EU, MAURITANIA RENEGOTIATE FISHERIES ACCESS AGREEMENT	The EU and Mauretania have signed a new fisheries agreement. Under the new deal, the EU will engage in significantly less fishing off Mauritania's coast. more
CLIMATE CHANGE: ENERGY-INTENSIVE SECTORS IN THE SPOTLIGHT	The G-8 industrialised countries, together with the major emerging economies, recently met to discuss options for tackling climate change. The idea of agreeing to sectoral targets for particularly polluting industries in all nations, a controversial concept proposed by the host, Japan, received a cool welcome. more
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: MOUNTING SUPPORT FOR TRIPS AMENDMENT TO PROTECT BIODIVERSITY	Longstanding differences on whether WTO rules should be altered to require patent applicants to disclose the use of any biological resources or associated traditional knowledge - on pain of patent revocation - featured prominently at a 13 March meeting of the WTO Council for Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). more

In Brief

WORLD FOOD PRICES SOAR - ARE BIOFUELS TO BLAME? MEETING FOCUSES ON FUTURE OF WHALING COMMISSION STARBUCKS TO PROMOTE RWANDAN COFFEE

Events    &   Resources
Events	25-28 March, Helsinki, Finland: OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES OF RESPONSES TO CLIMATE CHANGE FOR INDIGENOUS AND LOCAL COMMUNITIES, THEIR TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE AND BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY. This event will provide an opportunity for an in-depth study of opportunities and challenges of responses to climate change for indigenous and local communities from the Arctic, and the comprehensive consideration of these climate change related issues that can be integrated into related work carried out by the Convention on Biological Diversity, as well as other relevant agencies, including their programmes, policies and strategies. Internet: http://www.cbd.int/meetings/
	More Events...
Resources	FOOD & ENERGY SOVEREIGNTY NOW: BRAZILIAN GRASSROOTS POSITION ON AGROENERGY. By Camila Moreno, with Anuradha Mittal (2008). While official accounts of the Brazilian government's experiment with biofuels-particularly ethanol-laud it as a global model for sustainable biomass production, it is increasingly being criticized and opposed by national social movements and civil society. To challenge the official rhetoric, this policy brief aims to bring critical voices to the forefront of the debate, explore their arguments, and raise awareness among US organizations, citizens, and public officials about what is going on in the "Biofuels Republic of Brazil." To access the report, go to http://oaklandinstitute.org/pdfs/biofuels_report.pdf
	More Resources...
ISSN 1682-0843