In Brief

RED LIST OF ENDANGERED SPECIES TOPS 12,000

The World Conservation Union's (IUCN) annual Red List of the world's endangered species has toped 12,000, with the addition of another 2,000 species. The conservation organisation underscored the threat of alien invasive species on native islands plants and animals in places such as the Seychelles, Galapagos Islands and Hawaii. IUCN's Director General Achim Steiner commented, "The Red List tells us that human activities are leading to a swath of extinctions that could make these islands ecologically and aesthetically barren". Alien invasive species are mainly introduced into natural environments through human activities, including international trade and tourism. Invasive species are not only threatening biodiversity, but are also causing major economic costs. The trade-related economic costs of alien invasive species have been estimated to amount to USD 123 billion just in the United States. The degradation of natural habitats, ecosystems and agricultural land are other factors, which according to IUCN lead to the loss of biodiversity. Continental species that are increasingly threatened include the Mexican black howler monkey, the variegated spider monkey (found only in Columbia and Venezuela), South Africa's river rabbit and the giant catfish of the Mekong basin. Indonesia, India, Brazil, China and Peru are among the countries with the highest known number of threatened birds and mammals while plants are rapidly declining in Malaysia, Ecuador, Indonesia, Brazil and Sri Lanka. These countries have all seen a sharp rise in industrialisation, forest clearance and tourism in recent decades. The IUCN Red List is a compilation of the work of thousands of scientists and conservationists from around the globe. The Red List categorises species as "critically endangered", "endangered", "vulnerable", "near-threatened" or "least concern".

''Release of 2003 IUCN Red List," IUCN RELEASE, 18 November 2003; "Red List Finds 12,000 Species Endangered Worldwide," REUTERS, 18 November 2003.

REPORT: WORLD BANK SHOULD ABANDON OIL AND COAL FINANCING

The Extractive Industry Review, released on 25 November 2003, has advised the World Bank Group (WBG) to phase out investments in oil production by 2008, and to continue its current practice of not investing in coal mining developments. Instead, the WBG should concentrate its lending on promoting sustainable energy policies, energy efficiency, recycling and cleaner fuels. Moreover, the Review, which was launched by the WBG to discuss its future role in the extractive industries with concerned stakeholders, stresses that the Bank's interventions should allow extractive industries to contribute to poverty alleviation through sustainable development as a prerequisite for the Bank's involvement in the oil, gas and mining sectors. The Review also recommends, inter alia, that the WBG should systematically evaluate whether an extractive project provides the best option for poverty alleviation "in line with the precautionary principle"; ensure that affected local communities are asked for their consent and receive the benefits from the projects; perform integrated environmental and social assessments; and ensure that human rights are respected. According to one Bank official, the report is unlikely to gain much support in the Bank's governing board, which takes the final decisions on proposals.

While Friends of the Earth International welcomed the Review as pointing to "an important shift away from traditional support to the extractive industries", they noted that the environmental impacts of the mining industry would not be fully mitigated even if all the recommendations were put into practice, calling for the WBG to withdraw from large-scale mining altogether.

"World Bank advised to pull out of oil and coal financing," FT, 20 November 2003; "'World Bank pull out of oil and coal' now official advice," FOEI, 25 November 2003.

EC ADOPTS COMMUNICATION ON POST-CANCUN STRATEGY

The European Commission adopted a strategy paper on the post-Cancun process on 26 November. According to EC Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy, the EC will now re-engage at the WTO and work to get the current round of trade talks back on track. The strategy paper is being circulated among EU member states and the European Parliament, and trade ministers as well as the European Parliament will discuss the paper at their respective meetings on 2 December. EU foreign affairs ministers are expected to adopt it at an 8 December General Affairs Council, just prior to a 15 December high-level officials meeting at the WTO. At the Commission's adoption of the report, Lamy commented that "we have listened carefully to all points of view inside and outside Europe, and we believe there is now enough support to get the train back on track". According to the paper, the EC remains committed to the multilateral trading system and is willing to engage in re-launching talks, with the expectation that other parties show flexibility and a willingness to negotiate and go beyond initial positions. The paper covers areas in which the EC could show flexibility, such as the Singapore issues, environment and geographical indications (GIs), as well as areas in which the EC would like to see flexibility from its trading partners. The latter areas could include agriculture and the cotton initiative. The EC also proposes, among other things, that the profile of commodities issues be raised.

