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
29-31 October, Davis, USA: WORKSHOP ON ACCESSING BIODIVERSITY AND SHARING THE BENEFITS. Organised by the University of California. Scholars at this university have conducted an international study of the status of access and benefit- sharing policies among countries on the Pacific Rim. The international workshop will review the findings of that study, draw lessons from it, and design strategies to facilitate the goals of the Convention on Biological Diversity regarding genetic resources. For further information, contact: Santiago Carrizosa, tel: (+1 530) 754 8506; email: scarrizosa@ucdavis.edu; Internet: http://www.grcp.ucdavis.edu/.
30-31 October, San Antonio, Texas: THE ROLE OF GMOS IN TRADE DISPUTES. Sponsored by the U.S.-based Farm Foundation in collaboration with six U.S. universities. Questions to be discussed include: 1) Why are the United States and Canada reluctant to introduce GMO wheat?; 2) Would non-GMO producers lose more than what GMO producers would gain? 3) Why has there been reluctance by Canada to introduce GMO wheat, when in fact the acceptance of GMO canola is increasing?; and 4) Will the new "gene revolution" lead to significant increases in productivity as did the Green Revolution? For further information, contact: University of Florida, tel: (+1 352) 392-1826; fax: 846-0988; Internet: http://www.fred.ifas.ufl.edu/conference/fre/gmotexas#spon
31 October 2003. Zürich, Switzerland: GLOBALISATION AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT MEETING: Organised by the World Economic Forum and the Swiss Agency for the Environment, Forests and Landscape (SAEFL). This meeting seeks to bring clarity to how economic globalisation can be combined with social and environmental globalisation to ensure sustainable development. For further information, contact: Christina Hürzeler; tel: (+41 31) 322-8262; fax: 323-0367; email: christina.huerzeler@buwal.admin.ch; Internet: http://www.weforum.org/site/homepublic.nsf/Content/Globalization+and+Sustainable+Development+Meeting
31 October - 6 November, Kathmandu, Nepal: INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOPS ON "CREATING BDS MARKETS FOR SMME - OPPORTUNITIES & CHALLENGES". Organised by Aseed Eastern Europe. The core of the proposed training workshop will be to articulate working experiences of business development services (BDS) practitioners, with a view to aligning these with the best practices and delivery models suitable (and economically viable) and tailored to small, medium and micro enterprise (SMME) needs. Objectives of this workshop include: to enable BDS Providers to examine their potentials and strength, to see the opportunities available and the challenges they will face, and to help explore the new areas of operation & develop critical insight into to the changing market trends. For further information, contact: Aseed Asia Office, tel: (+11) 613-0635, email: npsaseed@nda.vsnl.net.in; training@aidmat.com; or Aseed Eastern Europe, email: anu@online.ru; Internet: http://www.tradepoint.si/eng/news/doc002.asp.
2 November, Bangkok, Thailand: WORKSHOP ON THE GLOBALLY HARMONIZED SYSTEM (GHS) OF THE CLASSIFICATION AND LABELING OF CHEMICALS: OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES OF IMPLEMENTATION. Organised by Intergovernmental Forum on Chemical Safety and under the auspices of United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. This workshop and dinner, which will be held during the fourth session of the IFCS, will discuss implementation of the GHS, an approach to identifying chemical hazards and providing information about chemicals to users and exposed individuals. It is open to all IFCS Forum IV participants. For more information, contact: Kim Headrick, Health Canada; fax: (+1 613) 946-1100; email: kim_headrick@hc-sc.gc.ca; Internet: http://www.ghsworkshop.com
3-9 November: E-FORUM ON GM TECHNOLOGY AND YOU. Organised by the Gene Campaign. An e-forum for debate on GM issues every alternate month. Theme one poses two questions. "What do you understand by GM technology"? "What are the priorities that India/ developing countries should address"? For further information, contact: Gene Campaign, email: gmforum@genecampaign.org; Internet: http://genecampaign.org.
3-17 November: E-FORUM ON ACHIEVING THE MILLENIUM DEVELPOMENT GOALS: A GLOBAL PUBLIC GOODS PERSPECTIVE. Organised by the Global Network for Public Goods. The topic of debate will be how enhancing the provision of select global public goods could facilitate achieving the Millennium Development Goals at the select target date of 2015. To register, send a blank email to: Subscribe-gpgnet-mdgs@groups.undp.org or for further information, see: http://www.gpgnet.net/discussion.php.
