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1.
Purpose
The
Working Group on Environment, Trade and Investment (GETI)
is part of the IUCN Commission on Environmental, Economic
and Social Policy (CEESP). GETI was established to address
issues at the intersection of trade, investment and
environment. The issues addressed are focused at maximising
the use of IUCN's intellectual, analytical and structural
strength to advance knowledge and respond to concerns
of policy communities within and external to the Union.
To
address its subject matter in an effective manner the
working group will function in collaboration with the
International Centre
for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD),
as well as with the IUCN Secretariat, IUCN members and
commissions. This will ultimately lead to the enhancement
of the knowledge and capacity within the IUCN.
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2.
Framework
The
GETI projects fall within two different "tracks".
One is the "inward track" the other is the
"outward track".
The
"inward track" focuses on enhancing and maintaining
capacity within the Union. It aims to address to the
Commissions, Membership and the Secretariat in the relationship
between trade policy and the root causes of biodiversity
loss. It will work through establishment of focal points
in the regional offices and/or members. IUCN's regional
offices have carried out work aimed at better understanding
the interests of members in their regions with regards
to trade or related areas, such as liberalisation of
agriculture and especially the relation between MEAs
and WTO trade rules such as the TRIPS agreement. The
"inward track" will function as a demand-driven
service programme for the IUCN web. By identifying concerns,
systematising existing related work and developing and
elaborating material that will provide elements for
definition of strategies, GETI activities and initiatives
will enable and uphold IUCN's competence in the trade
related field. This will, among others, be achieved
through close corporation with the CEESP commission
and by engaging in intra CEESP activities such as the
Sturgeon project.
The
"outward track" will further scrutiny of topics
which notwithstanding their pressing nature remain insufficiently
attended. Engaging economists and other social scientists
within the IUCN family, along with young scholars and
professionals from the academic milieu; in deepening
research on topics directly related to the Union's current
programme objectives, will do this. Initiatives will
be undertaken in collaboration with the International
Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development with the
objective of monitoring trade policy and to add value
to the already significant research activity in other
quarters. The findings will be delivered in a policy/applied,
or international-negotiations-relevant form. Through
research and fact-finding projects and fieldwork-supported
analysis, the GETI's outward track will strive to bridge
the widening gap between trade and economic policy,
declared environmental objectives and actual achievements
in conservation and environmental protection.
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3.
Strategies
All
the activities of GETI, which so far have taken place,
are intended to raise the awareness and generate capacity
within the IUCN community on the linkages between
trade, environment and investment. This has especially
become more important since the Doha Ministerial Declaration,
which mandates WTO members to negotiate on environmental
and trade issues. All in all we are looking forward
to finish some of the ongoing projects in 2002, this
includes:
- Activate
the GETI Egroup by distributing Policy Papers on:
environment and investment; the WSSD; Ricardo's
paper on Doha and IUCN opportunities.
- Publish
the first Occasional Paper.
- Continue
and strengthen our relationship with IUCN.
Assist IUCN in setting up a Biodiversity and Trade
Strategic Programme.
- Get
involved in the
Once
the Steering Committee is fully in place, work on
the development of GETI's membership will commence.
The membership could be achieved by pursuing a three-tired
structure. The inner tier will consist of the steering
committee. The middle tier will consist of active
members. These will participate in GETIs activities
and contribute to GETI projects. The outer tier will
consist of a passive membership. The passive membership
will be updated on GETI activities and projects on
a regular basis and the passive members can change
their individual status into an active membership
if so suggested by active members and the steering
committee. In the process of developing the membership
the Steering Committee will define criteria for membership
as well as guidelines for the relationship between
members, GETI and IUCN.
4.
Steering Committee
- Maria
Caridad ARAUJO (Equador), Agriculture and Resource
Economics, Berkeley.
- Lucas
ASSUNCAO (Brazil), UNCTAD, Geneva.
- Nicola
BORREGAARD (Chile), RIDES, Santiago.
- Matthias
BUCK (Germany), Ecologic (Berlin) and University of
Hamburg, Hamburg.
- Carolyn
DEERE (Australia), Rockefeller Foundation, New York.
- Kevin
GALLAGHER (US), Tufts University, Boston.
- Ulrike
GROTE (Germany), Centre for Development Research,
University of Bonn, Bonn.
- Sitanon
JESDAPIPAT (Thailand), Centre for Ecological Economics,
Bangkok.
- Alejandro
NADAL Egea (Mexico), El Colegio de Mexico, Mexico
D.F.
