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.
STATE OF THE WORLD’S FORESTS 2005. Food and Agriculture Organization (March 2005). The theme of this biannual publication is "realizing the economic benefits from forests" and includes main contributions on: enhancing the economic benefits from forests; economic benefits from agroforestry; the economics of wood energy; impacts of tariffs and non-tariff measures on forest products trade; and violent conflicts in forested areas. The edition also provides an update on issues related to forest resources, forest conservation and management, institutions and the international forest policy dialogue.
GROW OUR OWN OIL — US BIOENERGY AND AGRICULTURAL WORKING GROUP REPORT. (March 2005). Sustainably produced biomass is a highly undervalued and underutilised energy asset in the US and around the world. Leaders in the chemical and biotech industries - companies like DuPont, Cargill Dow, Iogen, and Genencor - are developing new technology to make ethanol, a biofuel, from almost anything that grows or that once grew: corn stalks, prairie grass, rice straw, sawdust, even paper. The working group recommends the continued development of biofuel technologies in the US including through incentives for energy crops, government-led competitions, and increases in research and development. It suggests that the US Trade Representative propose shifting funds from agriculture export subsidies to bioenergy subsidies.
GOLIATH AGAINST DAVID: WHO WINS AND WHO LOSES WITH THE CAP IN SPAIN AND THE POOR COUNTRIES. By Gonzalo Fanjul (Intermón Oxfam Spain, March 2005). The European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) hurts developing countries and farmers in Europe alike by granting massive subsidies to a few wealthy large producers in Europe, according to this report by the Spanish affiliate of Oxfam International. The concentration of CAP subsidies amongst the largest farmers has hit small-scale farmers hard in Spain, the report shows, with 40 percent of subsidies going to four percent of producers, and has put producers in developing countries at a disadvantage. It calls for more equitable distribution of subsidies, along with respect for fair trading practices that do not hurt the world’s poor nations.
CHINA’S WOOD MARKET, TRADE AND THE ENVIRONMENT. By Z. Chunquan, R. Taylor, and F. Guoqiang. Science Press USA and WWF Intl, 2004. China is a major player in the global forest products market, both as a producer and consumer. With relatively limited forest resources, China’s wood imports are likely to expand dramatically in order to meet the increasing demand for wood and paper products. This report provides an overview of the diverse policies that shape China’s forest products market as well as an analysis of China’s forest products market, including estimates of future wood supply and demand. Potential policy changes and actions that could reduce the negative impacts of China’s wood products market on the environment are also suggested in the report.
SOUTH BULLETIN ISSUE 97/98: "SOUTH BENEFITING FROM ITS BIODIVERSITY". South Centre, February 2005.
TRADE EFFECTS OF THE EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY. By Matthias Busse and Rasul Shams in The Estey Centre Journal of International Law and Trade Policy 6(1), 2005. This article evaluates the trade effects of the new East African Community, which fosters trade liberalisation among Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. The commodities that will be particularly affected by the customs union are identified. The results show that considerable trade effects cannot be expected, except for a very narrow range of products. The transitional fund, which has been proposed to counter trade imbalances due to the new customs union in East Africa, becomes less urgent from this perspective.
TRADE, THE ENVIRONMENT, AND THE INTERNATIONAL REGULATION OF BIOTECHNOLOGY. By Anne Petitpierre et al. in Ecolomic Policy And Law 7-8 (December 2004). This article provides an overview of the research carried out at the University of Geneva Faculty of Law which looked at the legal ramifications of import restrictions and trade law with regard to genetically modified products and the implications and limits of scientific evidence in the presence of complex, diffuse and scientifically inadequately explained risks to biodiversity and to certain aspects of food safety.