Bridges Trade BioRes

Volume 3 • Number 22 15th December 2003

  • GMO Update: Recent Developments in Europe
    GMO Update: Recent Developments in Europe European Food Committee fails to end de facto biotech moratorium The European Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health at its 8 December meeting failed to reach the qualified majority required for approving Syngenta’s Bt-11 biotech maize (see BRIDGES Trade BioRes, 14 November 2003), with 33 votes in favour, 29…
  • CBD Working Groups Ponder Relationship with WIPO
    CBD Working Groups Ponder Relationship with WIPO The respective roles of the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in the conservation, sustainable use and sharing of benefits related to biological resources and traditional knowledge (TK), led to extensive discussions at both the CBD Working Groups on Access and Benefit-sharing (ABS) and…
  • Illegal Fishing in the Spotlight
    Illegal Fishing in the Spotlight There has been heightened concern that many species of fish are highly threatened by illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) deep-sea fishing. Two reports on IUU fishing have been released, one by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and another by the environmental group WWF and the wildlife trade-monitoring network TRAFFIC, analysing…
  • In Brief
  • Doha Round: Talks Stall, Negotiating Groups to Resume in 2004
    On 9 December, WTO General Council Chair Carlos Perez del Castillo (Uruguay) announced that Members would not be able to relaunch talks at the 15 December General Council meeting. Instead he told Members attending a Heads of Delegation (HODs) meeting that he would present a Chair’s report on 15 December — instead of a new…
  • Regional Conservation Forum Considers Trade Issues
    Conservationists, government officials, donors and business leaders gathered from 10 to 13 December in Colombo, Sir Lanka, to identify critical conservation and environmental issues of the Asia region and identify a plan of action to address these over the next five years. Organised by IUCN - The World Conservation Union and the Sri Lankan government,…
  • Sustainable Coffee Initiative to Establish New Partnership Platform
    On 8-9 December, the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) Sustainable Coffee Initiative (SCI) held a meeting on “Sustainability in the Coffee Sector: Exploring Opportunities for International Cooperation - Assessment and Implementation”. Participants established an interim Steering Committee for the creation of…
  • Can Cocoa Save the Rainforest?
    Cocoa could be grown in a way that helps preserve and restore the northern part of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, according to a new study from the Worldwatch Institute. The report entitled “Venture Capitalism for a Tropical Forest” suggests that Brazil would have the opportunity to boost its domestic industry, provide rural employment and support…
  • PIC Treaty Set to Enter into Force
    On 27 November, Armenia became the 50th country to ratify the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade, triggering the treaty’s entry into force in February 2004. Klaus Töpfer, UNEP’s Executive Director, commented that “thanks to the Rotterdam Convention, we now have an effective…
  • In Brief
    In Brief DOHA ROUND: TALKS STALL, NEGOTIATING GROUPS TO RESUME IN 2004 On 9 December, WTO General Council Chair Carlos Perez del Castillo (Uruguay) announced that Members would not be able to relaunch talks at the 15 December General Council meeting. Instead he told Members attending a Heads of Delegation (HODs) meeting that he would present…
  • 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 four weeks 15-16 December…
  • 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. THE STATE OF THE FOOD INSECURITY IN THE WORLD 2003. By the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). This report analyses issues such as: food…