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Headquarters of IUAF

The head office of IUAF was established in Prague, Czech Republic. Secondary branches of IUAF may be established in other countries. The head office of IUAF may be transferred to another location after approval by the General Assembly.

IUAF Bodies

The IUAF is comprised of the following bodies:

  • The General Assembly of Members
  • The Board of Trustees
  • The Bureau
  • The Secretariat

Membership

The founding members of the IUAF are the 9 members designated by the 236 individual participants at the IUAF meeting in Montpellier held on May 20 2019 who actively participated in the establishment process. Their duty was to establish IUAF as a registered association.

Additional members will be considered for admission in accordance with these Statutes and the by-laws of IUAF.

A Register of Members will be maintained by the Secretariat and includes all Members in good standing as specified in the by-laws.

Membership is nominative and cannot be transferred or transmitted to any other person or institution.

Categories of Membership:

There shall be two main membership categories: legal and natural persons.

Legal persons:

  • Institutional Members: research institutions, institutions of higher learning and development, and consulting organizations, including non-profit NGOs legally registered in any UN Member State.
  • Corporate Members: for-profit entities legally registered in any UN Member State.

Natural persons:

  • Individual Members: any individual interested in furthering the cause of agroforestry, aged 18 or over.
  • Individual Youth Members: any individual interested in furthering the cause of agroforestry, aged between 12 and 18 years.

Application to Membership:

Prospective members must complete the appropriate application for membership form.

Admission to natural person membership shall be granted by the IUAF Secretariat upon completion of the online application form and payment of the requisite membership fees.

Admission to legal person membership shall be determined by the Board of Trustees upon completion of the online application form. Prospective institutional or corporate members approved by the Board will become members once the requisite membership fees have been received by the Secretariat.

Termination of Membership

Termination may be by:

  • Non-payment of fees (The Membership of any member failing to pay the fees lapses automatically on April 1st of each year. Fees are due for each calendar year)
  • Withdrawal (A member may withdraw from membership by giving a 3-month written notice to the Board of Trustees by registered mail or an email)
  • Death in the case of a natural person
  • Dissolution or bankruptcy in the case of a legal person
  • Expulsion

The Board may, by a two-thirds majority of Trustees decide to expel a member should either of the following conditions occur:

  • The Member fails to observe the terms of the Statutes or of the by-laws.
  • The Member has acted in a manner which is considered to be contrary to the interests of the IUAF.

Notice of expulsion. Expulsion must be notified to the member by registered mail. The expulsion is effective fifteen days after the date of the registered mail, unless the member decides to appeal the expulsion. Appeals. An appeal may be lodged by the member using an e-mail with acknowledgement of receipt addressed to the Board of Trustees, courtesy of the Secretariat, within fifteen days after receiving the decision on expulsion. The membership of the appealing member is suspended until its final assessment. The appeal shall be assessed by the General Assembly. Its decision is final.

Rights and obligations of Members

IUAF members are obliged to:

Observe statutes, by-laws and other resolutions adopted by IUAF bodies,

IUAF members are invited to actively pursue the purposes for which IUAF was established, and participate in the meetings of IUAF bodies and contribute to improvement of their work, 

IUAF members have the right to:

  • participate actively in IUAF activities,
  • participate in the meetings of IUAF bodies and vote on motions,
  • submit their own proposals, ideas, comments, opinions, and criticism to IUAF bodies, and ask these bodies for statements and explanations, 
  • be informed about IUAF affairs, activities, and management,
  • stand for election to IUAF bodies,
  • nominate and cast their votes for representatives into IUAF bodies.

General Assembly

The General Assembly is the supreme body of the association. The General Assembly meets in Regular, Substitute or Special General Meetings.

Members shall meet at least once annually for a Regular General Meeting. The Regular General Meeting may be physical, online, or both. The meeting shall be summoned by the President of the Board. The invitation to the Regular General Meeting must be sent to the whole membership of the IUAF at least 4 months before the date of the Regular General Meeting by electronic means. The invitation must clearly indicate the date, time, place and the draft agenda of the meeting. If different from the draft agenda, the final agenda must be approved by a vote of the General Assembly.

Members may be called to meet in a Special General Meeting:

  • By the Board of Trustees; or
  • By the Bureau
  • By a note signed by at least 10% of the Membership.

Meetings of the General Assembly may take place in person, by telephone or video conference call, or by any other collective electronic means listed in the by-laws.

The General Assembly shall take decisions by a majority of all votes cast, unless stipulated otherwise by the by-laws.

Functions of the General Assembly

  • Election of Trustees
  • Approval of Annual Accounts
  • Approval of Annual Report
  • Amendments of the Statutes
  • Assess appeals against Board of Trustees decisions on expulsion
  • Other issues

Board of Trustees

Powers and Responsibilities. The Board of Trustees shall manage and oversee the affairs of the IUAF and shall appoint such committees, task forces, and officers as deemed necessary and may define their functions and duties. The board of trustees shall prepare the Annual Activity Report and the Annual Financial Report that are presented to the General Assembly. The board of trustees may propose amendments to this constitution to the General Assembly.

