NEW UNCTAD PROJECT AIMS AT STRENGTHENING UNDERSTANDING OF TRADE AND ENVIRONMENT LINKS
Press Release
TAD/1886
NEW UNCTAD PROJECT AIMS AT STRENGTHENING UNDERSTANDING OF TRADE AND ENVIRONMENT LINKS
19990713 GENEVA, 13 July (UNCTAD) -- Over the next 18 months, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) will be working with a range of policy-makers, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and developing country research institutions to help promote a better understanding of the complex linkages between international trade and environment issues.This new project will strengthen research and policy-making capacity on trade and environment issues in 10 developing countries: Bangladesh, Brazil, Costa Rica, Cuba, India, Philippines, South Africa, Tunisia, Uganda and United Republic of Tanzania. These countries were selected so as to provide a balanced mix of levels of economic development, sizes of economy and representativity of different geographic regions.
Funded by the United Kingdom's Department for International Development (DFID), the project is being implemented by UNCTAD in collaboration with the Foundation for International Environmental Law and Development (FIELD), a United Kingdom-based NGO.
The aim of this exercise is to:
-- deepen understanding of the issues; -- improve policy coordination at the national level; and -- improve national ability to participate effectively in multilateral deliberations on trade and environment in the World Trade Organization, UNCTAD and other forums.
The 10 beneficiary countries are nominating two experts each -- one from the Ministry of Trade and one from the Ministry of Environment. Two round tables and three workshops will bring together the same core participants. A small number of other workshop participants will be drawn from research institutions and NGOs, particularly from the host country and other countries in the same region.
At a project-launching round table held in Geneva on 24-25 June, participants defined priority issues for the project. These are :
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-- Sui generis systems for traditional knowledge and access to genetic resources and mutual benefit sharing cases; -- Market access and trade liberalization; -- Promoting trade in environmentally preferable products, particularly organic products; -- Sectoral study on textiles and garments, agriculture and fisheries products; -- Technology transfer issues and the WTO; -- Technology transfer issues: Agenda 21 and Multilateral Environment Agreements; and -- Domestically prohibited goods.
Groups of participants will work jointly on each issue, coordinated by a lead country. The resulting papers will be discussed at three regional workshops in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Papers emanating from the project will be made available on UNCTAD's Web site, for the benefit of all developing countries.
This project provides a prime example of one of UNCTAD's roles, which is to act as an objective forum capable of bringing together diverse interests. As trade and environment communities are often very separate from one another, this project will bring them together.
At the national level, it creates ties between governmental ministries; between capital-based and Geneva-based governmental personnel; and among governments, research institutions and NGOs. It links national priorities with the international trade and environment agenda. Internationally, it opens channels between developing countries, enabling them to identify areas of common interest.
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Note: For more information, contact René Vossenaar, Chief, Trade, Environment and Development Section, UNCTAD, on telephone: +41 22 907 5679, fax: +41 22 907 0044, or e-mail: rene.vossenaar@unctad.org or Carine Richard-Van Maele, Chief, Press Unit, UNCTAD, on telephone: +41 22 907 5816/28, fax: +41 22 907 0043; or e-mail: press@unctad.org