[Pirateninfo] BRIDGES Trade BioRes, Vol. 2 No. 14

[Silke Pohl]

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From: "Martin Sundermann" 
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Subject: Fw: BRIDGES Trade BioRes, Vol. 2 No. 14
Date: Sat, 28 Sep 2002 21:22:10 +0200


-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
Von: BRIDGES Trade BioRes 
An: Martin.Sundermann@ruhr-uni-bochum.de

Datum: Freitag, 27. September 2002 12:51
Betreff: BRIDGES Trade BioRes, Vol. 2 No. 14


>-----------------------------------------------------------------------
>BRIDGES Trade BioRes, Vol. 2 No. 14 26 September, 2002
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
> Table of Contents
>
>
> I. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
> - Summit Outcomes Cited As Impetus For Progress In TRIPs
>Discussions
> - UK Commission Cautions Developing Countries Against Strong IPR
>Regimes
>
> II. AGRICULTURE
> - WTO Members Split On Future Of 'Green Box'
>
> III. IN BRIEF
> - Southern African Countries to Set Up GMO Advisory Panel
> - Australia Questions Validity Of CBD Decision On Alien Species
> - Researchers Joining Forces With Mexican Communities In
>Bioprospecting
> - European Parliament Accepts Commission Proposal On Cartagena
>Protocol
> - Rice-Producing Countries Call For Greater Cooperation To Combat
>Rural
> Poverty
>
> V. EVENTS & RESOURCES
>
>
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Intellectual Property
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>SUMMIT OUTCOMES CITED AS IMPETUS FOR PROGRESS IN TRIPS DISCUSSIONS
>
>The WTO Council for Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights
>(TRIPs) at its 17-19 September meeting continued discussions on issues
>related to TRIPs Article 27.3(b) (patentability of life forms), the
>relationship between the TRIPs Agreement and the Convention on Biological
>Diversity (CBD), and traditional knowledge. Several Members cited the
>outcomes of the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) as a
>confirmation of the high priority that should be given to these issues by
>the Council.
>
>The relevance of the WSSD for the work of the TRIPs Council, in particular
>the decision to negotiate an international regime on benefit-sharing (see
>BRIDGES Trade BioRes Special WSSD Update No.5) was raised, inter alia, by
>Brazil and Colombia on behalf of the Andean countries. While not
necessarily
>calling for a benefit-sharing regime to be established under the TRIPs
>Agreement, Brazil pointed out that the decision highlighted the need for
>including elements of disclosure of origin, prior informed consent and
>benefit-sharing in the Agreement to ensure that the CBD was not jeopardised
>by the absence of measures in the TRIPs Agreement to combat biopiracy.
>
>WTO Members furthermore addressed various points raised in a "concept
paper"
>submitted by the EC. In the paper, the EC signalled its willingness to
>discuss the inclusion of disclosure requirements in patent applications, as
>repeatedly called for by a number of developing countries (see BRIDGES
Trade
>BioRes, 11 July 2002). To this end, the EC proposed the establishment of a
>"self-standing" requirement to include information on the geographic origin
>of the genetic resources and traditional knowledge. Such a requirement,
>however, should not constitute an additional formal or substantial
>patentability criterion. Thus, failure to disclose should lie outside the
>patent law, but should, for instance, be regulated by civil or
>administrative law.
>
>While welcoming the EC proposal as a good step forward, Brazil expressed
>disappointment that the submission only addressed one leg of the tripod
>(disclosure), but had failed to deal with the other two (benefit-sharing
and
>prior informed consent). The three elements, however, needed to be looked
at
>together in order to ensure mutual supportiveness of the CBD and the TRIPs
>Agreement, and the prevention of biopiracy, Brazil added.
