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
17-18 November, Berlin, Germany: BERLIN CONFERENCE ON THE HUMAN DIMENSIONS OF GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE. This conference is the sixth event in the series of annual European Conferences. Discussions will address the theme ‘Resource Policies: Effectiveness, Efficiency, and Equity’. Scientists, practitioners, and politicians from more than 30 countries will be meeting for this two day event at the Freie Universitaet Berlin to discuss the most recent trends and future guidelines for resource policies. For further information, see http://web.fu-berlin.de/ffu/akumwelt/bc2006.
19-24 November, Geneva Switzerland: SECOND MEETING OF THE EXPERT GROUP ON BEST AVAILABLE TECHNOLOGIES AND BEST ENVIRONMENTAL PRACTICES (BAT/BEP). The meeting takes place under the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants. For more information, contact the Secretariat of the Stockholm Convention; tel: +41 22 917 8191; fax: +41 22 797 3460; e-mail: ssc@pops.int; internet: http://www.pops.int/documents/meetings/bat_bep/EGBATBEP2/announcement.htm.
20 November, Seoul, Korea: FAO/WHO REGIONAL WORKSHOP FOR ASIA ON FOOD SAFETY RISK COMMUNICATION. The purpose of this workshop is to provide information on the food safety risk communication within the framework of risk analysis, including information on definitions, food safety risk communication in the development of Codex standards, and application of risk analysis principles and guidelines. International and local case studies will be used to demonstrate their application in a national and regional context. For further information contact Masami Takeuchi, email:Masami.Takeuchi@fao.org.
20 & 22 November, Geneva, Switzerland: WTO TRADE POLICY REVIEW BODY - COLOMBIA. For further information, contact the WTO Information and Media Relations Division, Geneva; tel: (41 22) 739 5007; fax: (41 22) 739-5458; email: enquiries@wto.org.
20-22 November, Groningen, the Netherlands: CLIMATE AND ENERGY POLICY INTERACTIONS. This workshop, held during the second edition of Energy Convention Groningen, is intended to provide a synthesis of different approaches and methodologies of analysing interactions of energy and climate policy instruments. It will address research questions including how to combine different energy and climate policy instruments, define a proper design of combined policy instruments, and determine ex-ante the effects of combined policy instruments on the energy market as well as integrating top down and bottom up approaches of analyzing policy interactions. Discussion will be among policymakers, academics, researchers, companies and other stakeholders. For further information, contact Vlasis Oikonomou; tel: +31 20 6625340; e-mail: v.oikonomou@rug.nl; internet: http://www.energyconvention.nl.
20-22 November, Bonn, Germany: FOURTH MEETING OF THE PARTIES TO THE WATER CONVENTION. This meeting will mark a milestone in the history of the Water Convention: the tenth anniversary of its entry into force. A poster session will be organised during the meeting to highlight success stories and lessons-learned from different aspects of the Convention’s implementation. For more information, tel: +49 30 18 3050; fax: +49 30 18 305 2397; e-mail: Joachim.Misera@bmu.bund.de; internet: http://www.unece.org/env/water/mop4/info.htm.
21-23 November, Geneva, Switzerland: SECOND MEETING OF THE DDT EXPERT GROUP. This is the Second Meeting of the DDT Expert Group under the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants. For more information, contact the Secretariat of the Stockholm Convention; tel: +41 22 917 8191; fax: +41 22 797 3460; e-mail: ssc@pops.int; internet: http://www.pops.int.
23-25 November, Wuppertal, Germany: SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTION: OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES. This meeting will officially launch SCORE! (Sustainable Consumption Research Exchanges), an EU-funded network project that supports the development of the UN’s 10 Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP). The conference will also provide an opportunity for input of case studies on mobility, food, and housing for the next, practical phase of SCORE; and build a broad platform for presenting work of science and scientists that may be of direct relevance for the activities of the 10 Year Framework Task Forces. For more information, contact Arnold Tukker, Project Director; tel: +31 15 269 5450; fax: +31 15 276 3024; e-mail: arnold.tukker@tno.nl; internet: http://www.score-network.org.
27 November to 1 December, Nairobi, Kenya: EIGHTH MEETING OF THE CONFERENCE OF THE PARTIES (COP-8) TO THE BASEL CONVENTION. The eighth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention, COP-8, will be hosted by the Government of Kenya and will take place in the United Nations Office at Nairobi. The theme of the meeting will be, "Creating innovative solutions through the Basel Convention for the environmentally sound management of electronic wastes." For more information, contact the Secretariat of the Basel Convention; tel: +41 22 917 8218; fax: +41 22 797 3454; e-mail: BaselCOP8@unep.ch; internet: http://cop8.basel.int/.
28 November, Geneva, Switzerland: WTO COMMITTEE ON TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT. For further information, contact the WTO Information and Media Relations Division, Geneva; tel: (41 22) 739 5007; fax: (41 22) 739-5458; email: enquiries@wto.org.
27 November to 1 December, Chiba, Japan: SIXTH SESSION OF THE CODEX TASK FORCE ON FOODS DERIVED FROM BIOTECHNOLOGY. This meeting will address: a proposed draft guideline for the conduct of food safety assessment of foods derived from GM animals; a proposed draft annex to the guideline for the conduct of food safety assessment of foods derived from GM plants, regarding plants modified for nutritional or health benefits; and a discussion paper on sanitary surveillance of foods derived from biotechnology after being placed on the market. For more information, contact the Codex Secretariat; tel: +39 06 5705 1; fax: +39 06 5705 4593; e-mail: codex@fao.org; internet: http://www.codexalimentarius.net/download/report/675/bt06_01e.pdf.
30 November, Geneva, Switzerland: WTO WORKING PARTY ON THE ACCESSION OF THE LAO PEOPLE’S DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC. For further information, contact the WTO Information and Media Relations Division, Geneva; tel: (41 22) 739 5007; fax: (41 22) 739-5458; email: enquiries@wto.org.
30 November to 1 December, Bangkok, Thailand: INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON WATER RESOURCES AND RENEWABLE ENERGY DEVELOPMENT IN ASIA. This event will bring together international experts concerned with the development of dams for all purposes and renewable energy schemes in Asia. For more information, contact Margaret Bourke, Aqua-Media International; tel: +44 208 643 4727; fax: +44 208 643 8200; e-mail: mb@hydropower-dams.com; internet: http://www.hydropower-dams.com.
Other Upcoming
4-9 February, 2007, Khartoum, Sudan: PRINCIPLES OF BIOSAFETY RESEARCH FOR THE RELEASE OF GENETICALLY ENGINEERED CROPS. This workshop is being organised by Sudan’s Ministry of Science and Technology and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), in collaboration with the International Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB). For more information, e-mail: elgaali@hotmail.com or i.eujayl@cgiar.org.