Renewable Energy, Air Pollution Environmental Goods Considered At WTO	At an informal meeting of the WTO Committee on Trade and Environment Special Session (CTE-SS) on 4-5 April, WTO Members evaluated proposals seeking expedited liberalisation for certain renewable energy and air pollution control products. The technical discussions -- held under a mandate from Paragraph 31(iii) of the Doha Declaration to negotiate on "the reduction or, as appropriate, elimination of tariff and non-tariff barriers to environmental goods and services" -- centred on proposed lists of products in the two categories submitted by the EU, Canada, Japan and Chinese Taipei. The lists, which were based on the Members' earlier submissions of lists of products in all categories of use, were examined on a product-by-product basis to evaluate which products have a single, clearly environmental end use. more
Commentary On The Convention On Biological Diversity COP-8 By Jeffrey A. McNeely	Curitiba, Brazil, was the host of a gruelling three weeks of fierce negotiations among the Parties to the Cartagena Biosafety Protocol of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Parties to the CBD itself (COP-8). The bleary-eyed negotiators ended the ordeal with numerous decisions, but few real breakthroughs and precious little progress toward actually achieving the objectives of the Convention: the conservation of biodiversity, the sustainable use of the components of biodiversity, and the equitable distribution of the benefits arising from the use of genetic resources. The negotiations took place against a background of unprecedented involvement of civil society, with over 250 side events convened by non-governmental organisations (NGOs), the private sector, community groups, governments, and international organisations, working together in various combinations and permutations and covering an amazing array of issues. more
Forests Update: US-Indonesia, Japan And Philippines	The US government announced on 4 April that it was launching the first-ever agreement to facilitate bilateral cooperation to combat illegal logging under President George Bush's global initiative to address illegal logging set up in 2003. Meeting on 4 April, US Trade Representative Rob Portman and Indonesia's Minister of Trade Mari Pangestu agreed to build on the US-Indonesia Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA), a bilateral trade deal, to "broaden" the economic relationship established by the TIFA's tariff reductions on trade by creating a scheme to support more sustainable timber trade through measures to combat illegal logging. more

In Brief

Developing Countries Propose Disclosure At WIPO Patent Meeting Desertification Conference Highlights Trade Impacts EU Biotech Debate Breaks Out Into The Open Basel Convention Points To IMO Negotiations On New Ship Treaty Ratification Of EU-Morocco Fishing Agreement Stalled

Events    &   Resources
Events	17-21 April, Dehra Dun, India: 21ST SESSION OF THE ASIA-PACIFIC FORESTRY COMMISSION. The Asia-Pacific Forestry Commission (APFC) is one of six FAO Regional Forestry Commissions that cover the world's major geographic regions. It is a forum for advising and taking action on key forestry issues and focuses on issues pertinent to Asia and the Pacific. At this session, there will also be a special session "Toward Sustainable Forest Management" that will examine the findings of the 2005 Forest Resources Assessment, review the accomplishments of APFC and FAO in the region, and consider major forestry developments in APFC member countries. For further information contact Patrick Durst, tel: (+66) 2697-4000; fax: 2697-4445; email: patrick.durst@fao.org; Internet: http://www.apfcweb.org/events/events.html.
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Resources	FISHERIES ACCESS AGREEMENTS: TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT ISSUES. By Stephen Mbithi Mwikya, ICTSD, April 2006. The paper provides an overview of different types of fisheries access agreements and assesses their socio-economic and sustainability impacts, including on employment, value-addition, competitiveness and stock levels. He examines a range of policy options for addressing access fess in the fisheries subsidies negotiations, negotiating fisheries access agreements, and setting up domestic policies to enable developing countries to exploit their own fisheries resources.
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ISSN 1682-0843