Bridges Trade BioRes

Volume 3 • Number 20 11th November 2003

  • GMO Update: Europe, Canada
    EU postpones decision on restarting biotech approvals The European Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health at its 10 November meeting deferred a decision on whether or not to approve a variety of genetically modified maize — Syngenta’s Bt-11 — for food use in the EU. A positive decision would mark the end of…
  • Facilitating Access and Benefit-Sharing Among Users of Genetic Resources
    Facilitating Access and Benefit-Sharing Among Users of Genetic Resources At the initiative of the United Nations University’s Institute for Advanced Studies and the Institut du Développement Durable et des Relations Internationales (IDDRI), government officials and experts met on 6-7 November in Paris, France, to discuss ways of implementing access and benefit-sharing (ABS) objectives of…
  • Alien Invasives and Subsidies Discussed at CBD Scientific Body
    Alien Invasives and Subsidies Discussed at CBD Scientific Body The Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice Body (SBSTTA) of the Convention on Biodiversity (CBD) is meeting in Montreal, Canada from the 10 - 14 November to discuss a work programme on protected areas, and technology transfer and cooperation. The meeting is also looking into, inter alia, the “draft” international…
  • In Brief
  • Methyl Bromide Pollutes Chemicals Meeting
    The fifteenth meeting of the parties to the Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer is taking place from 10-14 November in Nairobi, Kenya. Items discussed include: a study on the management of the financial mechanism of the Montreal Protocol, implications of entry into force of the Beijing Amendment, various issues relating to…
  • Sustainable Trade of Mahogany Becomes Legally Binding
    On 15 November, big-leaf mahogany will be added to Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES), which will provide legally binding controls for international trade in the species (see BRIDGES Trade BioRes, 21 November 2003). In practice, this means that all shipments of mahogany will…
  • Caspian Range States Finally Adopt Caspian Sea Convention
    Ministers from the five Caspian littoral states — Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, the Russian Federation and Turkmenistan — met on 4 November for a ceremony at the Iranian capital, Tehran, to sign the Framework Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea. While four of the countries signed the treaty designed to…
  • Is the Flower Industry Drying out Kenya’s Lake Naivasha?
    Fishermen and local residents living on the shores of Lake Naivasha in Kenya have recently made alarming announcements that the water levels of the Lake have been dropping for the past several years, fish stocks are declining and the lake is being polluted by chemicals. The blame for this situation has been put on the…
  • Binding Treaty on Giant Birds and Fishing Practices Enters into Force
    On 7 November, South Africa was the fifth nation to sign the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels (ACAP) under the Convention on Migratory Species. Albatrosses and petrels are threatened by extinction as they get hooked on bait used in longline fishing and drown, their prey is being overfished, and they face various…
  • Supermarkets - A New Threat to Small African Farmers
    According to a new study from the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), small farmers in Africa risk being marginalised as supermarkets spread. New supermarkets are being established at a rapid rate across urban areas and rural centres in Eastern and Southern Africa, and the traditional supply and distribution systems for food, in which small…
  • Forest Services - The Way Ahead?
    Member countries of the International Tropical Timber Agreement (ITTA) met from 10-12 November in Yokohama, Japan for the second preparatory committee meeting of the IITA, which has been in place since 1984 and is now up for renewal. Discussions focused mainly on emerging markets for tropical forest services as well as property rights of indigenous…
  • Events
  • Events
    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 16-21 November,…
  • Resources
  • Resources
    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 Marianne Jacobsen. "Domestic Import Regulations for Genetically Modified Organisms and their Compatibility with WTO Rules," by Heike Baumuller. Published by IISD and ICTSD Trade Knowledge Network,…