Bridges Trade BioRes

Volume 4 • Number 2 6th February 2004

  • TRADE @ COP-7: WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR...
    TRADE @ COP-7: WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR… Parties to the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD) are convening for their seventh Conference (COP-7) from 9 to 20 February in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The packed agenda includes issues covering various trade-related aspects, including discussions on the transfer of technology; invasive alien species; access and benefit-sharing related to…
  • TRADE AGENDA EVOKES CRITICISM AT TWO WORLD FORUMS
    TRADE AGENDA EVOKES CRITICISM AT TWO WORLD FORUMS Critical voices could be heard at both the World Social Forum (WSF) and the World Economic Forum (WEF) regarding the negative impacts of globalisation and trade liberalisation particularly on disadvantaged groups in developing countries. The WSF — held in Mumbai, India from 16-21 January — drew over 100,000…
  • GMO UPDATE: BT 11 APPROVAL; BELGIAN GM RAPE REJECTION
    GMO UPDATE: BT 11 APPROVAL; BELGIAN GM RAPE REJECTION Europe Takes First Step Towards Removing De Facto Biotech Ban The European Commission at its 28 January meeting approved a proposal to authorise Syngenta’s genetically modified Bt-11 corn for food use. The Commission’s approval will now be forwarded to EU member states for a decision within 90 days.…
  • FARMERS' RIGHTS -- ENDANGERED BY THE CAFTA?
    FARMERS’ RIGHTS — ENDANGERED BY THE CAFTA? The civil society group Genetic Resources Action International (GRAIN) has criticised the US-Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) for pushing the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) and patents on life on Central American countries. After the US finalised the agreement with El Salvador,…
  • In Brief
  • Indian Parliamentary Panel Supports NGO Claim of Soft Drink Contamination
    On 4 February, the Indian Joint Parliamentary Committee released its report on pesticide residues in, and safety standards for, soft drinks, fruit juices and other beverages. The report supports the findings of a study by the Indian Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) released in August 2003, documenting the presence of pesticide residues in soft…
  • World Bank Rejects Withdrawing from Oil and Gas
    According to press sources, the World Bank is expected to reject key proposals of the independent Extractive Industry Review on the World Bank’s finance projects in the oil and gas sector (see BRIDGES Trade BioRes, 28 November 2003. The Extractive Industry Review had proposed that the World Bank and its private sector arm, the International…
  • Small Island States Address Sustainable Development Issues
    Over 300 participants convened on 26-30 January to address progress and challenges to the sustainable development of Small Island Developing States (SIDS), where trade was a recurrent topic. Documents emerging from the meeting, including a ‘Nassau Declaration’ and the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) Strategy Paper for the further implementation of the Barbados Programme…
  • EU Official Hints at Trade-Off Between Russian WTO Accession and Kyoto
    At a recent German parliamentary hearing, European Enlargement Commissioner Günter Verheugen suggested that there may be a trade-off on the horizon between Russia’s ratification of the Kyoto Protocol and its accession to the WTO. Summing up the link between the two issues, Verheugen said, “I understand it as an attempt [by Russia] to get us…
  • EU Hearing to Boost Organic Farming
    On 22 January 2004 the European Commission held a ‘European Hearing on Organic Food and Farming Towards a European Action Plan’ in Brussels. Sessions covered the place of organic farming in European agriculture and in the wider European society. The main purpose of this hearing was to gather experiences and views from the widest possible…
  • 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 Until 27…
  • 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. IUCN POLICY PAPERS FOR COP 7, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, February 2004. These policy recommendation papers and information papers have been prepared by different components…