[Pirateninfo] BRIDGES Trade BioRes, Vol. 3 No. 7

[Martin Sundermann]

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BRIDGES Trade BioRes, Vol. 3 No. 7    16 April, 2003 
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Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures 
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SPS COMMITTEE ADOPTS PROPOSAL ON TRANSPARENCY OF S&D 
The Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) at its meeting on 2-3 April addressed a proposal by Canada on enhancing the transparency of special & differential treatment (S&D) of developing countries under the SPS Agreement. The proposal was generally seen as "one piece of the jigsaw puzzle" to address developing countries' difficulties in keeping up and conforming with SPS notifications. 

Also of interest at the meeting were discussions on the EC's complaint regarding the Australian approval and risk assessment procedures, and a report submitted by China highlighting poor compliance by most countries with notification procedures. 

One step forward in addressing S&D in the SPS Agreement 

The Canadian proposal, adopted in principle at the SPS meeting, consists of two components (G/SPS/W/127, available at http://docsonline.wto.org/). First, Members that may be affected by a notified measure under the SPS Agreement are encouraged to enter into bilateral consultations with the notifying Member in an effort to address any issues of concern. The result of these consultations could be specific S&D treatment with respect to the notified measure or other mutually-acceptable solutions. Second, in order to ensure transparency, the result of the bilateral discussions would be reported in an Addendum submitted by the notifying Member, specifying the S&D treatment requested and provided. Canada stressed that its proposal aimed to recognise the practical difficulties of anticipating in advance who the importers would be for what products. 

The proposal had been submitted in response to a suggestion by Egypt to include a box in the notification form for countries to state what S&D measures were included to facilitate compliance with the notified SPS measure (see BRIDGES Weekly, 26 March 2002, http://www.ictsd.org/weekly/02-03-26/story4.htm). While welcoming Canada's proposal, several countries, including Egypt, the Philippines, Malaysia and India, noted the need to continue discussions on this issue, both with regard to the procedural details of the notification procedure and other measures that could be implemented to support developing countries' efforts to comply with SPS measures. These countries have repeatedly expressed concerns over difficulties to pinpoint and react to notifications of particular concern to them due to the large number of notifications submitted by Members. 

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Events & Resources 
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TEMPORARILY CANCELLED: 24-26 April, Beijing, China: WIPO SUMMIT ON INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND THE KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY. This event will feature three days of discussion, reflection and comment on the key role of the intellectual property system in stimulating creativity and innovation to foster economic growth and social well-being through wealth creation and business development. For more information, contact: WIPO; email: summit.china at wipo.int; Internet: http://www.wipo.org/summit-china/en/index.html.

28 April - 2 May, Copenhagen, Denmark: 6TH GOVERNING BOARD MEETING OF THE GLOBAL BIODIVERSITY INFORMATION FACILITY. Organised by the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). In addition to the Governing Board meeting, there will be an inauguration for the new GBIF Secretariat building, a presentation of the Ebbe Nielsen Prize, and the first GBIF Science Symposium on Biodiversity Informatics. For more information contact: Mr. James Edwards; tel: (45) 3532-1470; fax: 3532-1480; email: gbif at gbif.org; Internet: http://www.gbif.org.

29-30 April, Geneva, Switzerland: WTO COMMITTEE ON TRADE AND ENVIRONMENT. For further information, contact: the WTO Information and Media Relations Division, Geneva; tel: (41-22) 739- 5007; fax: 739-5458; email: enquiries at wto.org.

29-30 April, Geneva, Switzerland: WTO SPECIAL SESSION OF THE COUNCIL FOR TRADE-RELATED ASPECTS OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS. For further information, contact: the WTO Information and Media Relations Division, Geneva; tel: (41-22) 739- 5007; fax: 739-5458; email: enquiries at wto.org.

19-23 May, Bonn, Germany: INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON RURAL LIVELIHOODS, FORESTS AND BIODIVERSITY. Organised by the Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), the German Foundation for International Development (DSE), Germany's Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and ‘Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ). This conference will consider the role of forests in supporting rural livelihoods in developing countries and in maintaining biodiversity. Key objectives are to survey current knowledge and identify policy lessons and a future research strategy. For more information contact: William Sunderlin; tel: (251) 622-622; fax: 622-100; email: w.sunderlin at cgiar.org; Internet: http://www.cifor.cgiar.org/shared/template/livelihoodconference.asp.

19-20 May, London, United Kingdom: CONFERENCE ON FOOD PRODUCTION AND THE NEW TRADE AGENDA. This two-day conference, hosted by the Royal Institute for International Affairs (RIIA), will address questions related to food production, transportation, and sales. For more information contact: RIIA; tel: (44-20) 7957-5700; fax: 7957-5710; email: contact at riia.org; Internet: http://www.riia.org.

