PAN AP Partners

  16. PAN AP Partners are groups that collaborate closely with PAN AP to implement projects/activities or programmes in the country.
  17. There may be more than one PAN AP partner in one country. PAN AP partners may include PAN National Group and other organisations.

    Task Forces

  18. The Steering Council for specific areas of work will appoint the task force chairs and members and the Terms of Reference. Every appointment will cease at the end of three years unless re-appointed by the Steering Council.
  19. The setting up of the task force will depend on the needs of PAN partners in the region and developments in the region and internationally as well as PAN AP needs.
  20. The functions of the task force are to :
    • Sharpen analysis, strategies and actions
    • Strengthen local and national activities and action
    • Expand the consultative process
    • Widen participation of the network base in programme formulation and implementation
    • Strengthen collective work and actions in each area of work
    • Identify areas of strategic intervention and collaboration

    Steering Council

  21. The Steering Council is the governing body of PAN AP. Its functions are:
    • Policy development
    • Programme development
    • Network expansion
    • Network representation
    • Financial planning and funding
    • Appointment of the Executive Director and determining functions of the PAN AP Secretariat
    • Electing the Management Committee and Board of Directors
    • Appointment of Chairs and Members of Task Forces & their Terms of Reference
  22. The Steering Council consists of the members of the company and will be present at its Annual General Meeting (AGM).
  23. The Steering Council will be responsible for scrutinizing the annual report, the audited accounts as well as to pass resolutions of the company. They are also responsible for electing the members of the Management Committee and the Board of Directors. The Steering Council will thus, be part of the legal structure of the company and not operate in isolation. They will have full legal and moral responsibilities.

    Criteria for Participation

  24. PAN AP Steering Council consists of up to a maximum of 12 members (including the 3 Members of the Board of Directors) selected on the basis of the following criteria:
    • Actively involved and committed in the pesticide/ecological agriculture/women in agriculture/food sovereignty issues and in the PAN AP network.
    • Provide sub-regional representation in the Steering Council as far as possible.
    • Members of organisations.
    • Network builders and mobilizers.
    • Have a range of leadership skills and understanding of issues
  25. The Steering Council will operate in a flexible, open, and non-hierarchical way. There will be no office bearers and chairing at meetings will be shared. PAN AP staff will be involved in the Steering Council meetings.
  26. The Steering Council members will ensure that there is trust and commitment and good working relations between them and between Steering Council members and staff.
  27. The Steering Council members will need to be experienced and representative to be sensitive to the rest of the network.
  28. The Steering Council members other than the Board of Directors will serve for three years, with the possibility of two consecutive renewals. In order to ensure continuity, at least 3 persons of the elected Steering Council (excluding the Board of Directors) are renewed each term. The Board of Directors will be elected by the Steering Council and elected during the Companies AGM (see point 31).
  29. Twelve months before the end of the term, nominations for the vacant positions will be invited from the Task Forces, PAN Partner Groups and PAN national groups for consideration of the PAN AP Steering Council.
  30. The Steering Council will meet once a year and may invite to their meetings, other individuals and organisations with special interests, expertise and geographical representation as and when required.

    Management Committee

  31. At present, the Management Committee consists of founding Board Members of Pesticide Action Network Asia Bhd, a non-profit corporation limited by guarantee, and such other members that are appointed by the Steering Council from time to time. Under the Malaysian Corporate Law, the Management Committee is responsible for the overall management of the company. The members at the annual general meeting will elect the Management Committee for a period of one year in accordance with the Memorandum and Articles of the Company. Voting and the annual general meeting procedures are determined by the Malaysian Companies Act, 1965. The annual report and the audited accounts shall be approved by the members at the Annual General Meeting. A copy of the minutes of the meeting, the annual report and the audited accounts shall be sent to the Malaysian Registrar of Companies.
  32. As a company limited by guarantee the legal status of PAN AP is very transparent in its operations. The Companies Act, 1965 governs the way PAN AP is managed and clearly defines how a company should operate and work. The role and responsibilities of the company directors are stated and there are strict legal liabilities.
  33. Under the Malaysian Companies Act, the Board of Directors formally accepts the members of the Company. Any person elected to the Steering Council will be accepted as a member of the Company.
  34. Since PAN AP operates as network, it shall ensure that its working methods are participatory in nature and involves participating groups.

    PAN AP Secretariat

  35. The PAN AP Secretariat shall facilitate the coordination of PAN AP programmes and activities. It shall be responsible to fulfil the functions of PAN AP and play an enabling and supporting role.
  36. Between Steering Council meetings, the Secretariat will be supervised by the Board of Directors.

    Amendments to the Working Principles

  37. Any of the 7 elements of the Organisational Structure can suggest amendments to the Working Principles. Such amendments will be considered by the Steering Council and come into effect on approval by the Steering Council. The Working Principles will be assessed every year at the Steering Council Meeting in line with new experiences, processes, structures and methodologies.

Adopted at the PAN AP Steering Council Meeting, on 15th March 2009 in Penang.

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