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. Submissions of publications to ICTSD’s documentation centre would also be welcome (contact Matteo Rizzolli).
GENETICALLY MODIFIED PLANTS FOR FOOD USE AND HUMAN HEALTH - AN UPDATE. Royal Society UK, February 2002. Based on research available since 1998, the report concludes that there is not reason to doubt the safety of GM foods that are currently available, it calls on regulators to improve safety testing of novel foods, in particular for allergy testing (including risks from inhalation) and nutritional content of infant formula. The report is available online.
"Biosafety and international trade: conflict or convergence?" by T.A. Cors in INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES, 1 (1): 87-103, 2001. The paper discusses the regulatory dilemmas of addressing biotechnology under either the WTO regime or the Biosafety Protocol, focusing on how the precautionary principle is addressed in each agreement. The second section considers multilateral developments for the conservation of biological diversity, focusing on the Biosafety Protocol. The third section discusses international trade, focusing on the WTO Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures. The fourth section examines the treatment of the precautionary principle under the WTO and the Biosafety Protocol. Finally, the last section addresses how a conflict of international law would be resolved between the SPS agreement and the Biosafety Protocol.
GOVERNING FOOD, SCIENCE, SAFETY AND TRADE. By Peter W.B. Phillips and Robert Wolfe, Published by McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2001. The collection of essays, written by public officials, academics, and industry and civil society commentators, addresses the international challenges posed by food safety and governance of the food system. In particular it examines the three pillars of food safety — science, regulation, and industry — to highlight the pressures on government. For further information, see http://www.mqup.mcgill.ca/2001/q-philli.htm.
ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF TRADE LIBERALIZATION ON THE CONSERVATION AND SUSTAINABLE USE OF AGRICULTURAL BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY. By the Secretariat for the Convention on Biological Diversity, Montreal, January 2002. This Note — prepared by the Executive Secretary of the CBD Secretariat — examines the impact of trade liberalisation on the conservation and sustainable use of agricultural biological diversity. The document is now open for comments by the scientific community at large as part of a peer review process and is available online.
ENVIRONMENTAL AND FOOD SAFETY STANDARDS IN THE CONTEXT OF TRADE LIBERALIZATION: ISSUES AND OPTIONS. By Ulrike Grote and Stanie Kirchhoff, ZEF-Discussion Papers on Development Policy No. 39, Center for Development Research (ZEF), Bonn, June 2001. This discussion paper describes the complex process of setting standards, the relevant WTO agreements dealing with technical as well as sanitary and phytosanitary standards and potential outcomes of setting environmental standards - outcomes for the environment, for international trade relations and the competitiveness of countries. The paper furthermore offers a list of alternative policy responses and strategies to tackle environmental issues in the context of international trade. Available online.
NEGOTIATING THE TRIPS AGREEMENT: INDIA’S EXPERIENCE AND SOME DOMESTIC POLICY ISSUES. By Julius Sen, Published by CUTS, December 2001. The paper finds that many of the lessons that can be drawn from India’s experience with the TRIPs negotiations are the same as those that can be drawn from the negotiations more generally. It goes beyond a narrow analysis of events relating strictly to the negotiations during the Uruguay Round and looks at the negotiating context in which these negotiations took place. The research findings draw lessons from what actually happened and suggests how policy processes can be reformed and reorganised to address the negotiating requirements in dealing with such issues in future. Further information is available online; or by contacting Bipul Chatterjee.
"Financing for Sustainable Development," RING/IIED, 2002. This new report states that discussions surrounding both the WSSD and the FFD process indicate an absence of creative thinking on the issue of financing, and on the challenges of globalisation. It argues that there is a crisis of legitimacy confronting the agencies and actors involved in development processes and presents some ideas and approaches, which could usefully be acted upon in preparation for the two Summits. The report is available online.
JOB VACANCY
ILTAB (International Laboratory for Tropical Agricultural Biotechnology), a research laboratory within the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, maintains research and training programs directed at improving food productivity in developing nations. The candidate should have a university degree [MSc or PhD] in the biological sciences, socio-economics, or anthropology. Knowledge of the specific needs of developing countries is also a requirement. The candidate must have excellent communication skills, must be very well organised, and should be able to make oral as well as written presentations to a variety of audiences. A basic knowledge of the tropical crop cassava would be appreciated, although not indispensable. English will be the working language, but knowledge of French and / or African languages would be an advantage.
The candidate will be expected to, inter alia, develop and execute plans of action relative to the research and training programs of scientists from developing countries. The position will be based at the Danforth Center in St. Louis, but the candidate will need to travel nationally and internationally to visit and work in international and national institutions in several countries around the world. For further information please contact: Dr. Claude M. Fauquet, Director of ILTAB, Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, 975 North Warson Rd., St. Louis, MO 63132, Tel: 314-587-1241, Fax: 314-587-1956, email: iltab@danforthcenter.org; Internet: www.danforthcenter.org/iltab/