4 November, Geneva, Switzerland: GATS, WATER AND THE ENVIRONMENT. Sponsored by the WWF and CIEL. This is a discussion to share the findings of a study on GATS, water, and the environment. The study analyses the implications of WTO negotiations to liberalise trade in services on global water resources. For further information, contact: Sabine Granger; tel: (41 22) 364-9012; email: sgranger@wwfint.org.
4-5 November, London, England: DELIVERING CLIMATE TECHNOLOGY: PROGRAMMES, POLICIES AND POLITICS. Organised by the Royal Institute of International Affairs (RIIA) in association with the Carbon Trust. It will address the emerging questions surrounding delivering climate technology. Building on the success of earlier RIIA climate change conferences, this year’s focus on delivery will provide a key international forum for debate as the attention moves from general commitments to specific implementation. For further information, contact: RIIA, tel: (+44 20) 7957-5700; fax: 7957-5710; email: contact@riia.org; Internet: http://www.riia.org/index.php?id=5&cid=36.
7-8 November, Krakow, Poland: INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON EU ACCESSION AND AGRICLUTURE. Organised by the Friends of theEarth Europe, Friends of Earth Poland, Heinrich Boell Foundation and the Dutch Ministries for Agriculture and for Environment. The conference’s goals are to stimulate public awareness and discussion on the impacts of the EU Common Agricultural Policy on nature and the countryside of the Accession Counties. For further information, contact: Friends of Europe: krakow@foeeurope.org; Internet: http://www.foeeurope.org/events/krakow.
11 November, Farnham, Surrey, UK: MEETING ON RESPONSIBLE PRODUCTS AND SERVICES: MYTH OR REALITY?. Organised by the Centre for Sustainable Design in association with the ResponseAbility Alliance, will focus on the theme of making sense of corporate social responsibility, sustainability and supply chains. It is targeted at those managing Corporate Social Responsibility and those working for product development, design, brand management, marketing, advertising and public relations. For further information, contact: Russ White, Conference Administrator; tel: (+44 12) 5289-2772; fax: 5289-2747; email: rwhite@surrart.ac.uk; Internet: http://www.cfsd.org.uk/.
11 November, Brussels, Belgium: GENERAL MEETING WITH COMMISSIONER PASCAL LAMY - AFTER CANCUN - WHAT NEXT? Organised by the European Commission. At this EC civil society consultation, Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy will discuss the roadmap for EU trade policy following Cancun, focusing on the relationship between the EU and WTO. Questions such as whether the EU should retain the same philosophical underpinning to its trade policy (i.e. that policy should represent a combination of market access and rules), a discussion over the best forum for pursuing the EU’s trade policy agenda and the future of trade preferences will be addressed. For further information, email: belgin.bingol@cec.eu.int; Internet:http://trade-info.cec.eu.int/civil_soc/meet.php?action=consult&critere=128.
12 November, Washington D.C., USA: US: WORKSHOP ON BILATERAL/ REGIONAL IPR AGREEMENTS. Organised by Consumer Project on Technology. A workshop covering Bilateral/ Regional IPR Agreements, including current or proposed negotiations (such as the Dominican Republic, Thailand, Australia, Morocco, El Salvador, Egypt, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Honduras, Namibia, Lesotho, South Africa, Botswana, etc). For further information, contact: Michael Palmedo, tel: (+1 202) 387-8030; email: mpalmedo@cptech.org.