21-23 May, London, United Kingdom: 2010: THE BIODIVERSITY CHALLENGE. This second "Biodiversity after Johannesburg" meeting will follow up on the first that was held from 2-4 March 2003. Organized by the CBD, UNEP-WCMC and UNDP, it is intended to lead to an improved understanding of what the CBD target of significantly reducing biodiversity loss by 2010 actually means in real terms, and how to know whether the targets have been achieved. For more information contact: Jerry Harrison, UNEP, World Conservation Monitoring Centre; email: Jerry.Harrison at unep-wcmc.org; Internet: http://www.unep-wcmc.org. 

POST-DOHA AFRICAN CHALLENGES IN THE SANITARY AND PHYTOSANITARY AND TRADE RELATED INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS AGREEMENT. By H. Nyangito, Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis (KIPPRA), 2002. This paper analyses the challenges faced by sub-Saharan Africa with regard to trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights (TRIPS) and sanitary and phytosanitary measures (SPS), with a focus on the post-Doha negotiating environment. The TRIPS agreement sets a minimum standard for the protection of intellectual property rights, and the SPS agreement stipulates rules in relation to the health of plants, animals, and their products, which might restrict international trade. The paper argues that, even though sub-Saharan Africa has more WTO negotiating power now than ever before, the challenges of the Doha round need to be taken into account and opportunities exploited in order for Africa to benefit from trade liberalisation. The paper is available online at: http://www.kippra.org/Download/OPNo4.pdf.

REGULATING GMOS IN DEVELOPING AND TRANSITION COUNTRIES. By the FAO Working Group on Biotechnology, April 2003. This document provides background material related to an e-mail forum on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in agriculture and food. It covers forestry and livestock sectors, fisheries, and the agro-industry. For more information, please visit: http://www.fao.org/biotech/C9doc.htm; or email: biotech-admin at fao.org.

ISSUES LINKED TO THE CONVENTION ON BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY IN THE WTO NEGOTATIONS: IMPLEMENTING DOHA MANDATES. By David Eugui, Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL). This document analyses the mandates related to the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). The author argues that the TRIPS Agreement is affecting the fulfilment of the CBD in areas such as: the primacy of private rights over public rights; the recognition of intellectual property rights that use genetic resources and traditional knowledge without prior informed consent or benefit sharing; reduction of plant diversity; and the gradual use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The document is available at: http://www.ciel.org/Publications/Note_CBD_EDITEDversion.pdf.

HANDBOOK OF BIODIVERSITY VALUATION: A GUIDE FOR POLICY MAKERS. By OECD. This handbook focuses on the nature of values associated with biodiversity and the different approaches that can be adopted to assign values for policy purposes.  It uses a variety of case studies to illustrate the valuation process in OECD countries. The document can be ordered at: http://www.oecd.org/bookshop.

PLANT AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH: THE IMPACT OF IPRS ON BIOTECHNOLOGY IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES. By the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), 2002. This meeting report shares the results of discussions held during an expert workshop organised by FAO. The document focuses on intellectual property rights (IPRs) policy strategies for agricultural biotechnology at the international, national, and institutional levels.  It also covers the experts' discussion about the possibility of establishing an international biotechnology policy network. The report can be accessed at: http://www.fao.org/biotech/docs/torvergatareport.htm.

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION AND THE CARTAGENA PROTOCOL ON BIOSAFETY by Glover, D. et al. produced by the United Nations Environment Programme (2003). The report summarises a study of the ways in which different countries have sought to promote and facilitate public awareness and participation in the design and implementation of their national biosafety frameworks (NBFs). The aim of this study is to assist policy-makers by identifying and assessing a range of tools and approaches that may help to promote and facilitate public awareness, education and participation concerning the safe transfer, handling and use of living modified organisms. The report is available online at: http://www.unep.ch/biosafety/PublicParticipationIDS.pdf.




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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 Malena Sell, msell at ictsd.ch. Contributors to this issue were Kevin McAdam, Heike Baumuller, Marianne Jacobsen, and Candis Robinson. Executive Director is Ricardo Meléndez-Ortiz, ictsd at 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 2003 through the generous support of the Minister of Housing, Spatial Planning, and the Environment (Netherlands) and the Swiss Agency for the Environment, Forests and Landscape (BUWAL). It also benefits from ICTSD's core funders: the Governments of Finland (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Denmark (DANIDA - Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Netherlands (DGIS - Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Sweden (SIDA - Swedish International Development Agency), Switzerland (SDC - Swiss Development Cooperation) and the UK (DFID - Department of International Development); Christian Aid (UK), the Rockefeller Foundation, MISEREOR, NOVIB (NL), Oxfam (UK), and the Swiss Coalition of Development Organisations (Switzerland). ISSN 1682-0843.

ISSN 1682-0843 




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