>
>In addition to the developments in the TRIPs Council, the need for
equitable
>access and benefit-sharing (ABS) measures in general and for disclosure
>requirements in particular appears to be attracting increasing attention
and
>support in various fora. These include the CBD -- in particular the Bonn
>Guidelines on ABS which include disclosure requirements as a possible
>compliance measure (see BRIDGES Trade BioRes, 18 April 2002) --, the WIPO
>[World Intellectual Property Organization] Intergovernmental Committee on
>Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and
>Folklore (see BRIDGES Trade BioRes, 27 June 2002), the WSSD decision, which
>calls for the negotiations of a benefit-sharing regime to be 'bear in mind'
>the Bonn Guidelines, and most recently the report of the UK Commission on
>Intellectual Property Rights (see related story, this issue). As one source
>noted, the TRIPs Council needed to respond to this growing momentum so as
>not to prejudice the outcomes of these discussions. Some WTO Members,
>however, have in the past been reluctant to address these issues in the
>TRIPs Council while discussions were still going on in related fora.
>
>The next regular session of the TRIPs Council will be held on 25-27
>November. In addition, an informal meeting has been scheduled for 10
>November to discuss the possible extension of a higher level of protection
>for geographical indications to products other than wines and spirits.
>
>Additional Resources
>
>The EC paper is available at
>http://trade-info.cec.eu.int/europa/2001newround/comnr_trips.pdf.
>
>Past issues of BRIDGES Trade BioRes can be found at
>http://www.ictsd.org/biores
>
>ICTSD reporting.
>
>
>
>
>UK COMMISSION CAUTIONS DEVELOPING COUNTRIES AGAINST STRONG IPR REGIMES
>
>The UK Commission on Intellectual Property Rights (CIPR) -- an independent
>body set up in May 2001 by the British government -- released its final
>report on 12 September, setting out a number of recommendations aimed at
>aligning intellectual property rights (IPR) protection with efforts to
>reduce poverty in developing countries. The doubts and concerns raised in
>the report are not necessarily new, but what is significant is their
source,
>i.e. a high-level Commission established and appointed by a developed
>country government. Many civil society groups welcomed the report as a
>reflection of widespread concerns regarding the IPR regime.
>
>Overall, the Commission concludes that the IPR system is not as beneficial
>for developing countries as for industrialised countries, as it increases
>the cost of accessing many products and technologies of interest to poorer
>regions. The report furthermore points out that stronger IPR protection is
>not necessarily better for developing countries. "Developing countries
>should not be coerced into adopting stronger IP rights without regard to
the
>impact this has on their development and poor people," said John Barton,
>Chair of the Commission. Instead, the IP systems should be tailored to the
>country's state of development and its particular circumstances, the
>Commission concludes.
>
>With respect to patents on life forms -- as allowed under Article 27.3(b)
of
>the WTO Agreement on Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights
>(TRIPs) -- the report discourages developing countries from providing
patent
>protection for plants and animals because of the restrictions such patents
>may place on the use of seeds by farmers and researchers. Also, the report
>recommends that IPR applicants should be required to disclose the
geographic
>source of the genetic resources and provide proof that they were acquired
>with the prior informed consent of the country from which they were taken.
>Developing countries, including India and Brazil, have long been calling
for
>such requirements to be implemented both at the TRIPs Council and at the
>Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (see
>BRIDGES Trade BioRes, 11 July 2002,
>http://www.ictsd.org/biores/02-07-11/story1.htm). The EC, changing its
>position on this issue, signalled its willingness to discuss the
>establishment of disclosure requirements at the last meeting of the TRIPs
>Council on 17-19 September (see related story, this issue).
>
>Oxfam welcomed the report as "powerful evidence- based critique of the
>health and development problems caused by the one-size-fits-all approach of
>WTO patent rules". In particular, the report's findings reflect many of the
>concerns put forward by developing countries, academics, NGOs and others
>regarding IPRs and medicines, Oxfam pointed out. The report's failure to
>call for the reform of the TRIPs Agreement, Oxfam added, reflected "the
>authors' pessimism about current power imbalances at the WTO". Similarly,
>ActionAid saw the report as a "big step in acknowledging that intellectual
>property rights legislation has a detrimental effect on poor countries".