12-14 November, Mexico City, Mexico: FOURTH INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON WASTEWATER RECLAMATION AND REUSE. The main goal of this conference is to gather experiences among national and international institutions and specialists regarding wastewater reuse, with a particular focus on case studies on this topic. Sessions include: Semi-Intensive Treatment Plants for Wastewater Reuse in Irrigation, Salt Reduction in Municipal Sewage Allocated for Reuse: The Outcome of a New Policy in Israel and Economic Analysis of the Reuse of Water Reclamation in the Irrigation of Vineyards. For further information, contact: Patricia Santillán de la Torre, email: PSantillanT@iingen.unam.mx; Internet: http://www.iingen.unam.mx/isw/index1.html
12-13 November, London: UK, FT GLOBAL BIOTECH CONFERENCE. Organised by the Financial Times and supported by Strategic Decisions Group. A panel of speakers from a select group of heads of industry will examine the latest essential developments on the global biotech scene. Particular emphasis will be placed on long-term growth strategies, shifting business models, structuring partnerships and innovation and competition in the industry. Key issues to be addressed include: best practice in co-development and co-promotion alliances, the evolution of pharma and biotech relationships, the road to commercialisation and revolutionary advances in mainstream science. For further information, email: ftconferences@FT.com; tel: (+44 20) 7873-3262; Internet: http://www.ftconferences.com/mini_site/ft_bio/ft_bio/
13 November, Edinburgh, UK: CONFERENCE ON PRECAUTION AND PROGRESS: Lessons from the UK GM Crops Dialogue. This annual conference of Innogen is co-sponsored by the Scottish Executive and the Agriculture and Environment Biotechnology Commission, and will focus on the components of the recent UK dialogue on GM crops and how these might be integrated into the policy decision-making process. For further information, contact: ESRC Centre for Social and Economic Research on Innovation in Genomics: tel: (+44 131) 650-9113; email: innogen@ed.ac.uk; Internet: http://www.innogen.ac.uk/events.php?page=2.
Other Forthcoming
17-18 November, Johannesburg, South Africa: GLOBAL FORUM ON INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENT: Encouraging Modern Governance and Transparency for Investment- Why and How. Organised by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. This conference will be the third annual meeting of the OECD Global Forum on International Investment, a forum for policy dialogue among OECD members, non-members and other stakeholders. The meeting will consider how modern, transparent governance can help countries to attract and benefit from foreign investment. For more information contact: Kaveri Bopiah Liverani, tel: (+33 1) 4525-9369; fax: 4430-6135; email: kaveri.bopiah-liverani@oecd.org; Internet: http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/1/6/4409911.pdf.
17-21 November, Rome, Italy: FAO/WHO EXPERT CONSULTATION ON GENETICALLY MODIFIED ANIMALS, INCLUDING FISH. This event is organised by FAO and WHO. Its purpose is to review and analyse data on the current situation of GM animals, in particular fish, and the foods derived from them. For further information, contact: Ezzeddine Boutrif, FAO; tel: (+39 6) 5705-6156; fax: 5705-4593; email: ezzeddine.boutrif@fao.org; Internet: http://www.who.int/foodsafety/biotech/meetings/ec_nov2003/en/.
24-25th November, Brussels, Belgium. WHY DOES CHEMICALS POLICY AND SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT CONCERN ME? Organised by EU Conferences Limited. The REACH Chemical Policy will become a reality in some form very soon and its legislation will influence, transportation, labelling, management, software applications design, testing procedures and production of chemicals. It will affect upstream and downstream users, as well as distributors and ethical retail purchasers. For further information, tel: (+ 44 18) 7383-0724; tel/fax: 7383-0692; email: info@euconferences.com; Internet: http://www.euconferences.com/frachemical.htm
1-5 December, Queensland, New Zealand: DEEP SEA 2003. Founding sponsors include the Ministry of Fisheries, New Zealand, Food And Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Australia and Fisheries Research and Development Corporation. This is an international conference where experts will discuss and debate the issues and future needs for science, conservation, and governance and management of the continental slope and deep seas. It will provide a forum for expert discussion on the objectives, constraints and influences on the conservation and management of the continental slope and deep-sea area. For further information, fax: (+64 3) 441-8127; email: deepsea@qdm.co.nz; Internet: http://www.deepsea.govt.nz/index.aspx
8-9 December, Geneva, Switzerland: SUSTAINABILITY IN THE COFFEE SECTOR: EXPLORING OPPORTUNITIES FOR INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION, PART II: ASSESSMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION. Organised by UNCTAD and IISD. The meeting will focus on assessing concrete opportunities for multi-stakeholder collaboration towards the implementation of sustainability in the coffee sector at the multi-lateral level. The primary objective of this meeting is to adopt a preliminary strategy for pursuing further work on sustainability in the coffee sector at the global level. For more information, contact: Jason Potts, IISD, tel: (1 514) 814-1967; fax: 527-0612; Internet: http://www.iisd.org/trade/commodities/.