Bridges Trade BioRes • Volume 3 • Number 19 • 31st October 2003
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 Marianne Jacobsen.
TOWARDS A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF GLOBAL PRODUCTION NETWORKS, by Jeffrey Henderson and the Centre on Regulation and Competition, University of Manchester, ID21 Development Reporting Service, 2003. Are economists failing to analyse the cross- border activities of firms because of adherence to outmoded, state-centred forms of analysis? Can the global production network (GPN) framework help us learn more about the dynamics of global organisation of production? Could this lead to new regulation and competition policies better suited to the task of economic development in a global era? These are some of the issues addressed in the working paper.
WHITHER THE WORLD TRADING SYSTEM? TRADE POLICY REFORM, THE WTO AND PROSPECTS FOR THE NEW ROUND, by R. Sally. Published by the Institute for Global Dialogue, South Africa, 2003. Where does the World Trade Organisation fit in the overall scheme of international public policy? This paper examines the structural features of the WTO, set against the extended background of the world trading system post-Uruguay Round. It then surveys the political roadblocks impeding progress in the run-up to the Cancun Ministerial and beyond.
"African land ecology: opportunities and constraints for agricultural development," by Roelf L. Voortman, Ben G. J. S. Sonneveld, Michiel A. Keyzer in: AMBIO: A JOURNAL OF THE HUMAN ENVIRONMENT 32 (5, 2003) pp.367-373. Compared to other continents, the economic growth performance of Sub-Saharan Africa has been poor over the last four decades. Likewise, progress in agricultural development has been limited and the Green Revolution left Africa almost untouched. The question raised in the literature is whether the poor performance is a question of poor policies or of an unfavorable biophysical environment (policy versus destiny).
A NEW BEGINNING FOR WTO AFTER CANCUN, by Mark Ritchie and Kristin Dawkins, 2003. The World Trade Organization meeting in Cancun was one of the most successful international meetings in years because it redefined how trade can benefit the poor and how the developing world can be real players in these negotiations. In fact, if policymakers and global trade negotiators were paying attention, Cancun could lead to trade talks that actually bring about fair trade, and the benefits to both the developing and the developed world that have long been promised.
THE LOST SEED - FOOD AND AGRICULTURE AT THE WTO. By Eduardo Gudynas and Gerardo Evia (CLAES, October 2003). This publication is a collection of selected articles and reports on the agriculture and food sector in Latin America in Spanish. It includes daily reports by the authors written during the Cancun ministerial meeting, plus diagrams and photos. The publication was edited by CLAES (Latin American Center Social Ecology) and D3E (Development, Economy, Ecology and Equity Latin America).
FREE TRADE IS NOT ENOUGH: A NEW VISION FOR THE WORLD’S POOREST FARMERS, by Christian Friis Bach, Arne Larsen, Niels Kaergaard, Per Pinstrup-Andersen, and Finn Tarp (Mellemfolkeligt Samvirke, October 2003). This report enumerates barriers to the agricultural development of poor countries other than trade barriers. It introduces a plan of twelve points to secure improved access, improved knowledge, and improved conditions for the poorest farmers of the world.
LOCAL FOREST MANAGEMENT: THE IMPACTS OF DEVOLUTION POLICIES. Edited by David Edmunds and Eva Wollenberg (Earthscan 2003). Using case studies, this book demonstrates that devolution policies — contrary to the claims of governments — actually increase governmental control over the management of local resources and do so at lower cost.
AFTER THE COLLAPSE: DEVELOPED COUNTRIES MUST BECOME RE-ENGAGED AFTER THE FAILED CANCUN MINISTERIAL. By L.E. Peterson, (IISD, 2003). This commentary looks at the nature and potential impact of the collapse of talks at the Fifth WTO Ministerial Conference, held in Cancun, Mexico, in September 2003. It states that the short-term outlook for the Doha Round does not look propitious, while the round had been characterised by a series of missed deadlines in the lead-up to Cancun, recriminations have flown in the wake of the Cancun collapse; as have suggestions that countries like the United States will simply choose to trade with countries to whom it will not need to make any deep concessions in advance of next year’s presidential elections.
