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Hong Kong Trade and Development Symposium
Session 6.3
Fisheries and Trade - Exploring Opportunities For Advancing Sustainable Development
Organised by the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD), the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the Commonwealth Secretariat and the Bangladesh Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD)
15 December 2005, 16:45-19:00, Room 404
Fish and fish products provide important trade and livelihoods opportunities in many developing countries, including as a significant source of export revenue, a vital component of domestic food intake and an important provider of local livelihoods and employment. However, market access barriers - including tariff peaks and tariff escalation, standards, countervailing measures and traceability requirements - continue to pose serious obstacles for developing countries to expand their participation in international trade, adding value to their exports and ensuring rural development. In addition, fisheries subsidies in industrialised countries have contributed to market distortions, reducing developing countries' ability to compete with subsidised fleets and often making it economically unviable for poor countries to build up their own fishing industries.
In recognition of some of these concerns, WTO Members at the 2001 Ministerial Conference in Doha launched negotiations to improve WTO disciplines on fisheries subsidies, "taking into account the importance of this sector to developing countries". While negotiations have picked up speed in the lead-up to the Hong Kong Ministerial meeting, a clear articulation of how to integrate sustainable development considerations into the subsidies disciplines remains notably absent from the debates. At the same time, conflicting opinions have emerged in the non-agricultural market access negotiations on the benefits and risks of greater fish trade liberalisation, largely in the absence of a solid analytical basis to support either perspective or presenting a viable alternative.
The event will provide an forum to explore these issues in an effort to identify options, opportunities and knowledge gaps towards achieve the intersecting objectives of trade policy, fisheries management and sustainable development. The meeting will also aim to facilitate an integrated approach to the fisheries-related aspects of the Doha mandate which despite their interconnected nature are debated in virtual isolation from each other.
Chair: Ricardo Meléndez-Ortiz / Heike Baumüller (ICTSD)
Trends in fisheries trade and the role of developing countries by William Emerson, Senior Fishery Industry Officer, FAO
Trade in Fisheries - What is it all about? by Roman Grynberg, Deputy Director for International Trade, Commonwealth Secretariat
Integrating sustainability into the fisheries subsidies disciplines by David Schorr, Senior Fellow, WWF
How to treat artisanal fisheries in the WTO disciplines by Valentina Dwisasanti, Country Convenor, SEAFish for Justice Network
Impacts of market access barriers and subsidies - The case of shrimp by Fahmida Khatun, Research Fellow, Bangladesh Centre for Policy Dialogue
Discussant: Carolyn Deere
Valentina
Dwisasanti
is the Country Convener (focal point) of SEAFish (SouthEast Asia Fisheries)
for Justice in Indonesia, and the national coordinator of KIARA (Koalisi
Ikan untuk Rakyat or Coalition on Fish for People), dealing with fair
trade and fisheries issues.Previosuly, she worked as the national coordinator
of Jaring Pela (the Indonesian NGOs and individuals network in marine
and coastal issues), as a Marine Policy Specialist for Conservation
International in Jakarta, and as a Program Manager on Policy and Communication
and a Marine Policy Officer for WWF-Indonesia Wallacea.Her research
interests include marine and coastal issues; community-based coastal
resource management; sustainable fisheries management; community-based
property rights; trade and environment; and fair trade.
William Emerson is a Senior Fishery Industry Officer (International Trade) at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (2003 to present). In this position he is responsible for all aspects of economic and trade policy related to the utilization of fish. He is also secretary of the FAO's Sub-Committee on Fish Trade. The Sub-Committee provides a forum for consultations on technical and economic aspects of international trade in fish and fishery products including pertinent aspects of production and consumption and meets biennially. Prior to joining the FAO Mr Emerson was a senior advisor to the New Zealand Minister of Fisheries (1997-2003). Previously, Mr Emerson was an administrator at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (1992-1997) where he worked on in all areas of work covered by the Fisheries Division.