The
>group also noted, however, that whether the Commission's recommendations
are
>actually put into action would now depend upon the political will of
>governments.
>
>The full CIPR report and an executive summary are available at:
>http://www.iprcommission.org/
>
>"Independent Commission finds intellectual property rights impose costs on
>most developing countries and do not help to reduce property," CIPR, 12
>September; "Oxfam's initial response to the report of the UK CIPR," OXFAM,
>12 September; "Government Commissioned report throws TRIPs agreement into
>question," ACTIONAID, 12 September.
>
>
>
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Agriculture
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>WTO MEMBERS SPLIT ON FUTURE OF 'GREEN BOX'
>
>At the 23-25 September informal negotiating session of the WTO Committee on
>Agriculture (CoA) on domestic support, no progress was made on the most
>contentious farm subsidy issues. These include the question of whether the
>so-called 'Green Box' should be made more flexible or be tightened. In his
>conclusion, CoA special session Chair Stuart Harbinson reportedly called on
>Members to "switch their mindsets from portrayal of maximising national
>positions" to an "effort to compromise and bridging gaps."
>
>Following on from discussions held at the 4-5 September intersessional
>consultation on domestic support (see BRIDGES Weekly, 13 September 2002,
>http://www.ictsd.org/weekly/02-09-13/story1.htm), WTO Members continued
>talks on the future of the international agricultural subsidy regime,
>largely categorised in the so-called Amber Box (clearly trade distortive
>subsidies), Green Box (non, or at most minimally, trade-distorting support)
>and Blue Box (direct payments under production-limiting programmes). Public
>spending targeting non-trade issues such as food security, structural
>adjustment or environmental conservation generally fall under the Green
Box.
>
>"Deadlock" between Cairns and 'Multifunctionality' Group?
>
>At the Fourth WTO Ministerial Conference in Doha last year, Members
>committed themselves to "significantly reduce" trade-distorting support as
>these are seen as means of market support which harm other Members' trade
>opportunities. 'Ambitious' liberalisers, such as those from the Cairns
Group
>of agriculture exporters (including Australia, Canada, Argentina, Brazil,
>Thailand, Indonesia and others), want to go even further, calling for the
>Blue Box, which they also consider trade distorting, to be scrapped.
>Additionally, they proposed to restrict the use of income support schemes
>under the Green Box, arguing that those payments distort trade through
>cutting farmers' costs, reducing risks for those that would otherwise go
out
>of business and sustaining supply.
>
>More 'cautious' Members, like those from the 'Friends of
Multifunctionality'
>group including the EC, Japan and Switzerland, however, made it clear that
>they would only negotiate additional reductions in trade-distortive support
>if the Blue Box was maintained and more flexibility was given on the
>application of the Green Box. The EC et al. also declared that they were
not
>prepared to submit specific proposals on domestic support unless Members
>agreed to negotiate additional rules on non-trade concerns related to
>agriculture and other issues, such as labelling, the precautionary
principle
>and geographical indications.
>
>Members such as the EC and Japan take the view that agriculture fulfils a
>'multifunctional' role since in addition to producing food and fibres, it
>also has a number of other functions related to public goods such as the
>protection of the environment, rural development and food security. Others,
>however, are concerned that the inclusion of non-trade concerns might lead
>to trade distortions. "If they want to address non-trade concerns like the
>need to maintain rural populations, that's fine, just put it in the green
>box in a way that doesn't distort trade, " said David Hegwood, special
trade
>advisor to the US Secretary of Agriculture on the side-lines of the CoA
>meeting. "Just don't make other countries pay for your beautiful
>countryside," he added.
