There has also been a growing demand for the capacity of national veterinary services to be strengthened in the field of quantitative import risk analysis techniques. This is a direct response to the SPS Agreement, which stipulates that protective measures must be based on the assessed risk to human, animal or plant health. To facilitate trade in the context of the SPS, member countries are also seeking FAO's assistance in strengthening their meat import and export inspection programmes. Similarly, in the area of plant protection, assistance has been sought in strengthening and updating the national quarantine programmes of member countries to enable them to meet the demands of plant quarantine developments relating to international trade. In the area of forestry, FAO provides assistance and support related to technical forestry issues of relevance to the obligations of WTO members under a number of Uruguay Round agreements.
Work includes strengthening trade and identifying the consequences of changes in trade restrictions.
Long-term outlook studies are conducted to guide policy development, and assessments are made of the implications of trade policies for forest management and vice versa. FAO advises governments on appropriate forest policies both through normative and field project assistance. In particular, by supporting national forest programme processes, it assists many countries in developing appropriate and effective sectoral policies. The Rome Declaration on World Food Security and the World Food Summit Plan of Action provided an additional impetus to FAO's technical assistance programme on Uruguay Round-related matters. Further, FAO assists in capacity building in a wide range of areas that have linkages with forestry trade and, therefore, with the Uruguay Round Agreements.