If you have a relevant resource (books, papers, bulletins, etc.) you would like to see announced in this section, please forward a copy or review by the BRIDGES staff to Heike Baumüller.
SHRIMP’S PASSPORT: HOW INTERNATIONAL TRADE AGENCIES MONITOR AMERICA’S FAVORITE SEAFOOD. By Public Citizen, February 2005. The paper claims that the WTO, which enforces global rules regarding the exportation of farm-raised shrimp, prioritises deregulation to the benefit of large corporations and the detriment of small-scale fishermen and coastal communities both in the producing and the consuming nations. In the wake of new trade negotiations on Non-Agricultural Market Access (NAMA), the paper warns that millions of people in developing countries are being threatened by the exploitation of natural systems to create more shrimp farms, most of which in Southeast Asia, where labour and environmental standards are considerably weaker than in the US.
ANALYZING THE RESOURCE IMPACT OF FISHERIES SUBSIDIES: A MATRIX APPROACH. By UNEP, 2004. Although linkages between fisheries subsidies, depletion of fisheries, and trade have been made in forums such as the FAO and WTO Rules negotiations, it is widely recognised that the impacts of subsidies depends both on the type of subsidy provided and the management program in effect in the relevant fishery. In this report, UNEP provides a comprehensive look at its matrix approach to combining these two dimensions to diagnose in what situations fisheries subsidies have adverse effects on fish stocks and/or trade.
INCORPORATING RESOURCE IMPACT INTO FISHERIES SUBSIDIES DISCIPLINES: ISSUES AND OPTIONS - A DISCUSSION PAPER. By UNEP, 2004. This booklet builds on the above report and offers one view of several possible options for amending the existing WTO Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (SCM) Agreement to address the protection of fishery resources.
WITHERING ON THE VINE: WILL AGRICULTURAL BIOTECH’S PROMISES BEAR FRUIT? By Gregory Jaffe, Centre for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), February 2005. The report finds that the number of genetically engineered (GE) crops going through the US regulatory review process dropped sharply between the late 1990s and the early 2000s. The report recommends simplifying the current regulation system and increasing public investment in GE crops, particularly by applying existing technology to non-commodity crops and by expanding research on biotech crops that would benefit consumers. CSPI also urges increased government support for research on crops that would be important to developing countries and says that the agricultural biotechnology industry should make its technology available for public research and development efforts.
WTO AGREEMENT ON AGRICULTURE: A DECADE OF DUMPING — UNITED STATES DUMPING ON AGRICULTURAL MARKETS. By Sophia Murphy, Ben Lilliston and Mary Beth Lake. Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, February 2005. The first in a series assessing the WTO’s first 10 years, this report finds that US food companies are still exporting crops at prices below their cost of production onto world markets and that such dumping occurs in spite of the efforts of the WTO. The analysis provides dumping calculations from 1990-2003 for five commodities grown in the US and sold on world markets: wheat, corn, soybeans, rice and cotton. It shows that these products were exported by the US at between 10 and 48 percent below the price of production.
STATE OF THE WORLD 2005: PROGRESS TOWARDS A SUSTAINABLE SOCIETY. By the Worldwatch Institute, 2005. State of the World 2005 takes a new and deeper look at the theme that has dominated international politics since 9/11: security, focusing on the underlying social, economic and environmental pressures which determine how threatened and vulnerable people feel. These include food, water, other natural resources, exposure to environmental change and health threats. Without equitable and sustainable management of these conditions, lasting security cannot be achieved, the report concludes.