For a more comprehensive list of events in trade and sustainable development, please refer to ICTSD’s web calendar. Please bear in mind that dates and times of WTO meetings are often changed, and that the WTO does not always announce the important informal meetings of the different bodies.
Coming up in the next two weeks
13-17 October, Lisbon, Portugal: CONSUMERS INTERNATIONAL WORLD CONGRESS 2003. This event, organised every three years by Consumers International, will focus on the theme of ‘The future of consumer protection: representation, regulation and empowerment in a world economy’. It will consist of a series of plenary sessions, workshops, training sessions, and fringe meetings on the changes in the global economy and their implications for consumer rights. For more information, see: http://www.consumersinternational.org/homepage.asp.
15-17 October, Geneva, Switzerland: CIVIL SOCIETY MEETING IN PREPARATION FOR UNCTAD XI. The civil society meeting, organised by UNCTAD, will follow up on the discussions and outcome of the Strategic Group Meeting, which was held in September 2002 and will provide an opportunity to discuss and exchange views among civil society representatives and UNCTAD secretariat with regard to pertinent organisational and substantive preparations of the civil society dimension for UNCTAD XI. For further information contact Amel Haffouz of the UNCTAD secretariat, tel: (41 22) 907 5048; fax: 907 0122; e-mail: amel.haffouz@unctad.org.
16 October, Brussels, Belgium: GREEN FACTS - CONVEYING SCIENCE INTO POLICY: SCIENCE COMMUNICATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL DECISION-MAKING. The workshop is organised by the Greenfacts foundation. The morning session will have three simultaneous stakeholder workshops on issues of science communication and environmental decision-making. The results will be presented in the afternoon to a public conference with speakers from UNEP, the EU, Industry and Environmental NGOs. The conference will be followed by the official launch of the GreenFacts website www.greenfacts.org. For further information, contact: David Zaruk; tel: (32 2) 211-3425; email: david@greenfacts.org; Internet: http://www.greenfactsfoundation.org/conference/.
16 October, Basel, Switzerland: FOOD SECURITY AND BIODIVERSITY SYMPOSIUM. Hosted by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, the Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture and the International Plant Genetics Resources Institute. The event will examine practical approaches and varied perspectives on what constitutes reasonable sharing under the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources. For further information see: http://www.benefitsharing.org/index_en.asp?br=ns.
20-21 October, London, UK: UNEP’S 3RD WORKSHOP ON THE ENVIRONMENT. This workshop is hosted by Export Credits Guarantee Department (ECGD). The objectives include, inter alia, discussing ways to overcome the challenges of reducing risk through environmental screening, strengthening contacts and cooperation between financiers on the environmental aspects of their work, and initiating processes to further analyse issues raised during the workshop. For further information, contact Martina Otto, tel: (33 144) 377-615; email: martina.otto@unep.fr.
20-21 October, Tokyo, Japan: UNEP FI 2003 GLOBAL ROUNDTABLE: SUSTAINING VALUE, A MEETING ON FINANCE AND SUSTAINABILITY. Organised by the United Nations Environment Programme. The Roundtable provides an opportunity for bankers, insurers, and asset managers from around the world to discuss new ideas and challenges in the fields of finance, insurance and sustainability. It will focus on the role of the finance sector to promote best practice approaches in exercising good governance, accountability, transparency, and reporting. These four disciplines are integral to sustainable development, and reinforce the trust, confidence and credibility, which underpin the long-term stability of the financial system. For further information, contact: UNEP FI, email: tokyo@unepfi.net; Internet: http://www.unepfi.net/tokyo/
22-23 October, Washington DC, US: FOREST INVESTMENT FORUM. Organised by the World Bank (IBRD), International Finance Corporation (IFC), World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), with support from Forest Trends and PROFOR. The Forum will bring together senior executives from forest product companies and financial institutions around the world. The main objective is to explore how the sponsoring organisations could help to create enabling environments for private sector investment by companies and financial institutions committed to socially, environmentally and economically sustainable management of forest resources in sustainable forestry and forest industry projects. Participation is limited to invitation only. For more information, contact: The World Bank, tel: (1 202) 473-1000; fax: 477-6391; Internet: http://lnweb18.worldbank.org/ESSD/ardext.nsf/14ByDocName/
24 October, Geneva, Switzerland: WIPO-UPOV SYMPOSIUM ON INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS IN PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY. Organised by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV). The Symposium will examine the role of intellectual property in plant biotechnology at the international, regional and national levels. It will focus on how patents and breeders’ rights are effectively used and managed in this field. For more information, see: http://www.upov.int/en/news/index.html.