>
>Green Box support
>
>In terms of detail, Switzerland proposed to allow for "payments
compensating
>extra costs accruing from higher production standards" under programmes
>addressing "non-producer concerns", such as animal welfare imposed by
>consumers and voters. Furthermore, a number of developing countries asked
>for more flexibility for their developmental concerns including food
>security and rural development.
>
>The Cairns Group and some others, however, expressed concern that many of
>the proposals advocating greater leeway would add new trade-distorting
>subsidies to the Green Box. Instead, the Group and some developing
countries
>such as India demanded overall caps on Green Box spending (e.g. 5 percent
of
>annual agricultural production), limits on specific types of programmes, or
>removing some income support programmes from the Box. Cairns Group member
>Canada furthermore suggested to tighten the applicability of the Green Box,
>for instance by requiring the amount of compensatory payments under
>environmental programmes to be "less than the extra costs involved in
>complying with the government programme" and that it should "not be related
>to or based on the volume of production."
>
>The Agriculture Committee is holding a regular session on 26 September,
>followed by a formal special session on 27 September where the Chair will
>present a summary report of the 23-25 September informal special session.
>
>ICTSD reporting; "Swiss See Deadlock Looming In Farm Reform Talks,"
REUTERS,
>23 September 2002; " Swiss Negotiator Warns Of Deadlock In WTO Agriculture
>Liberalisation Talks," WTO REPORTER, 24 September 2002; "Japanese Official
>Sets Out Position In Farm Talks, Criticises US, Cairns Group," WTO
REPORTER,
>25 September 2002; "US says green boy rules adequate to address non-trade
>farm talk worries," WTO REPORTER, 26 September 2002.
>
>
>
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>In Brief
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
>SOUTHERN AFRICAN COUNTRIES TO SET UP GMO ADVISORY PANEL
>
>Agriculture ministers from Southern Africa are planning to set up an
>advisory panel to assess the potential impacts of genetically modified (GM)
>foods on the population. The decision comes at a time of growing concerns
>among some African countries, including Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi and
>Mozambique, over the presence of GM organisms in food aid. "The absence of
a
>harmonised regional policy on genetically modified organisms is creating
>problems with regard to the movement of food items," said Prega Ramsamy,
>Executive Secretary of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
>These and other concerns related to GM food will be discussed at the
>upcoming SADC summit on 2-3 October in Luanda, Angola, where agriculture
>ministers are expected to recommend that each of the 14 SADC member states
>take a position to accept or reject GM grain as food aid.
>
>"Southern African nations seek GMO advisory body," REUTERS, 20 September
>2002.
>
>
>
>AUSTRALIA QUESTIONS VALIDITY OF CBD DECISION ON ALIEN SPECIES
>
>At the recent Bureau meeting of the Convention on Biological Diversity
>(CBD), Australia --supported by the US, New Zealand and Canada -- again
>raised concerns regarding the Guiding Principles on Alien Species, with
>Australia going as far as declaring the decision to adopt the Principles as
>illegitimate. The Principles were adopted by the Working Group at the Sixth
>Conference of the Parties to the CBD in April 2002, but when put to the
>final plenary, Australia rejected them due to concerns that the ambiguous
>language on the precautionary approach and references to socio-economic and
>cultural considerations in the context of risk management might result in
>conflicts with obligations under trade agreements (see BRIDGES Trade
BioRes,
>2 May 2002, http://www.ictsd.org/biores/02-05-02/story1.htm). Australia,
>supported by the same countries, had also noted these reservations at the
>WTO's information session with multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs)
>in June 2002. The President of the Bureau has been authorised to conduct
>informal discussion on both of Australia's substantive concerns.
>
>ICTSD Reporting.
