COMMENTARY ON WCC3

By Dr. William Jackson, IUCN Director Global Programme

Does trade have a role in a World Conservation Congress? Yes, it does - and increasingly so. When more than 4,800 participants assembled in Bangkok last week for the world's largest democratic environmental meeting, one main message emerged from the more than 600 events, 114 motions and the newly approved 2005-8 Programme for IUCN: conservation cannot succeed in a vacuum. It has to address the underlying causes of biodiversity loss, including the rapidly expanding global economy, and it has to make sure that its activities contribute not only to more environmental sustainability, but also to equity and poverty reduction in particular. International trade is one key aspect in this puzzle, and poses a challenge for the conservation community to respond to.

This challenge encompasses traditional conservation issues like alien invasive species or trade in endangered species and their relation to trade rules as well as the use of economic incentives for the sustainable use of natural resources, but it does not stop there. Trade touches upon core questions of sustainable development. How do trade regimes alter the policy space for environmental regulation? How do trade flows and production patterns change with liberalisation processes? IUCN -- The World Conservation Union has worked towards a better knowledge and understanding of these interlinkages, bringing together both scientific expertise and conservation practice. The figures are clear: international trade has grown 20-fold since the creation of IUCN in 1948, to an estimated value of over US$ 6 trillion. Unsustainable trade in wildlife is growing rapidly -- the costs of invasive alien species in India alone are estimated at US$ 116 billion.

"International Trade: Friend or Foe of Biodiversity?" asked the provocative title of a workshop jointly organised by ICTSD and IUCN at the World Conservation Congress. Bangladeshi Ambassador Toufiq Ali, Chairman of the WTO Committee on Trade and Environment, urged conservationists to get engaged and to take a position. "The answer is yes", summarised Simon Tay of the University of Singapore. "Trade is happening and it's here to stay. It is not a question of whether trade is a friend of biodiversity, but rather of how to make it friendlier." While there is still a gap to bridge until the trade and the conservation community speak the same language, both sides have started to realise the importance of a stronger engagement of the environmental community in trade policy making. As a result, the IUCN Commissions on Environmental, Economic and Social Policy (CEESP) and on Environmental Law (CEL) explored mechanisms to strengthen their work on trade and investment policy in Bangkok.

At the same time, negotiations under the WTO's Doha Agenda are defining frameworks for biodiversity conservation in talks about the global reform of agricultural policies and the incorporation of trade in services including those that concern key natural resources such as water and energy. With the ratification of the Kyoto protocol, negotiations on the relationship between the multilateral regimes on trade and on the environment and other aspects of conservation policy space have become even more critical. So far, biodiversity concerns had little impact on trade negotiations. The conservation community has a constructive role to play to change this situation.

For several years now, IUCN with its members and expert networks has presented analysis, provided scientific input to the WTO disputes settlements and organised policy dialogues on the link between the expansion of international trade and conservation issues at global environmental and economic fora, such as the World Summit on Sustainable Development or WTO Ministerial Conferences. Bangkok set a landmark for the preparations for 2005 -- another important year on the international agenda for sustainable development. The WTO Ministerial Conference will take place in Hong Kong with great expectations for the Doha Development Agenda; while the UN General Assembly reviews the implementation of the Millennium Development Goal towards an improved trading and financial system (MDG8, target 12); and the 13th session of the Commission of Sustainable Development (CSD) will take policy decisions in relation to water and sanitation services.

Still, it would be short-sighted just to focus on the WTO and other multilateral fora. After the collapse of the Cancun ministerial conference, trade and investment negotiations are increasingly taking place at plurilateral, regional and bilateral levels, marking a significant power shift often detrimental to the interests of small and weak economies. In Latin America, there is growing concern about the environmental, social and economic implications of regional trade agreements. IUCN, with its decentralised structure, has a responsibility to assist in articulating and integrating such concerns into these binding frameworks, and its new IUCN Programme acknowledges this task. It aims to make non-environmental international arrangements promote biodiversity conservation as a key element of successful sustainable development. To reach this goal, it is crucial for the conservation community to understand the issues, to raise concerns and to propose ways forward. That's why IUCN focuses on capacity building, organises training workshops for conservation practitioners and facilitates exchange of experiences. Without empowerment, there is no change. Together, we can build a stronger voice for conservation in trade policy!