In Brief

KYOTO PROTOCOL IN FORCE IN THE EU

On 11 March, a decision by the European Parliament entered into force, making the Kyoto Protocol legally binding in the EU. The decision spells out how greenhouse gas emissions are monitored and reported, and was the final piece of legislation needed to operationalise all aspects of the Kyoto Protocol in the EU. EU Environment Commissioner Margot Wallström said that "as a strong bloc of soon-to-be 25 countries, the European Union has a special responsibility to show global leadership and pave the way for other countries to follow suit". While the Protocol is legally binding in EU countries, it has yet to enter into force internationally. After the US pulled out in 2001, only Russia's ratification can make this happen. At the EU level, some countries and ministers have questioned the rationale of going it alone, especially as most EU countries already are off track in meeting their Kyoto targets. In related news, the Swedish National Trade Board recently released a study on the relationship between climate and trade rules. The report concluded that the "friendly coexistence" between the two sets of rules should be possible. In conclusion, the report called for action to promote the mutual supportiveness of the two regimes at the national and international levels.

"Kyoto Protocol Becomes Binding For European Union," UNWIRE, 11 March 2004; "All Kyoto Protocol Rules Now Legally Binding in Europe," ENS, 11 March 2004.

SOUTH AFRICA DEBATES FUTURE BIODIVERSITY STRATEGY

On 17 March South Africa held its first formal workshop to discuss its future national biodiversity strategy. Developing a national strategy for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and equitable sharing of benefits derived from genetic resources forms part of South Africa's commitments under the Convention on Biological Diversity. The participatory process to develop the strategy was initiated in 1997 and further refined during the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002 and during the World Parks Congress in 2003. Five task teams have been working on key thematic areas, including conservation, sustainable use, access and benefit sharing, alien invasive species and economic integration and poverty alleviation. Crispian Olver, head of the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism said, "the biggest issue facing the sustainable use of our natural resources is the issue of equity." So far the task teams have come up with draft national objectives, priorities and strategies for the thematic areas aimed at, inter alia, ensuring that biodiversity conservation is an integral component of all sectors of the economy and that benefits from biodiversity and costs from maintaining the flow of environmental goods and services are equitably shared. The strategy will be further developed and refined in a consultative process involving local authorities and provinces. A draft Action Plan will be discussed at a national workshop in July 2004.

"South Africa's National Biodiversity Strategy Takes Shape," ENS, 18 March 2004.

AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY THREATEN BIRD POPULATIONS

The "State of the World's Birds 2004" report released by BirdLife International concludes that agricultural expansion and unsustainable forestry are the biggest threat to bird diversity. According to BirdLife International, one in eight of the world's birds faces extinction -- a total of 1,211 species. Several reasons for the extinction crisis are cited by the organisation. Thus, the report finds that 50 percent of important bird areas in Africa are at risk due to agricultural expansion, while 64 percent of globally threatened birds are endangered by unsustainable forestry. The report also identifies alien invasive species as a major risk for birds in particular on islands. However, the report also highlights positive examples show-casing threatened species that have recovered following the improvement of management practices. Thus, about a quarter of threatened bird species have already gained from conservation projects, implemented by various stakeholders. The report concludes that timely action based on sound science can reverse the decline of bird diversity and the extinction threat. Birds have been categorised as an "indicator species"; thus the report not only informs about the state of bird species but also on the state of biodiversity in general. In conclusion the report calls for coordinated action to both improve the state of birds and to halt the loss of biodiversity.

"World's birds under threat," NEWS24, 8 March 2004; "Third of threatened birds still without help," BIRDLIFE INTERNATIONAL, 8 March 2004.

IVORY TRADE AGAIN UNDER DISCUSSION AT CITES

At the initiative of Kenya, the Standing Committee of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES), convening in Geneva from 15-19 March, is discussing whether to revert a decision from 2002 allowing South Africa, Namibia and Botswana to make one-off sales of their ivory stock piles (see BRIDGES Trade BioRes, 21 November 2002). Kenya, supported by eight other African countries, claims that the three countries have not enforced the required monitoring and registering systems nor the necessary domestic laws to protect elephants. The Standing Committee will discuss whether CITES should withdraw the approval based on fears that the one-off trade might trigger increased poaching of elephants and increased illegal trade of ivory. The amount of illegally traded ivory was recently assessed in a new report "Elephants on the High Street" by the International Fund for Animal Welfare, which showed that the UK is one of major sources of illegal ivory entering the US -- despite its sophisticated control system. Furthermore, authorities in China confiscated over 1,300 pounds illegal ivory in southern China. The CITES Standing Committee is currently also considering whether to impose sanctions on Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti and Nigeria, where CITES authorities have found widely available ivory products on local markets.

"Kenya Leads Campaign Against One-Time Ivory Sales," UNWIRE, 8 March 2004; Kenya Asks for Southern African Ivory Sale Freeze, REUTERS, 8 March 2004; "IFAW And 7 African States Opposed to Ivory Trade," ENN, 7 March 2004; "Illegal Ivory trade booming in Britain," REUTERS, 1 March 2004; "UN Body Considers Action Over Ivory Trade," REUTERS, 19 March 2004.

COFFEE PRODUCERS COMPLAIN ABOUT GERMAN STANDARDS AT WTO

A range of coffee producing developing countries raised their dissatisfaction with German health standards for ocratoxin A (a microtoxin conaminant) in soluble and roasted coffee at the most recent meeting of the WTO Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS), held from 17-18 March. Colombia, Papua New Guinea, Nicaragua, Brazil, Cuba, India, Guatemala, Mexico, Ecuador, Bolivia, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Peru claim that the regulations are too strict, not based on science and inconsistent given that standards for wine and beer are lower. Ever since the German regulation for ocratoxin A was announced in June 2003, Colombia has complained that the scientific evidence related to human health risk was not complete. The German coffee market accounts for 17 percent of Colombia's total coffee export, and enforcing the standard could result in a rejection of up to 6 percent of Colombian coffee. In response, the EC noted that Germany could adopt its own standards, due to the fact that there was no EC wide standard for the toxin. The EC added, however, that it was discussing the issue and was planning to issue EC wide maximum levels for coffee, wines and fruit juices at the end of 2004. The issue will also be discussed at the next Codex Committee on Food Additives and Contaminants meeting scheduled for 22 to 26 March in Rotterdam.

ICTSD reporting.