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BIOFUEL ROUNDUP: SUSTAINABILITY AT STAKE
BIOFUEL ROUNDUP: SUSTAINABILITY AT STAKE As global production and consumption as well as target-setting for biofuels use increases, the debate has swiftly moved to hone in on a number of sustainability issues. During the last weeks, a meeting was held at the UN Food and Agriculture organisation (FAO) to consider the complex linkages between biofuel production,…
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GREENPEACE: RESTRICT TRADE IN ENDANGERED MERBAU WOOD
GREENPEACE: RESTRICT TRADE IN ENDANGERED MERBAU WOOD Environmental organisation Greenpeace recently released a report showcasing the illegal and unsustainable logging of merbau, a tropical hardwood species used to produce luxury flooring and outdoor furniture. Merbau remains in commercial quantities only on New Guinea (both in the Indonesian province of Papua and in Papua New Guinea). It…
- In Brief
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Conference Seeks Solutions to End Whaling Deadlock
With the debate at the International Whaling Commission polarised between pro-whaling and anti-whaling countries (see Bridges Trade BioRes, 16 February 2007, http://www.ictsd.org/biores/07-02-16/inbrief.htm#2), a recent meeting in New York tried to find ways to break the deadlock by exploring new options allowing the conservation of whales. Over 60 experts participated in the “Symposium on the…
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US-Korea FTA Under Civil Society Fire
The US and South Korea approved a bilateral trade agreement in early April following intense negotiations (see Bridges Weekly, 4 April 2007, http://www.ictsd.org/weekly/07-04-04/story1.htm). The comprehensive deal, which still has to be approved domestically in bother countries, has drawn criticism among civil society groups, including anti-GM activists. According to South Korean media outlet the…
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Efforts Underway to Conserve Developing Country Crop Diversity
The Global Crop Diversity Trust — a foundation seeking to promote food security through, among other, seed bank systems — recently announced that it had received additional funding to help conserve the seeds of key crops from developing countries. “This initiative will rescue the most globally important developing-country collections of the world’s 21 most important food…
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Security Council Debates Climate Change
Members of the UN Security Council discussed climate change for the first time on 17 April. They did not issue any resolution or statement on the topic, and also disagreed internally on whether the Security Council was an appropriate forum for such a discussion. Introduced by the UK, the topic did not fare well with the…
- 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. ICTSD Event 10 May, New York, USA: INTERNATIONAL…
- 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 for review by the BRIDGES staff to Malena Sell. ETHICAL SOURCING IN THE GLOBAL FOOD SYSTEM. Edited by Stephanie Barrientos and Catherine Dolan. Earthscan, 2006. Ethical sourcing, both through fair trade and ethical…