The Board’s powers are as follows:

Strategy. Agree on the strategy and the consequent implementation plan;

Policies. Approve principles, policies, procedures, standards and guidelines; 

Procedures. Establish and adopt by-laws and rules of procedures for the conduct of its meetings and for the general governance of IUAF;

Officers of the Board. Trustees shall appoint from their number a President, Vice President, Treasurer, Vice Treasurer, Secretary and Vice Secretary to hold office until their successors are appointed;

Bureau. The Board’s President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer shall constitute the Bureau of the IUAF immediately upon their appointment. They cease to be members of the Bureau upon the relinquishment or suspension of these appointments;

Committees. Appoint and staff Committees as deemed necessary, defining their functions and duties, such as an Election Committee, Ethics Committee, a Finance Committee etc.;

Secretary-General. Appoint the Secretary-General of the Secretariat for a period deemed appropriate;

Task forces. Appoint and staff task forces as deemed necessary, defining their functions, duties and duration;

Guardianship. Interpret these Statutes and propose revisions and updates of the same to the General Assembly;

Disputes. Manage and resolve disputes among Members if not resolved amicably;

Guidance. Provide oversight to the Secretariat;

Financial powers. Develop and revise fee structures for ratification by the General Assembly; Oversee those functions that are provided for by its decisions; Decide about opening and closing bank accounts and authorise financial disbursements; Review and recommend approval of an annual operating budget; Regularly review financial results and oversee the management of financial assets. 

Trustees

Compensation. Trustees shall serve without compensation. Reimbursement of actual expenses incurred in attending meetings or otherwise in the execution of their duties as Trustees shall not constitute compensation.

Number of Trustees. There shall be up to 9 (nine) Trustees. Every Trustee shall serve for a period beginning on the effective date of their election as Trustee and ending immediately upon the effective date of the election and qualification of their respective successors. The maximal duration of the term of the trustees is three years. A change in the effective date of future elections may mean that the Trustee’s term of office may be shorter or slightly longer than three years by some months. A new election of the board of trustees is organised at each World Congress on Agroforestry, even if the term of the previous board is therefore shorter than 3 years. The number of Trustees of the IUAF constituting the entire Board may be increased or decreased from time to time by an amendment to these Statutes.

Term limits. Trustees may serve for two consecutive terms if elected. They must then sit out at least one term before being allowed to stand for election to the Board again.

Vacancy. A vacancy of the Board of Trustees shall arise upon the death, incapacity, resignation, removal or refusal to serve of a Trustee. A Refusal to Serve is deemed to occur following absences from more than three consecutive Board Meetings. Any vacancy occurring on the Board of Trustees for any reason will be filled by the next-most voted person in the previous General Assembly elections.

Private session. The Board may, at any time during one of its meetings, choose to go into private session. At the start of a private session, any named ex-officio Trustee must leave the Board meeting until called back by the Board.

Ex-Officio Trustees. Ex-officio Trustees shall be entitled to attend any meeting of the Board of Trustees, but are not allowed to vote on Board motions or business.

Secretary-General as Ex-Officio Trustee. The Secretary-General of IUAF shall serve as an ex-officio Trustee. His or her term as Trustee shall be concurrent with his or her term of office as Secretary-General and when he or she ceases to serve as Secretary-General, his or her term as an ex-officio Trustee shall expire.

World Congress on Agroforestry Host Country Representative as Ex-Officio Trustee. During the year preceding a World Congress of Agroforestry, a delegate from the host country will be invited to be an ex-officio Trustee.

Host country member as Ex-Officio Trustee. The Board will co-opt a member of the IUAF resident in the country where the headquarters of IUAF are established. This member will be an Ex-Officio Trustee and shall help in all official duties with the host country.

 

Nominations and Elections of Trustees

Nominations. All Members shall have the right to put forth nominations for election to the Board of Trustees and to second nominations made by other Members. Members may not second their own nominations. Each Member shall have the right to submit up to two nominations and two seconds for each election. Completed nomination forms should be sent to the IUAF Secretariat and must be received by electronic means on or before the last day of the nominating period pertaining to that election.

Confirmed Nominees are those that have secured at least five nominations (including seconds) coming from at least 3 different countries, and have filed the application form provided by the Secretariat. The name of every Confirmed Nominee received within the deadline shall appear on the list for election of Trustees.

Election Commission. The Chair of the Board shall appoint an Election Commission of three persons at least 4 (four) months before a Regular General Meeting. The Election Commission shall (a) solicit and confirm nominations, (b) approve the creation and distribution to Members of all relevant forms to be used in the nomination and election procedures performed by the Secretariat, (c) coordinate with the IUAF Secretary-General the development of a complete set of the names, addresses and nomination submission forms for all Confirmed Nominees, (d) coordinate with the IUAF Secretary the distribution of nominee information to be sent to the Members no later than forty-five (45) days before the date that votes must be received and (e) carry out such other duties as shall be assigned to it by the Board of Trustees.

Election of Trustees. A Board of up to nine Trustees shall be elected every three years at the Regular General Meeting. The Elected Trustees shall be those nine nominees receiving the most votes. A ranked list of the non-elected nominees is established and will be used to replace missing trustees during the term if necessary.

Mandate. Trustees shall take office immediately upon the effective date of their election.

Bureau

The Bureau is a four-member collective statutory body of the association. The Bureau has the following members: The Board’s President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer.

Each member of the Bureau acts on behalf of the IUAF in all affairs independently.

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