>
>
>
>RESEARCHERS JOINING FORCES WITH MEXICAN COMMUNITIES IN BIOPROSPECTING
>
>In an effort to implement the Convention on Biological Diversity, in
>particular its objective of conserving biodiversity and equitable benefit
>sharing, a group of scientists are testing the abundant flora of San Luis
>Potosě in Mexico in the search of new drugs or natural herbicides in
>cooperation with local communities. The researchers and the local
>communities signed a legal contract which guarantees that the communities
>would receive fifty percent of the profits should any plant prove to yield
a
>commercial product. Besides bioprospecting, the scientists will also
>reintroduce some of the plant species that have disappeared from the region
>due to over-harvesting and habitat damage, as well as support communities
in
>improving propagation and processing of medicinal plants they commonly
>collect and sell. The San Luis Potosě project is part of a larger
initiative
>called the Bioactive Agents of Arid Zone Plants of Latin America, which
also
>operates in Argentina and Chile.
>
>"Mexico's Dry Forests May Yield New Medicines," ENS, 25 September 2002.
>
>
>
>EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT ACCEPTS COMMISSION PROPOSAL ON CARTAGENA PROTOCOL
>
>The European Parliament at the first reading on 24 September adopted the
>European Commission's proposed legislation to bring the EU in line with the
>Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, which regulates the transboundary movement
>of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The legislation was adopted with
a
>number of amendments, addressing the following issues: prior informed
>consent from the importer should be required in order for a cross-border
>movement to take place; GMOs cannot be exported if they are not approved in
>the EU; and transparency should be reinforced through strengthening
>traceability rules.
>
>"Cross-border movement of GMOs," EUROPARL, 24 September 2002.
>
>
>
>RICE-PRODUCING COUNTRIES CALL FOR GREATER COOPERATION TO COMBAT RURAL
>POVERTY
>
>During the International Rice Congress in Beijing, government officials and
>rice experts called for greater cooperation among Asian rice-producing
>countries in their efforts to lift farmers out of poverty. In particular,
>governments discussed how states could ensure that poor farmers benefit
from
>agricultural research and technological innovation. The Chinese President
>gave an example of this by announcing that China would share sequencing
>information on thousands of rice genes thereby supporting its neighbours in
>taking advantage of existing research and technologies. "The sequencing of
>the rice genome will be the first sequencing project to yield tangible
>results for humankind from the standpoints of food security and combating
>malnutrition" said Ronald Cantrell the Director General of the
International
>Rice Research Institute. For information on the International Rice
>Congress 2002 see: http://www.irri.org/irc2002
>
>"Rice Experts Target Fairer Deal For Poor Asian Farmers," Deutsche Presse
>Agentur, 18 September 2002; "China to Freely Share Research on Rice
Genome,"
>ABC, 20 September 2002.
>
>
>
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Events & Resources
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>EVENTS
>
>For a more comprehensive list of events in trade and sustainable
>development, please refer to ICTSD's web calendar
http://www.ictsd.org/cal/.
>Please bear in mind that dates and times of WTO meetings are often changed,
>and that the WTO does not always announce the important informal meetings
of
>the different bodies.
>
>23 September - 1 October, Geneva, Switzerland: ASSEMBLIES OF THE MEMBER
>STATES OF WIPO (37th series of meetings). For further information contact:
>WIPO; tel: (41 22) 338 9111; fax: 733 54 28; email: WIPO.mail@wipo.int;
>Internet:
>http://www.wipo.inthttp://www.wipo.org/news/en/index.html?wipo_content_fram
e
>=/news/en/conferences.html
>
>26-29 September, Cairo, Egypt: AGRO-ENVIRON 2002 - 3RD INTERNATIONAL
>SYMPOSIUM ON SUSTAINABLE AGRO-ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEMS. The Symposium covers a
>wide range of topics addressing key environmental and agricultural issues
>through applying new technologies that aim at sustaining agricultural
>systems, monitoring environment and conserving natural resources. Some of
>the topics include; agricultural waste management, biotechnology,
>desertification and land degradation, and environmental biodiversity. For
>further information, see: http://www.agro.narss.org/.
