9h00-9h15 Welcome and general introduction

Hussein Abaza, Chief, Economics and Trade Branch, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

Christophe Bellmann, Programmes Director, International Centre on Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD)

Anja von Moltke, UNEP (Chair of the meeting)

9h15-10h45 SESSION 1: Key Objectives and their Location in the Negotiations

The perspectives of developing countries in the fisheries subsidies negotiations reflect a range of policy concerns and interests, including the need to protect livelihoods, to contribute to food security, to safeguard the right to develop domestic fisheries, to reduce the competitive advantage enjoyed by heavily subsidised fleets, and to maintain and improve financial or other transfers to developing countries in support of improved fisheries management. This session will consider these objectives in detail, and seek to identify the degree to which they are reflected in the negotiating proposals so far.

9h15-9h20: Introduction to the session: Anja von Moltke, UNEP

9h20-9h35: David Schorr, Senior Fellow, WWF

9h35-9h50: Discussants:

Sebastian Mathew, International Cooperative in Support of Fish Workers, India
Ivan Prieto, National Chamber of Fisheries, Ecuador
Somying Piumsombun, Department of Fisheries, Thailand

Questions to be addressed:

• What are the specific development and sustainability objectives of governments in these negotiations?
  
• What kind of programs or policies are currently in place, or are envisioned for the future, to meet these objectives? Specific examples?
  
• How do the existing negotiating proposals address these objectives?
  
• To what extent should the various objectives be treated separately or together in the negotiations?

9h50-10h45: Open discussion

11h00-13h00 SESSION 2: “Special & Differential Treatment” and artisanal fisheries

The concept of special and differential (“S&D”) treatment forms the technical backbone for the protection of many developing country interests within the WTO rule system. In the context of fisheries subsidies, it will be especially important to get S&D treatment right – as is clearly reflected in both the Doha and Hong Kong Ministerial Declarations. Moreover, the relationship between S&D treatment and other development issues of concern has not been well developed, among them the question how to address “artisanal fisheries”. Indeed, even the question whether “artisanal fisheries” is a concept applicable uniquely to developing countries remains open to debate. It would seem important to acknowledge the special needs of the smallest fishing operations and most vulnerable fishing communities without denying the influence that the “artisanal” sector can have on competitive realities and on the sustainability of fish stocks. This session will focus on technical aspects of the relevant proposals to date, and will seek to discuss them (and alternatives to them) in light of the objectives identified in Session 1.

11h05-11h10: Introduction to the session: Heike Baumüller, ICTSD

11h10-11h25: Felipe Hees, Permanent Mission of Brazil

11h25-11h45: Discussants:

Matthew Wilson, Permanent Mission of Barbados
Vice Yu, South Centre
Justin Hawley, Organization of Eastern Caribbean States
Chen Shuping, Ministry for Agriculture, China

Questions to be addressed:

• How do current proposals meet or fail to meet each of the specific objectives identified by participants in Session 1?
  
• Is it in the interest of developing country governments to seek a “blank cheque” for their fisheries subsidies? What could be the role of a de minimis level? What kinds of conditions could or should be attached to S&D treatment?
  
• How could new disciplines reflect the special needs of artisanal fishing operations and fishing communities while addressing the environmental and competitiveness realities of this sector?

11h45-13h00 Open discussion

14h00-15h00 SESSION 2 (cont.)

15h00-17h00 SESSION 3: Access agreements

The right of coastal and island states to receive payments in return for granting foreign access to their EEZ fisheries is enshrined in the Law of the Sea. Moreover, access payments constitute important sources of revenue for a number of countries. Yet access agreements have at times also been an integral part of policies to promote the subsidised transfer of excess fishing capacity from domestic to foreign waters, often with significant impacts on local fishers and fish stocks. Some governments have proposed carving out access payments entirely from new WTO fisheries subsidies rules; others have suggested conditional allowance of them. Meanwhile, the nature of the “subsidy” involved in access arrangements remains unclear.

15h00-15h05: Introduction to the session: Aimee Gonzales, WWF

15h05-15h20: Marcos Orellana, Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL)

15h20-15h35: Discussants:

Kees Lankester, Scomber Consultancy
Hachim El Ayoubi, Ministry of Marine Fisheries, Morocco
Stephen Mbithi Mwikya, Kenya Fish Processors and Exporters Association

Questions to be addressed:

• When does an access arrangement include a “subsidy”? How might such a subsidy be measured?
  
• Can access arrangements cause production or other trade distortions? To what extent might possible distortions be attributable to the subsidies identified under the previous question?
  
• Should subsidies associated with access arrangements be carved out of new rules completely? Or should certain conditions on such subsidies be imposed?

15h35-17h00: Open discussion (including coffee break)

17h00-18h00 SESSION 4: What would a “package” look like?

As discussed in Session 1, the interests and objectives at stake in the current debates over S&D treatment, artisanal fisheries, and access agreements may overlap. This final session will attempt to review the day’s discussion, taking the interests identified in Session 1 as a framework and seeking to identify the possible relationships among the various parts of the current technical debate.

Questions to be addressed:

• To what extent do the interests at stake in the S&D treatment, artisanal fisheries, and access agreement discussions overlap?
  
• How might the relationship(s) among these topics be reflected in a comprehensive approach to special rules for developing countries?
  
• What are the gaps that remain in the discussion and how could they be addressed?

18h00 Closing remarks and end of the meeting

Please note: All participants are taking part in their personal capacity; institutional affiliations are noted for identification only