Roman Grynberg is currently Head of the Trade Department, Commownealth Secretariat. For many years he has acted as an advisor for the Pacific Islands Forum and for UNCTAD - Pacific Islands as well as for the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea. From 1991-1996 he worked as an Associate Professor at the University of the South Pacific, Fiji.
Fahmida Akter Khatun is a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD). She obtained her Masters and PhD in Economics from the University College London, University of London. Dr Khatun has worked as the Environment Specialist for the UNDP and was involved in formulating programme for the National Environmental Management Action Plan (NEMAP), Bangladesh. She was a visiting fellow at the Christian Michelsen Institute, Norway. Dr Khatun has undertaken research for a number of international institutions such as UNEP, World Bank, FAO, DFID, North-South Institute and ICTSD. Her areas of research interest include trade and environmental issues, trade liberalisation and its impact on various sectors of the economy of Bangladesh, valuation of environmental and natural resource degradation, environment-population-poverty nexus and trade related intellectual property rights (TRIPS). She has a number of publications both at home and abroad.
David Schorr is a Senior Fellow at World Wildlife Fund-US and an independent consultant based in Washington, DC. Since 1998, his responsibilities have included leadership of WWF's global initiative on fishing subsidies. From 1993 until 2002, Mr. Schorr directed WWF's Sustainable Commerce Program, focusing on globalization and the environment. Prior to joining WWF, Mr. Schorr practiced law, representing developing country governments and democracy movements. He has also lived and worked in Europe as a nuclear weapons policy analyst and human rights activist. A graduate of the Yale Law School and of Oberlin College, Mr. Schorr has taught as a member of the adjunct faculties at the Georgetown University Law Center and at the American University Washington College of Law.
Synopsis | Agenda | Speakers Bios | Organisers | Documents
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The International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD) was established in Geneva in September 1996 to contribute to a better understanding of development and environment concerns in the context of international trade. As an independent non-profit and non-governmental organisation, ICTSD engages a broad range of actors in ongoing dialogue about trade and sustainable development. With a wide network of governmental, non-governmental and inter-governmental partners, ICTSD plays a unique systemic role as a provider of original, non-partisan reporting and facilitation services at the intersection of international trade and sustainable development. |
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The Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), Bangladesh, established in 1993, seeks to address the need for a more participatory and accountable development process by way of organising multistakeholder consultations, by conducting research on issues of critical national and regional interests, through dissemination of knowledge and information on key developmental issues, and by influencing the policy making process in the country. CPD focuses on frontier issues which are critical to the development process of Bangladesh in the present context, and that are expected to shape and influence the country's development prospect in the mid-term. CPD strives to enhance national capacity for economy-wide policy analysis, foster regional cooperation and addresses issues which relate Bangladesh's effective integration into the process of regionalisation and globalisation. CPD's target groups are diverse which include public representatives, government officials, business leaders, representatives of grassroots organisations, academics, development partners and other relevant interest groups. |
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The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations leads international efforts to defeat hunger. Serving both developed and developing countries, FAO acts as a neutral forum where all nations meet as equals to negotiate agreements and debate policy. FAO is also a source of knowledge and information. We help developing countries and countries in transition modernize and improve agriculture, forestry and fisheries practices and ensure good nutrition for all. Since our founding in 1945, we have focused special attention on developing rural areas, home to 70 percent of the world's poor and hungry people. |
Synopsis | Agenda | Speakers Bios | Organisers | Documents
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Presentation: Trends in Fisheries Trade and the Role of Developing Countries by William Emerson, FAO
- Presentation: How
to address artisanal fisheries in the WTO? by Valentina Dwisasanti,
SEAfish for Justice – Indonesia, KIARA Fish for People Coalition
- Presentation: Impact
of Market Access Barrieres and Subsidies: The Case of Shrimp in Bangladesh
by Fahmida Khatun, Centre for Policy Dialogue
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The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2004 Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)
For more information please contact Patrick Lunt.
