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Endangered species, tourism, fisheries highlighted at IUCN Congress
Last week in Barcelona, more than 8,000 leaders from government, civil society, non-governmental organisations, and the private sector met for the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Conservation Congress – the world’s largest conservation event. One of the most anticipated events of the congress – the release of the IUCN’s updated Red List…
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Global Marine Body Pushes Ahead with Emissions Curbs on Shipping
The International Maritime Organisation is debating plans to regulate greenhouse has emissions from ships – a major and growing source to be tackled in the fight against climate change. Meeting from 6-10 October in London, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) 58th session on the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) also adopted tough new sulphur oxide, nitrogen…
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SPS committee moves forward on private sector standards; hears from China on melamine
The WTO Committee that deals with trade measures related to food safety and animal and plant health has heard from China on the recent melamine contamination of Chinese milk products. Aside from more specific concerns on measures that affect trade, the committee also outlined a roadmap for addressing private sector standards, heard concerns over new…
- In Brief
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Global mercury regulation: one step forward
The international community has taken strides towards the global regulation of the production, trade and consumption of mercury, a highly toxic bio-accumulating metal. Although there is no consensus yet, at a recent meeting in Nairobi on whether to opt for a new legally-binding instrument or a voluntary approach, countries managed to narrow down the options,…
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Europe sticks to climate targets, seeks way to allay competitiveness concerns
European heads of state met from 16-17 October to discuss their climate goals at a meeting that was dominated by talks on the global financial crises. Given the grave financial woes, a number of European leaders – especially from Eastern Europe, but also Germany and Italy – were asking for leeway for their industries, either because…
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New tools aim to boost trade in organic goods
An international task force charged with removing barriers to trade in organic products has released two tools aimed at creating a worldwide standard for organic certification. The tools were launched on 7 October at the 8th meeting of the International Task Force on Harmonisation and Equivalency in Organic Agriculture (ITF) in Geneva. The two tools establish…
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Report: economics justify universal elimination of fisheries subsidies
The marine fishing industry loses up to US$ 50 billion annually from poor management, inefficiencies and overfishing, according to a new report by the World Bank and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). The report, entitled ‘The Sunken Billions: The Economic Justification for Fisheries Reform’, was launched at the World Bank headquarters in New York…
- Events
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Events
Coming up in the next two weeks 20-21 October, Geneva, Switzerland. CARING FOR CLIMATE: FIRST MEETING OF SIGNATORIES. The meeting brings together more than 200 business executives with government and UN officials and climate experts involved in designing the post-Kyoto climate framework. Participants will take stock of the progress made and share experiences in implementing climate…
- 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 at msell@ictsd.ch. RECONCILING ENVIRONMENT AND TRADE: SECOND EDITION. By Edith Brown Weiss, John H. Jackson and Nathalie Bernasconi-Osterwalder. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 2008. The volume…