28 October, Amsterdam, the Netherlands: THE FUTURE OF FOOD & BIOTECH. Organised by the Club of Amsterdam. The conference will address questions related to food safety, food technology, food quality, related global market developments and the role of locally produced foods based on seasonality and variety. For more information, contact: Club of Amsterdam, email: info@clubofamsterdam.com; Internet: http://www.clubofamsterdam.com.
29-31 October, Davis, California, US: WORKSHOP ON ACCESSING BIODIVERSITY AND SHARING THE BENEFITS. This workshop will aim to analyse the findings of a study conducted on the status of national genetic resources access, intellectual property right and benefit-sharing policies among countries on the Pacific Rim. The workshop will also design strategies and provide recommendations to the facilitation of the goals of the Convention on Biological Diversity relating to genetic resources. For more information contact: Santiago Carrizosa; tel: (1 530) 754-8506; email: scarrizosa@ucdavis.edu; Internet: http://www.grcp.ucdavis.edu/
30-31 October, Berlin, Germany: MOVING FORWARD FROM CANCÚN - A CONFERENCE ON THE GLOBAL GOVERNANCE OF TRADE, ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: Hosted by Ecologic - Institute for International and European Environmental Policy. The conference assesses the current trade and environment nexus at the interface of policy and research. It is the first major conference to follow the WTO Ministerial Conference at Cancun and will be an important opportunity to take stock in light of the crucial negotiations to be concluded in 2005 and beyond. For more information contact: Markus Knigge; tel: (49 30) 8688-0100; email: knigge@ecologic.de; Internet: http://www.ecologic-events.de/Cat-E/en/background.htm.
Other Forthcoming
4 November, Geneva, Switzerland: GATS, WATER AND THE ENVIRONMENT WORKSHOP. Organised by the World Wildlife Fund for Nature and Centre for International Environmental Law. This workshop will discuss the findings of the study of a discussion paper entitled, "GATS, Water and the Environment". The paper analyses the implications of the current WTO negotiations to liberalise trade in services may have for global water resources. It assesses possible consequences for domestic regulations of water resources, particular those concerning extraction of water resources and identifies potential implications of the GATS for water laws and policies, strategic considerations and recommendations for the GATS negotiations. For further information contact: Sabine Granger tel: (41 22) 364 9012; email: sgranger@wwfint.org; Internet: http://www.panda.org/
17-20 November, Wilton Park, West Sussex, UK: CLIMATE CHANGE: WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE IN NORTH AND SOUTH? Organised in co-operation with The Norwegian Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Oslo; and LEAD International, London. This conference will discuss the next step in the Kyoto process, mitigation targets needed for the coming commitment period, whether the US and major greenhouse gas emitters among transition and developing nations can be drawn in, what role there is for alternative energy and nuclear power, and what external actors and national governments can do to help entire societies soften the impacts through adaptation strategies. Speakers include Sir John Houghton; Michael Meacher, officials and Members Parliament from Europe and developing countries. For further information, contact: David Grace, email: davidgrace@insideeurope.fsnet.co.uk; tel: (44 146) 067-368; Internet: http://www.wiltonpark.org.uk/web/conferences/wrapper.asp?confref=WP730
17 November -12 December, E-mail conference: MARKER-ASSISTED SELECTION. Organised by the FAO Electronic Forum on Biotechnology in Food and Agriculture. The theme of this web-based conference is marker-assisted selection for crops, forest trees, livestock and fish in developing countries. This will be the 10th conference hosted by the Forum since it was launched in March 2000. For further information contact, email: mailserv@mailserv.fao.org; Internet: http://www.fao.org/biotech/forum.asp
26-27 November, New Delhi, India: NATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON GM TECHNOLOGY: The Relevance of GM Technology to Indian Agriculture and Food Security. Organised by the Gene Campaign. The symposium aims to raise awareness about GM technology and its applicability and relevance in an Indian context. A range of national and international experts will speak on the various aspects of GM technology and its application. Furthermore, the Agriculture Minister of India, Sri Rajnath Singh will inaugurate the symposium and Dr M S Swaminathan will deliver the Inaugural Address. The President of the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, will deliver the Keynote Speech. For further information, contact: Gene Campaing, tel: (91 11) 2651-7248; fax: 2696-9716; email: genecamp@vsnl.com Internet: http://www.genecampaign.org/nov.html
Courses
January-June 2004, Geneva, Switzerland: BIO SECURITY COURSE. At the University of Geneva and University of Lausanne. The course aims at encouraging dialogue between specialists in different disciplines concerned with bio security issues. This course permits participants to explore the legal, scientific, technical, economic and ethical aspects of biosecurity. Open to individuals from the public, private and non-governmental sectors with a minimum two years experience in a field linked to biosecurity. For further information, contact: Ezra Ricci, tel: (41 22) 906-5975; email: ezra.rcci@iued.unige.ch; Internet: http://www.unige.ch/formcont