>
>29 September - 3 October, Leipzig-Halle, Germany: BIOLOGICAL INVASIONS IN
>TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEMS: AN EVOLUTIONARY PERSPECTIVE. Organised by the
Centre
>for Environmental Research. The workshop will focus on evolutionary
>processes in biological invasions of plants and animals and their
>implications for ecosystem properties and processes. For further
>information contact: Stefan Klotz, Centre for Environmental Research; tel:
>(49 345) 558 5302; fax: 558 5329; email: klotz@halle.ufz.de; Internet:
>http://www.hdg.ufz.de/index.php?en=1026
>
>30 September - 4 October, Bonn, Germany: PIC INC-9. The ninth session of
>the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee for an International Legally
>Binding Instrument for the Application of the Prior Informed Consent
>Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International
>Trade. For further information contact: Niek van der Graaff, FAO; tel:
>(39-6) 5705-3441; fax: 5705-6347; email: Niek.VanderGraaff@fao.org; or Jim
>Willis, UNEP Chemicals; tel: (41-22) 917-8111; email: chemicals@unep.ch;
>Internet: http://www.pic.int/
>
>30 September - 4 October, E-Conference: SCIENCE COMMUNICATION NEEDS FOR
>DEVELOPING COUNTRIES. The forum aims to encourages discussion about the
>needs in developing countries for science communication, highlighting how
>science communication can benefit a country in terms of increasing
awareness
>of problems and advances, applying pressures to national politicians and
>informing international donors of national activities. To participate you
>can register by sending an email to
>sciencecomms4development-subscribe@yahoogroups.com. For further
information,
>see http://www.swfaus.org/Econf.htm.
>
>1 - 4 October, Habana, Cuba: II INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON JURIDICAL
>PROTECTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT. Organised by the Instituto de Desarrollo e
>Investigaciones del Derecho. For further information contact: Mr. Miguel
>Angel García Alzugaray, Coordinator Organising Committee; tel: (537)
670795;
>Fax: (537) 670795; email: drelaciones@fgr.get.tur.cu /idid@fgr.get.tur.cu
>
>7-10 October, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: CONFERENCE ON BRINGING BACK THE
>FORESTS - POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR DEGRADED LANDS AND FORESTS. The
>international conference will address solutions to rehabilitation
challenges
>in the forests and grasslands of Asia and the Pacific. For further
>information contact: Alias Abdul Jalil, Malaysia Forest Research Institute;
>tel: (60-3) 6272-2516; fax: 6277-3249; email: foreconf@apafri.upm.edu.my;
>Internet: http://apafri.upm.edu.my/reconf/index.html
>
>8 - 9 October: WTO COMMITTEE ON TRADE AND ENVIRONMENT. For further
>information, contact the WTO Information and Media Relations Division, tel:
>(41-22) 739 5007; fax: 739 5458; email: enquiries@wto.org.
>
>9 - 11 October, Rome, Italy: FIRST MEETING OF THE CGRFA ACTING AS INTERIM
>COMMITTEE FOR THE INTERNATIONAL TREATY ON PLANT GENETIC RESOURCES FOR FOOD
>AND AGRICULTURE. For further information contact: Paloma Seńor, CGRFA,
Tel:
>(0039) 06 570 52199, fax: 57056347, email: Paloma.Senor@fao.org, Internet:
>http://www.fao.org/WAICENT/FAOINFO/AGRICULT/cgrfa/docsic1.htm
>
>
>Other forthcoming events
>
>21-23 October, Aalborg, Denmark: EURO ENVIRONMENT 2002. The conference will
>explore how business can seek solutions and be the engine of change towards
>a sustainable society. The theme this year is 'Can business be a driving
>agent of global governance and hold the keys to the goals of global
>sustainability'?. For further information visit:
>http://www.akkc.dk/index.asp?arrangement=327&kategori=kongresser&sprog=eng.
