In Brief

CITES LIFTS CASPIAN CAVIAR BAN

The Caspian sea range states -- Russia, Turkmenistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, and Azerbaijan -- will be able to resume their caviar exports in 2007. The UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) issued export quotas for three sturgeon species on 2 January, thus ending a ban it imposed a year ago following the failure of the Caspian range states to meet requirements concerning the sustainability of the catch (see Bridges Trade BioRes, 20 January 2006, http://www.ictsd.org/biores/06-01-20/inbrief.htm#2). The five states have reached an agreement among themselves to cut the catch by 20 percent compared to levels in 2005.

The ban remains in force, however, on caviar from one Caspian sturgeon species, the beluga sturgeon. This caviar is the most expensive in the world, and the issue will be revisited at the end of the month pending further documentation from Russia. Due to sharply decreasing sturgeon populations in the Black Sea/Lower Danube, the range states in this region have not requested export quotas, but are seeking to let the species recover under fishing bans.

Local groups have questioned the sustainability of resuming Caspian caviar exports. "The allocation of quotas will be considered by our side as the approval of the caviar sale, and it means that illegal fishing and selling will occur," said Mels Eleusizov, head of the Kazakh ecological group Tabigat. "A one year of ban for caviar export is not enough to restore the stock," added Kazakhstan-based analyst Eduard Poletaev. They also pointed to problems related to oil extraction as a main reason for the sturgeon decline. Up to 90 percent of caviar is sourced from the Caspian.

The CITES argument is that increased revenues from caviar will increase the sustainability in the industry by providing incentives for creating the conditions necessary to ensure the long-term recovery of the valuable species. CITES Secretary-General Willem Wijnstekers stressed, however, that "ensuring that sturgeon stocks recover to safe levels will take decades of careful fisheries management and an unrelenting struggle against poaching and illegal trade."

In 1998, the 169 CITES member states decided to place all sturgeon species on Appendix II of the Convention, which includes species that Parties have agreed to subject to trade controls in order to ensure their survival. While wild sturgeon populations continue to decline, caviar from farmed varieties is on the increase.

"U.N. Lifts Ban on Caviar Exports from the Caspian," REUTERS, 3 January 2007; "Caspian Caviar Export Quotas Set, but Beluga in Limbo," ENS, 2January 2007, "Following 2006 ban, CITES authorizes 2007 quotas for all Caspian Sea caviar except beluga," CITES PRESS RELEASE, 2 January 2007; "Caspian Caviar Quotas Called Ineffective," ENS, 11 January 2007.

EU, INDONESIA COLLABORATE TO PREVENT ILLEGAL LOGGING

The EU and Indonesia have agreed to start negations on creating a voluntary partnership agreement (VPA) that would ensure that EU timber imports from Indonesia have been legally harvested.

The VPA will be negotiated under the European Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) programme, which was established as a follow-up to the World Summit on Sustainable Development to improve developing country capacity to control illegal logging and reduce trade in illegal timber. The purpose of the VPA is to contribute to sustainable forest management, and it includes measures such as a timber licensing scheme.

The tropical forest in Borneo - shared by Malaysia and Indonesia - is the habitat of more than 75 percent of the world's orang-utan population, which has been exponentially declining in the past 20 years. Illegal logging is the main driver of the decline. Deforestation also leads to landslides that occur after heavy rains in Indonesia. Indonesia lost 28 million hectares of forest between 1990 and 2005.

The EU has already started negotiations on a VPA with Malaysia (see Bridges Trade BioRes, 6 October 2006, http://www.ictsd.org/biores/06-10-06/inbrief.htm). Indonesia also recently signed an agreement with the US to cooperate to prevent illegal logging.

"EU, Indonesia Target Illegal Logging Pact," REUTERS, 10 January 2007; "Indonesia timber deal struck," GREEN CONSUMER GUIDE, 11January 2007; "Natural Disasters or Mass Murders," WORLDPRESS.ORG, 16 January 2007; "U.S.,Indonesia Agree to Target Illegal Logging," ENS, 20 November 2006.

ENVIRONMENT NEGOTIATIONS LOW ON PRIORITY LIST OF WTO MEMBERS

Doha Round environment Chair Ambassador Toufiq Ali (Bangladesh) expressed concern about the slow progress of the talks at a 19 December informal meeting, after Members used the first gathering of the negotiating group since the July suspension largely to restate their positions.

With regard to the Doha mandate to expedite trade liberalisation for 'environmental goods and services', some countries such as India, Egypt, Thailand, Brazil and Chile proposed that Members should work on a compromise between two main approaches proposed for doing so. The so-called 'list' approach would identify specific goods and earmark them for liberalisation; the 'project' approach would temporarily liberalise trade in environmental goods and services used in approved environmental projects. These countries, which favour the latter approach, added that they would elaborate on how to operationalise it within the WTO system (see Bridges Trade BioRes, 14 July 2006, http://www.ictsd.org/biores/06-07-14/story1.htm).

On the other side, countries, such as Canada, Korea and Japan, which favour the 'list' approach, proposed to shorten the potential environmental goods lists put forward by nine Members (and compiled into an informal document by the WTO Secretariat in November 2005, TN/TE/W/63), which they suggested could enable negotiators to reach agreement.

