Havana Workshop on Trade, Environment and Development

1
Havana Workshop on Trade, Environment and
Development

• Conclusions
• Recommendations
• Preparing for future events

2
Conclusions on Biodiversity-related issues

• Sui generis systems and protection of traditional
  knowledge
• Patents may not be an appropriate instrument
• Effective protection requires prior informed
  consent, at national and multilateral levels
• Art 27.3(b) of the TRIPs Agreement allows sui
  generis systems for plant varieties and could be
  extended to traditional knowledge

3
Conclusions on Biodiversity-related issues

• Sui generis systems and protection of traditional
  knowledge
• National experiences with sui generis systems
  show that a national biodiversity policy and a
  legal framework are required
• Legal system at the national level is not enough
  multilateral legal framework is needed

4
Conclusions on Biodiversity-related issues

• Sui generis systems and protection of traditional
  knowledge
• Ongoing debate in WTO and WIPO Developing
  countries have proposed that prior informed
  consent and material transfer agreements include
  certificates of origin, opposition from several
  developed countries

5
Conclusions on Biodiversity-related issues

• Experiences with benefit sharing
• Process of learning by doing
• Contracts on Access are already being made, but
  legal framework is required to ensure fair and
  equitable benefit-sharing
• Ownership has to be established clearly

6
Conclusions on MEAs

• Recent developments (Biosafety Protocol, PIC
  Convention, PoPs) address and minimize the risks
  of potential conflict between MEA trade measures
  and WTO rules
• However the issue of eco-labelling and technology
  transfer still need to be resolved

7
Conclusions on EPPs

• Organic food has a niche market, but that market
  is growing rapidly
• Food security may be taken into account by
  countries
• Products that could be mainstreamed have to be
  identified
• Mainstream marketing channels have to be explored

8
Conclusions on Market Access

• There are significant effects of health and
  environmental requirements on market access
• Fisheries (India, Cuba, Rep. Tanzania,
  Bangladesh)
• Coffee and honey (Cuba)
• Tea, mango pulp, peanuts (India)
• Textiles (Bangladesh, India, Tunisia)

9
Conclusions on Market Access

• Effects are not uniform across sectors
• Fisheries high costs of compliance
• Coffee, honey and peanuts testing is difficult
  and even technically impossible
• Scientific justification for standards is not
  always clear to developing countries

10
Conclusions on Market Access

• What to do about it?
• WTO challenge (dispute settlement) is costly
• Standards could be challenged where they are
  deemed to be protectionist or restrict trade
  unnecessarily
• Use review processes of WTO (SPS and TBT
  Committees)
• Prepare strong case studies (London)

11
Conclusions on Trade Liberalization and the
Environment Agriculture

• Brazil removal of subsidies resulted in
  environmental benefits, good environmental
  policies were put in place simultaneously
• No consensus on multifunctionality
• Need to define support measures and other
  measures that promote food security and
  development

12
Conclusions on Textiles

• Bangladesh
• child labour issues used to be more important,
  but MoU with ILO has resolved issue of pressure
  for trade restrictions
• With increased production of textiles,
  environmental impacts become more important

13
Conclusions on Textiles

• Tunisia
• Environmental factors are becoming important in
  trade relations with European Union
• Eco-labels
• Environmental management systems
• Informal requirements by buyers
• Industry is responding effectively

14
Conclusions on Technology issues

• Evolution away from technology transfer to
  technology management and technology development
  concepts
• What to do for SMEs?
• How to comercialise existing RD in developing
  countries?
• How to promote technology development agreements
  between private investors and companies in
  developing countries (example Inbio-Merck)

15
Conclusions on Technology issues

• Incentive packages are needed nationally
• How can commitments by Governments (MEAs, TRIPS
  and other WTO Agreements) be implemented?
• Publicly funded research and development
• Capacity building needs for technology transfer
  should be clearly identified
• Capacity building is needed to develop projects
  to benefit from ToT provisions in MEAs and to
  adapt technologies to local conditions

16
Conclusions on DPGs

• General problem of export of DPGs continues
• Some MEAs cover some DPGs, but not consumer
  products
• Institutional and regulatory structures at the
  domestic level are helpful

17
DPGs

• Technical assistance needed for identifying DPGs
  and their effect on human health, trade and
  development
• South south information sharing
• Export notification of DPGs should be revived

18
Recommendations

• Outcome of the project?
• Follow-up?

19
Terms of reference for further studies

• Ongoing studies by researchers
• South Africa EPPs, Biodiversity/benefit sharing
• Philippines DPGs, EPPs (organic foods), ToT
• Tunisia transfer of technology
• Studies to be commissioned in other participating
  countries

20
Publication of papers

• Los Banos workshop
• Cuba workshop

21
London roundtable, hosted by FIELD

• Agenda
• Dates
• Other Participants

22
UNCTAD Expert Meeting on Traditional Knowledge
30 October to 1 November 2000

• In cooperation with WIPO and CBD
• Experts nominated by Governments, but once
  nominated participate in their personal capacity

23
UNCTAD Expert Meeting on Traditional Knowledge
30 October to 1 November 2000

• Systems
• National experiences

24
Challenges

• How to add value to the work being undertaken in
  CBD and WIPO?
• Developmental aspects
• Trade aspects

25
Systems

• Legal forms of protection
• (a) conventional IPR regimes
• (b) sui generis systems
• (c) national access and benefit-sharing
  legislation, embodying the prior informed consent
  principle
• (d) contractual agreements and
• (e) customary and common-law regimes

26
Systems

• Non-legally binding forms of protection
• (a) voluntary guidelines
• (b) codes of conduct and
• (c) traditional resource rights.

27
National experienes

• Need to prepare papers and presentations
• Countries participating in this project
• Brazil
• Costa Rica
• Cuba
• India
• Philippines
• South Africa
• Tanzania, Rep. of

28
UNEP/UNCTAD Task Force on Capacity Building in
Trade, Environment and Development

• Building on existing UNCTAD-UNEP co-operation
  (MoU, 1997)
• Response to growing demand from developing
  countries
• Open to other institutions
• Idea launched in briefing at UNCTAD X

29
ObjectivesAssist developing countries in

• Enhancing understanding of trade and
  environmental interface
• Assessing environmental effects of trade
  liberalization at the national level and trade
  effects of environmental policies
• Developing policy packages
• Participating effectively in international
  deliberations

30
Proposed activities during first year

• Thematic research
• Country-level studies
• Training
• Policy dialogues
• Public outreach

31
Thematic research

• Environmentally preferable products
• Subsidies in agricultural sector

32
Country-level studies

• Integrated assessments in specific sectors,
  building on UNEP experience
• Policy coordination at national level, building
  on UNCTAD/UNDP experience
• Common characteristics
• Sector-specific
• National workshops
• Institutional partnerships(multi-stakeholder
  approaches)

33
Country-level studies

• 6 June Call for proposals
• Depending on financial resources four countries
  will be selected by UNCTAD/UNEP for first year

34
Training

• 4-day training courses, based on UNCTADs
  TrainforTrade 2000 package
• Four countries, in particular LDCs

35
Policy dialogues

• Least Developed Countries
• Integrated assessment techniques to analyse the
  impacts of trade policies
• International seminar on trading opportunites for
  environmentally preferable products
• International seminar on environmental impacts of
  subsidies in agriculture

36
Network and information exchange

• Website
• Newsletter
• Database for networking

37
South Africa workshop

• Preliminary ideas about dates