Note to Subscribers	BRIDGES Weekly will provide Daily Updates of the WTO Hong Kong Ministerial meeting. If you would like to receive the Daily Updates please send an email to bridges_weekly@ictsd.ch with subscribe in the subject line. The Daily Updates will also be available in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Arabic and Russian on the ICTSD website. This is the last issue of BRIDGES Trade BioRes for the year 2005. The first issue of 2006 -- Vol. 6, No. 1 -- will be published on 20 January. The BRIDGES Trade BioRes team would like to thank our reporting contributors all over the world and our funders for their assistance. We are grateful to our readers for their interest and feedback and send to you all our best wishes for the holiday season and 2006.
Environment @ Hong Kong	Environmental issues may crop up at the upcoming WTO Ministerial Conference being held on 13-18 December in Hong Kong, China, but are likely to be overshadowed by developmental and other concerns (see related issue, this issue). The issues most likely to arise include environmental goods and services (EGS), fisheries subsidies and disclosure requirements for patents involving genetic resources. more
Intellectual Property Rights @ Hong Kong	Calls to start negotiations on requirements to disclose the origin of genetic resources in patent applications have figured high in intellectual property-related negotiations in the lead-up to the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference. In addition to discussions in the Council for Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), the need to introduce such requirements to prevent the misappropriation of biological material and associated traditional knowledge (TK) was emphasised in a paper entitled "Reclaiming Development in the WTO Doha Development Round", submitted by several developing countries to the Committee on Trade and Development on 28 November. Despite the fact that EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson said on 30 November that the EU is open to this proposal, the reluctance of the US, Japan and Korea on the matter -- along with slow movement on agriculture, non-agricultural market access and services -- may make it unlikely that disclosure requirements will be taken up in Hong Kong. Nonetheless, two paragraphs in the draft Ministerial Declaration make reference to the ongoing negotiations on the relationship between the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the TRIPS Agreement and urge Members to continue discussions. more
What's At Stake In Hong Kong?	Despite low expectations for movement on the major negotiating areas in the current round of trade talks, many WTO Members are hopeful that agreement on a 'development package' might be reached at the Sixth WTO Ministerial Conference in Hong Kong on 13-18 December. Since November, negotiators have recognised that deadlock in agriculture, non-agricultural market access and services talks will not be resolved in time for the Hong Kong Ministerial, and instead hope to reach consensus in early 2006. As Members and civil society from around the world converge on Hong Kong, their question is clear: what will be achieved? more
CBD Considers Incentives To Support Biodiversity	At the eleventh meeting of the Convention on Biological Diversity's (CBD) Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA-11) held from 28 November to 2 December in Montreal, Canada, Parties to the CBD considered what measures the group could take to ensure the conservation, sustainable use and fair and equitable sharing of benefits from genetic resources. How the CBD can support positive incentives and access and benefit-sharing measures that are supportive of biodiversity was the focus of the meeting, and the CBD-WTO relationship arose on both topics. While Parties to the Convention agreed that international trade in biodiversity-related goods and services could be an important measure for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, a highly politicised debate ensued on whether the CBD should tread into the domain of the WTO by encouraging them with their talks on environmental goods and services (EGS; see related story, this issue). more

In Brief

Darwin's Nightmare Misconceptualises Fish Trade, IUCN Says EU Requests Dispute Panel On Brazilian Retreaded Tyre Rules Gabon and Comoros Sign New Fisheries Agreements with EU EC Approves Danish Tax On GM Crops For Co-existence Countries Sign Eleventh Hour Deal On Climate Change China Delays GM Rice Approval

Events    &   Resources
Events	13-17 December: HONG KONG TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT SYMPOSIUM (HKTDS). The goal of this symposium, co-convened by the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD) and the University of Hong Kong in collaboration with the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP), is to encourage innovative thinking on issues related to trade and development that could subsequently be translated into constructive inputs for the ongoing Doha Round negotiations. The main topics for discussions will be drawn from key development-related issues in the trade policy and trade rules arena. For further information contact Patrick Lunt, email: plunt@ictsd.ch
	More Events...
Resources	TRADING IN GENES: DEVELOPMENT PERSPECTIVES ON BIOTECHNOLOGY, TRADE AND SUSTAINABILITY. Edited by Ricardo Meléndez-Ortiz and Vicente Sanchez (International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development, November 2005). This unique book is a collection of leading-edge perspectives from the South on biotechnology, biosafety, sustainable development and trade. By providing knowledge and opinions from a range of experts, it enables readers to bridge the knowledge and communication gaps that separate these fields so as to gain a better understanding of the policy issues that face developing countries. Few scientific developments have given rise to as much controversy as biotechnology: numerous groups are united in their opposition, expressing concern over environmental and health risks, impacts on rural livelihoods, the economic dominance of multinational companies and the ethical implications of crossing species boundaries. Among the supporters of the technology are those that believe in its potential to enhance food security, further economic development, increase productivity and reduce environmental pressures. This book takes up the question of the potential opportunities for development offered by the use of biotechnology, attempts to help stakeholders understand international processes to manage risks and benefits and highlights the flexibilities offered by the multilateral trading system to support biosafety and biotechnology.
	More Resources...
BRIDGES Trade BioRes is made possible in 2005 through the generous support of the Swiss Agency for the Environment, Forests and Landscape (BUWAL) and the State Secretary for Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment of The Netherlands (VROM). It also benefits from ICTSD's core funders: the Governments of Finland (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Denmark (DANIDA - Royal Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Netherlands (DGIS - Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Sweden (SIDA - Swedish International Development Agency), Switzerland (SDC - Swiss Development Cooperation) and the UK (DFID - Department of International Development); Christian Aid (UK), the Rockefeller Foundation, MISEREOR, NOVIB (NL), Oxfam (UK), and the Swiss Coalition of Development Organisations (Switzerland). ISSN 1682-0843