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.
EXPLORING FAIR TRADE TIMBER: A REVIEW OF ISSUES IN CURRENT PRACTICE, INSTITUTIONAL STRUCTURES AND WAYS FORWARD. By Duncan Macqueen, Annie Dufey, Bindi Patel. International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), 2006. This paper aims to explore the current practice and institutional structures that relate to fair trade in timber. The audience is the timber trade and the authors have therefore assumed a certain degree of familiarity with the main consumer instruments affecting that trade (e.g. forest certification, eco-labelling, and social auditing). Much more coverage is given of the fair trade schemes with which the timber trade may be less familiar. The intention is to collate and analyse material in a way that clarifies possible next steps to scale up successful examples of fair trade timber. To access the paper, visit http://www.iied.org/pubs/pdf/full/13530IIED.pdf.
IMPLEMENTING THE PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLE: APPROACHES FROM THE NORDIC COUNTRIES, EU AND USA. Edited by Nicolas de Sadeleer (Earthscan, December 2006). This handbook addresses how the Precautionary Principle is implemented in different sectors, and examines its successes, failures, strengths and weaknesses in implementation. Sectors and subjects covered include chemicals, GMOs, marine pollution, fisheries and nature conservation, and the book draws on cases in the EU, in the USA, and Nordic countries, where use of the Principle is highly advanced. Ultimately, the book provides an appraisal of the question as to whether the Precautionary Principle is relevant to avert major environmental and health risks, and how and when it can be used successfully. For further information visit http://shop.earthscan.co.uk/ProductDetails/mcs/productID/701/.
"International Trade, Eco-Labelling, and Sustainable Fisheries - Recent Issues, Concepts and Practices" by Tavis Potts and Marcus Haward in ENVIRONMENT, DEVELOPMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY 9 (1, 2007). Certification of where, when and how fish are caught is emerging as an important fisheries management tool. The history of eco-labeling in the fisheries sector is relatively short and actual experiences of eco-labeling are limited, although an emerging trend is shaping in European and US markets. Eco-labeling in fisheries gained increased impetus with the development of the non-government Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) in 1996. This paper reviews the emerging importance of certification and eco-labeling in the fisheries sector, the development and operation of the MSC, identifying particularly the role of ‘third party certification’ as promoted by the MSC, and notes the opportunities and challenges for the MSC and eco-labeling in general.
"Swimming Upstream: Market Access for African Fish Exports in the Context Of WTO and EU Negotiations and Regulation" by Stefano Ponte, Jesper Raakjaer and Liam Campling in DEVELOPMENT POLICY REVIEW 25 (1, 2007). The changing nature of the international trade regime presents a series of new challenges to fish industries on the African continent. This article explores how WTO and EU trade negotiations and regulation impact market-access possibilities for African fish exports. It comes to the conclusion that while bilateral negotiations with the EU have been beneficial for some African countries, collective bargaining power in the context of Economic Partnership Agreements might produce more strategic outcomes in the medium term.