>
>23 October - 1 November, New Delhi, India: COP-8 AND SESSIONS OF THE
>SUBSIDIARY BODIES (SBI AND SBSTA) UN FRAMEWORK CONVENTION ON CLIMATE
CHANGE.
>For further information contact: Ms. Isabelle Colineau, UNFCCC; tel:
>(49-228) 815 1425; fax: 815 1999; email: icolineau@unfccc.de; Internet:
>http://unfccc.int/cop8/index.html
>
>15 - 17 November, Valencia, Spain: 17TH SESSION OF THE GLOBAL BIODIVERSITY
>FORUM. The GBF17 will be convened immediately prior to the eighth meeting
of
>the Conference of the Parties to the Ramsar Convention. GBF17 will address
>the following five key issues: WSSD: the future for the Ramsar Convention;
>agriculture, wetlands and water resources; wetlands, people and climate:
>Preparing for change; the list of Ramsar Wetlands: Enhancing the framework
>and national Implementation; and Wetlands Restoration and Mitigation. For
>further information contact: Caroline Martinet, IUCN; tel: (41 22)
999-0216;
>fax: 999-0025; email: caroline.martinet@iucn.org; Internet:
>http://www.gbf.ch/present_session.asp?no=27&lg=EN
>
>17 - 20 November, Orlando, United States: SYMPOSIUM ON CHALLENGES FACING
>SMALL FARMERS: Organised by the International Farming Systems Association.
>The meeting will focus on small farms in an ever-changing world: meeting
the
>challenges of sustainable livelihoods and food security in diverse rural
>communities. For further information contact: Peter Hildebrand, University
>of Florida; tel: (1 352) 392-1965; fax: 392-7127 ; email: peh@ufl.edu ;
>Internet: http://conference.ifas.ufl.edu/ifsa
>
>18 - 26 November, Valencia, Spain: THE 8TH CONFERENCE OF THE PARTIES TO
THE
>RAMSAR CONVENTION ON WETLANDS (COP-8). During this event Ramsar country
>members will meet to assess the progress of the Ramsar Convention and
>wetland conservation to date, share knowledge and experience on technical
>issues, and plan their own and the Bureau's work for the next triennium.
>For further information contact: Mr. Dwight Peck, Ramsar Convention on
>Wetlands; Fax: (41 22) 999 0169; email: peck@ramsar.org; Internet:
>http://www.ramsar.org
>
>18- 22 November, Geneva, Switzerland: WIPO STANDING COMMITTEE ON THE LAW OF
>PATENTS (8TH SESSION). For further information contact: WIPO; tel: (41 22)
>338 9111; fax: 733 5428; email: WIPO.mail@wipo.int; Internet:
>http://www.wipo.inthttp://www.wipo.org/news/en/index.html?wipo_content_fram
e
>=/news/en/conferences.html
>
>25 - 29 November, Rome, Italy: 14TH MEETING OF THE PARTIES TO THE MONTREAL
>PROTOCOL (COP-14). For further information contact: Ozone Secretariat;
tel:
>(1 514) 954-8219; fax: 954-6077; Internet:
>http://www.unep.org/ozone/meet2002.shtml
>
>
>
>RESOURCES
>
>If you have a relevant resource (books, papers, bulletins, etc.) you would
>like to see announced in this section, please forward a copy or review by
>the BRIDGES staff to Heike Baumüller, hbaumuller@ictsd.ch.
>
>BIOTECHNOLOGY AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY: PATENTING OF HIGHER LIFE FORMS AND
>RELATED ISSUES. By the Canadian Biotechnology Advisory Committee, June
2002.
>An interim Report to the Government of Canada Biotechnology Ministerial
>Coordinating Committee. Available at
>http://www.cbac-cccb.ca/documents/en/E980_IC_IntelProp.pdf.
