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UNEP Governing Council Discusses Climate Change, Sets Direction for Future Work
The Governing Bodies of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), in the largest gathering of environment ministers since the UN conference on climate change at Bali, deliberated on ways to mobilise financing for mitigation and adaptation. In the context of broader discussions on international environmental governance, the need to strengthen UNEP was also discussed, with…
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WIPO CTTE ON GENETIC RESOURCES AND TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE LOOKS FOR WAY FORWARD
Members of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) have identified a number of steps in order to move forward long-running discussions on the policy, legal and practical aspects of the protection of genetic resources, traditional knowledge and folklore. The WIPO Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC) met from…
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CLIMATE CHANGE: SCHWAB OPPOSES POTENTIAL TRADE MEASURES
US Trade Representative Susan Schwab has warned US legislators against introducing border measures in draft climate legislation. According to Schwab, “trade restrictions run the risk of tit-for-tat retaliation and even an all-out trade war where no one wins and everyone loses.” Instead, Schwab has advocated a focus on ‘win-win’ solutions, such as the liberalisation of trade…
- In Brief
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GM CONTAMINATION ON THE RISE, COMPLICATES TRADE
Incidents of GM contamination incidents are becoming more frequent on the global agriculture market. Environmental group Greenpeace recently released its “GM Contamination Register Report 2007.” Two-hundred and sixteen incidents of GM contamination are now recorded in the register, of which 39 took place 2007, and 35 were added for 2003-2005. Of the 39 incidents, 28 were…
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AQUATIC SPECIES INVADE FOREIGN COASTAL WATERS
Vessels shipping goods around the world carry aquatic animals and plants with them as well, spreading potentially invasive and dangerous non-native species across the globe. “The scale of this problem is vast,” said Jennifer Molnar, co-author of a recent report entitled “Assessing the Global Threat of Invasive Species to Marine Biodiversity,” published by The Nature Conservancy,…
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NEW CALLS FOR SUSTAINABILITY TRANSITION
The world economy urgently needs to transform into a truly sustainable global economy, according to two new reports. Released by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and by the Washington-based World Watch Institute, the reports outline the growing environmental damage caused by the global economy and propose various alternatives to achieve a more…
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GLOBAL SEED VAULT OPENS IN NORWAY
In an effort to protect crop biodiversity and the ability to restart agricultural production after a potential disaster, a “Global Seed Vault” was opened on 26 February. The vault contains three cold rooms surrounded by permafrost in a mountain in the Svalbard archipelago in Norway. It has the potential to house 4.5 million batches of…
- 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, http://www.trade-environment.org/page/calendar.htm. Coming up in the next two weeks 10-14 March, New York, US: SEVENTH INFORMAL CONSULTATIONS OF STATES PARTIES TO THE FISH STOCKS AGREEMENT. This meeting will be an informal consultation of the parties to the UN Agreement for…
- 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. EU CONSUMPTION, GLOBAL POLLUTION. By John Kornerup Bang, Eivind Hoff and Glen Peters (WWF, February 2008). This report shows that the global…