"EU says it ready to resume global trade talks," REUTERS, 26 November 2003; "EU-WTO: European Commission proposes to put Doha Round of trade talks back on track," EC RELEASE, 26 November 2003.

UK COMMISSION DIVIDED OVER GMO COEXISTENCE AND LIABILITY

The UK's Agriculture and Environment Biotechnology Commission (AEBC) in its report "GM Crops? Coexistence and Liability" released on 25 November called for the establishment of legally binding rules. These rules could help managing coexistence of genetically modified (GM) and other corps, which should aim to facilitate consumer choice "while allowing UK farmers to respond to present and future national and international market demands". Commission members, however, differed widely over the appropriate contamination threshold (0.1 or 0.9 percent); who should be responsible for ensuring compliance and bear the costs (GM or non-GM growers); whether to initially limit the rate of adoption of GM crops; and how farmers, suffering financial loss as a result of contamination should be compensated. The disagreements mirrored similar divisions at the EU level where countries continue to argue over how to manage co-existence (see BRIDGES Trade BioRes, 3 October 2003). Critics noted that with so little agreement on key issues the report would provide little help for the government ahead of its decision of the future of GM crops in the UK early next year. The report is the last output of the UK government's study of the scientific and economic aspects of GM crops and public perceptions in the country.

"UK's Top policy advisor divided over GM crops," REUTERS, 26 November 2003.

CAP REFORM, STEP-BY-STEP

On 18 November, the European Commission adopted the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reform proposals for the tobacco, olive oil, cotton and hops sectors, a follow-up to the discussions on 29 September by the EU's Council of Ministers (see BRIDGES Trade BioRes, 16 October 2003).

The tobacco sector will undergo the most rigorous reform. The transition to a decoupled single payment scheme will be completed gradually in three steps, receiving income from a mixture of decoupled and coupled payments for three years. 'Decoupled' payments will no longer be linked to what farmers produce, as was the case before the CAP reform, but will be conditional upon compliance with binding standards in environmental protection, food safety, animal health and welfare and occupational health. Aid from a restructuring fund will also be provided to help farmers to diversify from the tobacco sector. The subsidies for hops will also be fully decoupled, although "the Commission proposal foresees the possibility for member states to maintain coupled aid, up to a maximum of 25 percent" to aid in securing regional characteristics of some beers. For olive oil and cotton, 60 percent of payments will be decoupled. If approved by the EU governments during debates at the end of December, the reform package could come into effect in 2005.

"Commission adopts reform proposals for Europe's tobacco, olive oil, cotton and hops sectors," EU PRESS RELEASES, 18 November 2003; "Brussels CAPS off reform," EUPOLITIX.COM, 18 November 2003.

AUSTRALIA, FRANCE PREPARE TO COMBAT ILLEGAL FISHING

On 24 November, Australia and France signed a maritime cooperation agreement that establishes a framework for cooperation in surveillance and research against the illegal fishing of mainly Toothfish in the Southern Ocean. The two countries have agreed to exchange information on licensing, location and movements of fishing vessels because they "share a common desire to protect the valuable fish resources found in neighbouring exclusive economic zones in the Southern Ocean". The number of cases of illegal fishing for Patagonian toothfish, a native of France's Crozet Islands and Kerguelen Islands, and Australia's Heard Island and the McDonald Islands, has increased dramatically in the last decade. Scientists are concerned that the toothfish industry will collapse in a few years given the current rate of fishing. The two countries are both members of the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), which manages the toothfish industry. Measures already in place include fitting vessels with a mandatory satellite system to track fishing locations, a centralised vessel monitoring system, an electronic catch documentation scheme and an illegal, unreported or unregulated fishing vessel blacklist. Greenpeace called for the application of more stringent measures, including the enforcement of a moratorium on toothfish fishing. Conservationists have earlier argued that the economically valuable toothfish is endangered and that the international trade of the fish should be controlled and regulated by the Convention on the International Trade of Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES) (see BRIDGES Trade Biores, 21 November 2002).

"France, Australia join forces against tooth-fish pirates," ENS, 24 November 2003.