>
>CAN THE DEVELOPMENT BOX ADEQUATELY ADDRESS THE AGRICULTURAL CRISIS IN
>DEVELOPING COUNTRIES? THE CASE FOR A POSITIVE LIST APPROACH. By Aileen Kwa,
>Focus On The Global South, 2002. A key issue confronting governments now in
>the Development Box debate is what actually goes into the Box. This paper
>makes out the case for a Positive List Approach, and gives reasons why,
>short of this, it may be better not to have a Development Box, but to
settle
>for strengthened Special and Differential Treatment. Available at:
>http://www.focusweb.org/publications/2002/Development%20Box-ag%20crisis.htm
>
>"Local food, global solution" by Colin Hines, Caroline Lucas, Vandana Shiva
>in ECOLOGIST 32 (5, 2002): 38, 40. Increased international trade in food
is
>putting the livelihoods of small producers across the world at risk, the
>authors argue. In this piece the case for a return to a more localised
>agricultural model is presented.
>
>"Reforming Global Trade In Agriculture: A Developing-Country Perspective,"
>by Shishir Priyadarshi, in TRADE, ENVIRONMENT, AND DEVELOPMENT Issue 2,
>2002. The author believes the new round of WTO agriculture negotiations
>should produce an agreement that will give developing countries the
>flexibility to adopt domestic policies geared toward enhancing domestic
food
>production and protecting the livelihoods of the rural poor. Available at:
>http://www.ceip.org/files/pdf/TED_2.pdf
>
>GOVERNING BIODIVERSITY. ACCESS TO GENETIC RESOURCES AND APPROACHES TO
>OBTAINING BENEFITS FROM THEIR USE: THE CASE OF THE PHILIPPINES By Liebig,
>Klaus et al, German Development Institute, Reports and Working Papers 5,
>2002. The study introduces two concepts of Access and Benefit-Sharing
>(ABS): bilateral ABS for "wild" genetic resources, governed by the
>Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), and multilateral ABS for food
>crops, conceptualised by the recently concluded International Treaty on
>Plant Genetic Resources. The study also gives a detailed account of the
>Philippine experience with both concepts, offers recommendations for
>improving the outcomes of the legislations and presents lessons for the
>international policy-discussions. Available at:
>http://www.die-gdi.de/die_homepage.nsf/FSepub?OpenFrameset
>
>
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>To subscribe to this list, send a blank email to subscribe_biores@ictsd.ch.
>To unsubscribe, send an email to unsubscribe_biores@ictsd.ch.
>
>BRIDGES Trade BioRes© is published by the International Centre for
>Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD), http://www.ictsd.org, in
>collaboration with IUCN - World Conservation Union, http://www.iucn.org,
>and IUCN's Commission on Environmental, Economic and Social Policy,
>CEESP, http://www.cenesta.org/ceesp/.
>
>This edition of BRIDGES Trade BioRes was edited by Heike Baumüller,
>hbaumuller@ictsd.ch. Contributors to this issue were Jordan Gold, Marianne
>Jacobsen and Alex Werth. The Director is Ricardo Meléndez-Ortiz,
>rmelendez@ictsd.ch. ICTSD is an independent, not-for-profit organisation
>based at: 13, ch. des Anémones, 1219 Geneva, Switzerland, tel: (41-22)
>917-8492; fax: 917-8093. Excerpts from BRIDGES Trade BioRes may be used in
>other publications with appropriate citation. Comments and suggestions are
>welcomed and should be directed to the Editor or the Director.
>
>BRIDGES Trade BioRes is made possible in 2002 through the generous
>support of the Minister of Housing, Spatial Planning, and the Environment
>(Netherlands). It also benefits from ICTSD's core funders: the Governments
>of Finland, Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden; Christian Aid (UK),
>the Rockefeller Foundation, MISEREOR, NOVIB (NL), Oxfam (UK) and
>the Swiss Coalition of Development Organisations (Switzerland).
>
>ISSN 1682-0843
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
>




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