To help move the negotiations forward, the chair suggested holding informal consultations to discuss technical issues related to environmental goods, such as special & differential treatment and non-tariff barriers. He also proposed informal talks on other aspects of the trade and environment mandate, including information exchange between the WTO and secretariats of multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) and criteria for observer status.

In a related development, EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson on 18 December called for eliminating tariffs on climate-change related goods such as renewable energy technology, saying that this would help combat global warming and encourage investment in further innovation (see related story, this issue).

ICTSD reporting.

EU MEMBER STATES BACK AUSTRIAN BAN ON BIOTECH PRODUCTS

In a resounding defeat for the European Commission, a large majority of EU member states on 18 December voted in support of Austria's right to ban two genetically modified maize varieties. While these crops have already been approved at the EU-wide level, Austria has invoked the safeguard clause under the EU's approval procedures -- allowing member states to adopt safeguard measures 'as a result of new or additional information' -- to justify the ban.

Of the 25 member states, only the UK, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and Sweden backed the Commission's proposal to instruct Austria to lift the ban. A similar proposal had been defeated in 2004, but the Commission had hoped that a recent WTO ruling against the national-level biotech bans would provide the necessary political backing for its initiative.

The WTO ruling called on the Commission to bring the national marketing and import bans instituted by Austria, France, Germany, Greece, Italy and Luxembourg in line with WTO obligations after concluding that they could not be justified as precautionary measures and were not based on an adequate risk assessment (see BRIDGES Weekly, 4 October 2006, http://www.ictsd.org/weekly/06-10-04/story2.htm).

Following member states' rejection of its proposal, the Commission will now need to consider alternative options for implementing the ruling, which could include judicial action or requesting Austria to provide a risk assessment that complies with WTO requirements.

ICTSD reporting; "Austria allowed to keep its ban on GM corn", FINANCIAL TIMES, 19 December 2006.

FAO: LIVESTOCK DIVERSITY DWINDLING

The globalisation of markets is severely eroding the genetic diversity of livestock, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said on 15 December. According to the first global assessment of the status of animal genetic resources, about 20 percent of animal breeds are at risk of extinction, and one breed lost each month.

"Maintaining animal diversity will allow future generations to select stocks or develop new breeds to cope with emerging issues, such as climate change, diseases, and changing socio-economic factors," said José Esquinas-Alcázar, Secretary of FAO's Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture.

Modern agriculture has developed specialised breeds that optimise specific traits to increase productivity, narrowing the genetic base and discarding species in response to market forces. According to the FAO report, increasing international trade and the rise of integrated food chains have amplified competition, adding to the decrease in livestock diversity. The report's section on trade discusses some of the risks and benefits of such global competition for the local farmer.

The report was discussed at the FAO headquarters in Rome at the fourth session of the Intergovernmental Technical Working Group on Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. A first International Technical Conference on Animal Genetic Resources, hosted by the Government of Switzerland, is scheduled to take place in Interlaken in September 2007. The conference is set to adopt a global plan of action to halt the loss of animal genetic resources worldwide and improve their sustainable use.

Additional resources

The access the draft report, titled the State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources visit http://www.fao.org/ag/againfo/programmes/en/genetics/documents/AH473e00.pdf.


ICTSD Reporting; "20 percent of animal breeds are at risk of extinction," FAO RELEASE, 15 December 2006; "Fifth of Farm Animal Breeds May Face Extinction-FAO," REUTERS, 18 December 2006.

EU AGREES MILD COD QUOTA CUTS

Following annual end-of-year talks on fishing quotas, EU ministers agreed on 22 December to cut cod catches in 2007 by 14-20 percent and to reduce the days of fishing at sea by 8-10 percent. The ministers also agreed to reduce quotas on, among other, southern hake, North Sea sole and plaice, ling, and herring in waters west of Scotland and Ireland. They further agreed to increases quotas for northern hake and Bay of Biscay sole, following stock recovery.

The European Commission had originally called for a 25 percent cut in cod total allowable catches (TACs), but major fishing nations objected and the 14-20 percent cut was the result of arduous talks. Joe Borg, European Commissioner for Fisheries and Maritime Affairs, stressed that "The Commission's proposal for the 2007 TACs and quotas was aimed at reinforcing the gradual but sustained approach that offers the best chance of reconciling the need to rebuild depleted fish stocks with the needs of fishers whose livelihoods depend on continued fishing activities."

Scientists have warned that the cod stock is dangerously depleted, and recommend a complete ban on cod fishing for at least one year to ensure recovery. Environmental group WWF called the new compromise a "disaster." According to the group, about 23,000 tons of cod are caught in the North Sea under current quotas, but a further 23,000 tons are discarded as by-catch of other fisheries.

"EU slashes cod fishing quotas," AFP, 21 December 2006; "Commission: Council decision on 2007 fish quotas confirms gradual approach to sustainable fisheries," EU RELEASE, 21 December 2006; "Europe's fishing quota cuts fail to ease fears," FINANCIAL TIMES, 21 December 2006.