If you have a relevant resource (books, papers, bulletins, etc.) you would like to see announced in this section, please forward a copy for review by the BRIDGES staff to Malena Sell.
STAYING HOME: HOW ETHANOL WILL CHANGE US CORN EXPORTS. By Mark Muller and Heather Schoonover. IATP, December 2006. This report looks at the growth planned for ethanol plants in the US Midwest and their potential impact on corn exports. Corn-based ethanol production in the US doubled between 2001 and 2005, and is likely to double again the next few years. The US already has 100 active ethanol plants capable of producing more than 5 billion gallons of ethanol a year. The US Department of Agriculture has stated that much of the corn for ethanol production will be diverted from exports. To access the report visit http://www.agobservatory.org/library.cfm?refid=96658.
WHO BENEFITS FROM GM CROPS? AN ANALYSIS OF THE GLOBAL PERFORMANCE OF GENETICALLY MODIFIED (GM) CROPS 1996-2006. Friends of the Earth International, January 2007. According to this report, genetically modified (GM) crops have failed to address the main challenges facing farmers around the world, and more than 70% of large scale GM planting is still limited to two countries (U.S. and Argentina).The report also notes that the ’second generation’ GM farm crops with attractive ‘traits’ long promised by the industry has failed to appear. According to the report, GM crops commercialised today have on the whole increased rather than decreased pesticide use, and do not yield more than conventional varieties. The environment has not benefited from them, and GM crops will become increasingly unsustainable over the medium to long term. For further information and to access there report visit http://www.foei.org/media/2007/0109.html.
ECONOMIC IMPACT OF DOMINANT GM CROPS WORLDWIDE: A REVIEW. By Manuel Gómez-Barbero, Emilio Rodríguez-Cerezo. Institute for Prospective Technology Studies under the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre, December 2006. This report examines the economic impact of genetically modified (GM) crops worldwide, and potentially within the EU. The report finds that GM crops bring farmers economic benefits from savings on herbicides, pesticides, and machinery. Yield benefits from GM crops are found to vary. A 2000 study of farmers in the U.S. state of Delaware found only a small increase in yield from the planting of GM herbicide tolerant soy compared to conventional soy. However, the IPTS study says that some other GM crops have had much higher yields than their conventional equivalents. For example, prior studies have found yield increases of between 10 and 87 percent with the use of Bt cotton in China, India, Argentina, and South Africa. The IPTS study predicts that in France, 75 percent adoption of GM rapeseed would save farmers EUR 24 million a year in weeding costs; in the U.K. full adoption of GM herbicide resistant sugar beet would save EUR 33.5 million. It concludes, however, that these factors could possibly be counterbalanced by the costs of complying with EU guidelines for coexistence. Compliance would cost European farmers more than EUR 84 per hectare planted to GM crops. To access the report visit http://www.jrc.es/home/pages/detail.cfm?prs=1458.
GM GRAINS IN AUSTRALIA - IDENTITY PRESERVATION. By Max Foster, Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ABARE).December 2006. This report finds that while any requirement to keep non-genetically modified (non-GM) grain separate from GM grains will impose costs on Australia’s grains industry, it appears that the costs are modest and manageable. Consumer resistance to GM grains could create the need for identity preservation arrangements in Australia aimed at ensuring the non-GM status of some grains in mixed production systems of GM and non-GM crops. The case studies undertaken by ABARE suggest that additional costs to producers of identity preserved non-GM canola would average 4-6 per cent of their farm gate canola price in a typical year. To access the report, visit http://www.abareconomics.com/publications_html/crops/crops_06/GM_grains.pdf.ICTSD Vacancy Announcement
INTERN, ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES (ENR) PROGRAMME. ICTSD is looking to hire an intern for a period of six months. The objective of this position is to contribute substantively and programmatically to ICTSD’s efforts to promote sustainable development in trade policy-making and trade negotiations in relation to environment and natural resources. Responsibilities will include supporting the various projects of the programme including trade and sustainable energy, environmental goods and services, fisheries and sustainable land management; writing and editing for the regular and occasional publications of the ENR Programme; as well as providing administrative and logistical support in the planning and organisation of dialogues. The application deadline is 31 January. For further information see http://www.ictsd.org/about/ar/TOR%20for%20Intern%20ENR%20Programme.pdf.
Call For Papers
TRADE AND ENVIRONMENT IN NORTH AMERICA: PUBLIC CALL FOR PAPERS ON SERVICES AND THE ENVIROMENT. The Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) has issued a call for papers examining trade and environmental issues related to the services sector in North America. They should examine the relationship betwee services sector liberalisation under NAFTA and environmental conditions and policy. Researchers are invited to submit proposals in English, French, or Spanish no later than Thursday, 1 February 2007. Paper topics may address any service sector however, the CEC will only consider proposals that test hypotheses using robust empirical or legal analyses, or that employ new methodologies seeking to answer questions in the defined areas. Final papers will be presented by the authors at the fourth North American Symposium on Assessing the Environmental Effects of Trade in 2008. For more information or to submit a proposal, visit http://www.cec.org/symposium.
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