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 smohan@ictsd.ch.
TRADE AND ENVIRONMENT REVIEW 2006. By the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), January 2006. The TER 2006 focuses on environmental and related health requirements and their impact on developing countries’ access to other markets. It examines both the opportunities and challenges presented by these requirements, which are increasingly stringent, complex and multi-dimensional. The TER includes both general and sectoral analyses of the issue, and looks at two sectors where environmental requirements are critical to market access: electrical and electronic equipment and organic agricultural products. The evidence presented in the TER supports recommendations for developing countries to adopt a more strategic and proactive approach to coping with environmental and related health requirements in export markets.
TRADE, AID AND SECURITY - SIX KEY OBJECTIVES. By IISD and IUCN-The World Conservation Union (January 2006). The Trade, Aid and Security initiative has focused on the way in which trade in natural resources can contribute to violent conflict at the sub-state and international level, and on the role of foreign aid and trade liberalization-in tandem or in isolation-in accelerating or alleviating this downward spiral. If trade and aid policy is to support peace and security rather than increasing the likelihood and longevity of violent conflict, we believe policy-makers should focus their attention and efforts on six key objectives. The six briefs (i) explain why each objective is critical to security between and within states; (ii) assess current initiatives that attempt to realize that objective; and (iii) make recommendations for future action.
LEARNING MODULE: LAW AND POLICY OF RELEVANCE TO THE MANAGEMENT OF PLANT GENETIC RESOURCES. Edited by S. Bragdon, C. Fowler, Z. França and E. Goldberg (SGRP, IPGRI, and IFPRI 2005). This learning module, first published in 2003, has been revised and published in 2005, to include a regional learning plan on review of regional policy instruments, developments and trends., the second edition is produced by the CGIAR System-wide Genetic Resources Programme (SGRP), the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI) and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). It is aimed to managers of plant genetic resources and policy makers.
MEETING THE CHALLENGE OF THE RESOURCE CURSE: INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCES IN MANAGING THE RISKS AND REALISING THE OPPORTUNITIES OF NON-RENEWABLE NATURAL RESOURCE REVENUE MANAGEMENT. By the Overseas Development Institute (January 2006). Countries endowed with non-renewable natural resources are faced with substantial opportunities, but also great risks. Substantial international experience has accumulated on how to manage the risks and realise the opportunities of upstream oil, gas, metals and minerals development and export. The question is what should governments and donors do about this coincidence? What combination of revenue management principles, competitiveness and economic policy, institutional reform, good governance and aid architecture is it right to adopt?
EU AND U.S. ORGANIC MARKETS FACE STRONG DEMAND UNDER DIFFERENT POLICIES. By Carolyn Dimitri Lydia Oberholtzer (Amber Waves, February 2006). This article compares EU-15 and US policies regarding organic agriculture, and compares the farm sector and retail markets in the two regions.
RESOURCE-CONSERVING AGRICULTURE INCREASES YIELDS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES. By J. N. Pretty, A. D. Noble, D. Bossio, J. Dixon, R. E. Hine, F. W. T. Penning de Vries, and J. I. L. Morison, in Environmental Science & Technology 40 (4), 1114 -1119 (February 2006). This international study finds that poor farmers in developing countries can substantially improve both their yields and livelihoods by adopting resource-conserving practices. It reviewed 286 recent attempts to introduce such practices on more than 12 million farms in 57 countries, mostly in Africa, and assessed how yields change when farmers using approaches such as less tilling to conserve soil, integrated pest management. Yields increased by an average of 79 per cent and harvests of some crops such as maize, potatoes and beans doubled. As well as causing less damage to the environment, ‘conservation agriculture’ also improved farmers’ wealth by, for instance, reducing their reliance on costly pesticides. The study concludes that while it is not clear whether these techniques can meet future food needs in developing countries, poor households have most to gain from adopting them.
OVERVIEW OF THE WORLD’S COMMODITY EXCHANGES. By the UNCTAD secretariat (January 2006). As this study shows, developing country exchanges are now challenging the century-old primacy of their developed-country peers. In 2004, two of the world’s largest commodity exchanges were in a developing country, China. In 2005, two other exchanges, both from India, joined them. UNCTAD should help Africa set up its own commodity exchange, said government officials looking at ways for developing countries to overcome their commodity problems. How to help small farmers and solutions for managing commodity resources were among the other issues examined.
EXPLORING THE LINKAGES BETWEEN POVERTY, MARINE PROTECTED AREA MANAGEMENT, AND THE USE OF DESTRUCTIVE FISHING GEAR IN TANZANIA. By Patricia Silva (World Bank, January 2006). Coastal resources in Tanzania have come under increasing pressure over the past three decades, which has led to a significant decline in the biodiversity and productivity of coastal ecosystems. The livelihoods of coastal communities that directly depend on these resources are consequently under increasing threat and vulnerability. Marine protected areas (MPAs) are one tool for managing coastal and marine resources that have been increasingly used in Tanzania. Promotion of alternative income generating activities (AIGAs) is often a component of MPA management strategies to reduce fishing pressure and address poverty concerns. This paper investigates the linkages between household characteristics, MPA activities, and household choice of fishing gear.
THE NEW INTERNATIONAL BENCHMARK STANDARDS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL PERFORMANCE OF THE PRIVATE SECTOR IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: WILL IT RAISE OR LOWER THE BAR? By Michael Warner (Overseas Development Institute, February 2006). The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is preparing to launch a new set of business standards for managing environmental and social risks that clients of the IFC who enter into project finance, equity investment, corporate finance or intermediary finance deals with IFC will shortly have to comply with. The standards represent a wholly new mechanism for deciding, investment-by-investment, where the ‘bar’ on environmental and social performance should lie in the first place. No longer are clients to commission isolated ESIA studies, outsourced to external consultants. Instead, there will be a single, comprehensive, risk and opportunities management framework, fully integrated with the core of the business. To access this article, visit
ELECTRONIC RESOURCE
NANOCHINA.CN. By the Institute of Nanotechnology (IoN), February 2006. Published both in English and Chinese, NanoChina will act as a bridge between the nanotechnology sectors in China and the rest of the world. In particular, the website will focus on fostering trade relationships between nanotech companies in China and business organisations in the West. NanoChina will provide all the latest news about the nanotechnology developments that are taking place in China and in the rest of the world. The site will also offer nano reports, a list of nano events, translating services, a free newsletter, advertising services, free associate membership and a unique nano-business match-making venture.