- Atiq
RAHMAN (Bangladesh), Bangladesh Centre for Advanced
Studies (BCAS), Dacca.
- Rosalind
THOMAS (South Africa), SADC, Gaborone.
- Chair:
Ricardo Meléndez-Ortiz (Colombia), Executive
Director ICTSD, Geneva.
- Coordinator:
Marianne Jacobsen (Denmark), Programme Assistant and
Liasion Officer IUCN's Commission on Environmental,
Economic & Social Policy ICTSD, Geneva.
- Focal
Point, IUCN, HQ: Nicole Casellini (Switzerland),
Biodiversity and Trade Officer Policy, Biodiversity
and International Agreements Unit, Gland.
- BRIDGES
Trade BioRes: Heike Baumüller (Germany),
Editor Trade BioRes, ICTSD, Geneva.
5.
Projects and activities
The
working group on Environment, Trade and Investment
(GETI) was established on 27 March 2001 and has been
involved in several projects. Some of them were carried
out in cooperation with ICTSD, the host office for
GETI, others were carried out in cooperation with
the IUCN Secretariat and other CEESP groups.
5.1
IUCN partner activities
- The
establishment of the GETI Egroup (December 2001).
- At
the end of 2001 the GETI Egroup was established. The
objective of the Egroup is to stimulate the formation
of a global knowledge community on the evolution of
international trade and investment regimes, and to
develop a public database on training and context-setting
material for IUCN membership. The Egroup will be used
as a research and information exchange tool. The Egroup
is still at infant stage. The goal is to build a well-established
Egroup within the next few months, concurrently with
the establishment of the GETI steering committee and
membership.
- Establishing
the steering committee of GETI and membership (ongoing).
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6.
Publications and Communications
- The
launch of the BRIDGES
Trade BioRes publication was another great step
forward for GETI. The publication is published by
ICTSD in collaboration
with IUCN. GETI is actively involved in the publication
of the BRIDGES Trade BioRes, which is published
every second week and seeks to build capacity within
IUCN on issues at the intersection of trade and
biological resources. The IUCN membership and secretariat
has been chosen as the focus audience of the BRIDGES
Trade BioRes. Moreover, the BRIDGES Trade BioRes
is posted on the IUCN website, as well as on the
CEESP and the ICTSD website. To date the editorial
team of the BRIDGES Trade BioRes consists of staff
from ICTSD, GETI and IUCN. At a later stage of the
project the goal is also to involve IUCN staff in
writing for the BRIDGES Trade BioRes.To subscribe
to BRIDGES
Trade BioRes send a blank email to: subscribe_biores@ictsd.ch.
- The
GETI eFORUM, GETI@indaba.iucn.org,
is an electronic discussion list, which will focus
on issues to the concern of the IUCN members, commissions
and the secretariat, in particular with the evolution
of international trade and investment regimes as
thez applz to biological resources and the IUCN
mandate. The GETI eFORUM is a tool to share experiences,
knowledge, and stimulate the formation of global
knowledge communities through networking. Furthermore
it will provide its users with information and data
such as recommended readings on trade and environment,
case studies as well as analytical papers and inventory
projects. The eFORUM is open to the GETI membership
as well as to members of the "IUCN web".
However suggestions for new members can be posted
to the moderator of the group, ceesp_owner@indaba.iucn.org.
- The
CEESP Policy Matters Newsletter (Issue
No. 8, October 2001) on the Sturgeon was a joint
GETI/CEESP product on the initiative of the GETI
working group. The GETI working group has also developed
a framework for a CEESP Sturgeon project and is
currently awaiting the comments and contributions
from the other CEESP working groups.
- The
paper "Preliminary Comment on WTO Doha Ministerial
Outcomes as they might relate to IUCN" was
written by Ricardo Meléndez-Ortiz in November
2001 at the WTO Doha Ministerial Conference for
IUCN, in his position as Chair of GETI. It provides
an analysis of the Doha Ministerial Declaration
of the WTO and how it relates to the conservation
community. Its aim is to raise awareness within
IUCN on the interlinkages of the multilateral trade
regime and conservation issues.
- Production
and publication of the first CEESP Occasional Paper
Series. The paper to be published is called "Natural
Protected Areas and Social Marginalisation in Mexico"
and was written by Alejandro Nadal Egea (GETI),
from the Instituto Nacional de Ecologia in Mexico.
The CEESP steering committee had to agree upon reviewers
for the paper. GETI managed the peer review process
and reviews were collected and the paper will be
published soon.
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