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GMO UPDATE: EU, UK, GERMANY, GLOFISH
GMO UPDATE: EU, UK, GERMANY, GLOFISH Commission delays decision on GM maize, moves on regulations The European Commission has postponed its decision on the approval of transgenic maize (Syngenta’s Bt-11), thereby further delaying the lifting of the five-year de facto moratorium on the approvals of new genetically modified organisms (GMO) in the EU. The Commission is now…
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REGIONS DIFFER IN PRIORITISING ENVIRONMENT
REGIONS DIFFER IN PRIORITISING ENVIRONMENT On 6 January, seven countries from the South Asian region agreed on a free trade agreement. Among other things, the agreement recognises the need for regional cooperation on environmental issues, including for the countries’ coastal zones. In contrast, the Summit of the Americas on 12-13 January left environment aside as a…
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EU AGREES COD RECOVERY PLAN AND 2004 QUOTAS
EU AGREES COD RECOVERY PLAN AND 2004 QUOTAS In late December 2003, the European Council of Fisheries Ministers adopted a long-term recovery plan for cod as well as 2004 quotas for cod, hake, whiting and other fish species. Commenting on the reform plans scientists and environmentalists criticised the plans for being based on short-term thinking disastrous…
- In Brief
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Shrimps Under Attack
On 31 December 2003, the American Southern Shrimp Alliance (SSA) filed an antidumping complaint with the US Department of Commerce, arguing that producers in Thailand, China, Vietnam, India, Brazil and Ecuador are selling shrimps on the US market below production costs. According to the SSA, the complaint is aimed at restoring trade, which currently is…
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EU's Cap Blamed for Decline in Bird-Diversity
The UK’s Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and Birdlife International have urged EU accession countries to put environment and wildlife at the heart of farming policy. A recently released report by the two organisations shows that the population of farmland birds has declined rapidly in European countries and in particular in areas…
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WTO: US Surprise Initiative to Re-Start Trade Talks
On 11 January US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick sent a letter to the trade ministers of WTO Members, aimed at re-energising talks. In particular, he outlined the US stance on agriculture, industrial goods, services, special and differential treatment (S&D) for developing countries and the Singapore issues of investment, competition, transparency in government procurement and trade…
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Asian Experts Target Key Regional Trade & Environment Priorities
At a 14-15 January consultation in Sri Lanka, 20 regional experts in trade and environment met to articulate the central issues of concern to South and Southeast Asia on environment in the WTO. They looked not only at the major regional priorities in the ongoing Doha round negotiations, but also envisioned elements of a proactive…
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Halting Biodiversity Loss by 2010
During a meeting of European states in Madrid on 21 January, EU Environment Commissioner Margot Wallstrom said that although EU leaders had agreed on halting the loss of biodiversity at all levels by 2010, much more needed to be done in relation to habitat loss, land use and climate change if this target was to…
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Lake Balkhash Facing Same Fate Aral Sea?
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) recently raised concerns that the second biggest lake in Central Asia — lake Balkhash — might face the same fate as the Aral Sea and dry out due to unsustainable water management practices. The Balkhash Sea — forty times the size of Lake Geneva and located in Kazakhstan —…
- Events
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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 23 January,…
- Resources
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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. PREVIEW: GLOBAL STATUS OF COMMERCIALIZED TRANSGENIC CROPS: 2003. Published by the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA), 2003. The report assesses…