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G8: ILLEGAL LOGGING IN THE SPOTLIGHT
G8: ILLEGAL LOGGING IN THE SPOTLIGHT The leaders of the world’s eight wealthiest countries at the G8 Environment and Development Ministers’ meeting on 17-18 March in Derbyshire, England, agreed to step up efforts to reduce the supply and demand in illegal timber. However, they fell short of adopting binding measures to restrict imports of uncertified…
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GM UPDATE: EU, BRAZIL, UK
GM UPDATE: EU, BRAZIL, UK EU tells member states to ‘take responsibility’ for GMO decisions The European Commission on 22 March said that while it continued to have "full confidence" in the EU regulatory process for genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and would back the continued submission of draft decisions to put new GMOs on the…
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MILLENNIUM ECOSYSTEM ASSESSMENT REVEALS 'STRAIN' ON EARTH
MILLENNIUM ECOSYSTEM ASSESSMENT REVEALS ‘STRAIN’ ON EARTH Human activity is damaging the planet’s ecosystems at unprecedented rates that call into question the ability of the environment to provide life-supporting services, according to a landmark report released on 30 March. The Millenium Ecosystem Assessment Synthesis Report, the result of four years of research by over 1,300…
- In Brief
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European Proposal on Preferential Access Rules Targets Fisheries
In an effort to address concerns regarding the EU’s current system of rules of origin, which specify which goods can qualify for preferential market access, the European Commission adopted a strategy on 16 March to overhaul the rules to make them simpler and more transparent. The new strategy will apply to preferential access agreements such…
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UN Secretary General Calls for Dismantling Trade Barriers
United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan, in a 21 March report presenting a set of “bold but achievable” proposals for UN and global reform, called on developed countries to establish a timetable to dismantle market access barriers and begin phasing out trade-distorting domestic subsidies, especially in agriculture, as an “urgent priority.” The report, entitled “In…
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Latin American Countries Lodge New WTO Bananas Case
Ecuador, Costa Rica, Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras and Panama lodged a challenge at the WTO to the EU’s proposed 230 Euro import tariff on 30 March (see BRIDGES Trade BioRes, 4 February 2005). The move comes in reaction to fears from the six Latin American countries that the new tariff, which aims to replace the old…
- 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 two weeks 7-8 April,…
- 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 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…