LIBERALISATION OF THE CROP SECTOR: CAN BANGLADESH WITHSTAND REGIONAL COMPETITION? by M. Hussain and U.K. Deb. (Centre for Policy Dialogue, Bangladesh 2003). The liberalisation of the crop sector in Bangladesh will affect more than just production and imports. As the source of staple food, livelihood and employment for millions of people, changes in the crop sector could have far-reaching impacts on poverty and welfare. This paper addresses some of these issues and their implications. It presents a comparative picture of the costs of production and the prices of major crops, and also examines the impact of recent trade policies pursued by India.
BLUE GOLD: THE BATTLE AGAINST CORPORATE THEFT OF THE WORLD’S WATER. By Maude Barlow and Tony Clarke (Earthscan 2003). In Blue Gold, activists Maude Barlow and Tony Clarke offer an account of how a false sense of security has damaged the environment and how the privatisation of once public resources threatens to worsen the problem.
THE IMPACT OF FISHERIES DEVELOPMENT AND GLOBALISATION PROCESSES ON WOMEN OF FISHING COMMUNITIES IN THE ASIAN REGION, by C. Sharma. (Asia Pacific Research Network 2003). This paper looks at the impact of fisheries development and globalisation processes on women of fishing communities in the Asian region. It also examines the responses of women of these communities to these developments as well as initiatives taken by them to deal with the situation in positive ways. The paper demonstrates that there is a lack of information or statistics on the issues involved and thus proposes areas for future research.
"Transboundary Areas in Southern Africa: Meeting the Needs of Conservation or Development?" by A.J. Mayoral-Phillips. (Digital Library of the Commons 2002). Southern Africa’s natural resource management areas are becoming ‘transboundary’. Terminology is becoming both complex and confusing yet conservation-dominant. Transboundary conservation areas, transfrontier conservation areas and peace parks have all been packaged within global environmental rhetoric and as such few benefits have accrued towards community development and rural livelihood empowerment. The paper questions the long-term sustainable viability of ‘transboundary’ conservation management and action plans. Furthermore, it raises the question that sustainable transboundary management of natural resources has become too ‘conservation’ based and not developmental.
"Transformations in food consumption and production systems" by Ken Green, Mark Harvey and Andrew McMeekin in JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY & PLANNING 5 (2, 2003) pp. 145-163. The sustainability of global food consumption and production systems (FCPSs) over the next 25 years depends on changing economic developments, changing household consumption patterns and new technological developments, as well as on the environmental context of agriculture. This paper explores the interaction of these dynamics by examining the claims for sustainability of supposedly competing ’strategies’ for the transformations of FCPSs. An FCPS includes not just agricultural production but also processing, retailing, eating and waste disposal phases. The four strategies are characterized as ‘industrialized’, ‘traditional sustainable’, ‘organic’ and ‘new industrialized’. The paper argues that each strategy works in a variety of politico-economic structures and that focusing only on food crop production (such as in agriculture) ignores major environmental problems that are due to other phases of a food’s lifecycle.
PERSPECTIVES ON GROWTH AND POVERTY. Edited by Rolph van der Hoeven and Anthony Shorrocks (United Nations University Press, September 2003). The relationship between growth and poverty lies at the heart of development economics. While many see aggregate growth as both necessary and sufficient for reducing poverty, and consequently focus their efforts on achieving the desired macroeconomic outcomes, others stress that the benefits from growth may not be evenly spread. Perspectives on Growth and Poverty contains a selection of papers from a conference on this issue. They deal with institutional and policy questions, as well as sectoral issues and individual country experiences that illustrate the broad range of objectives and topics.
"Sustainable development, market paradigms and policy integration" by Emyr V. Thomas in JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY & PLANNING 5 (2, 2003) pp. 201-216. This paper’s overall purpose is to assess the viability of a particular form of integration, termed ‘goal integration’, based on a ‘market’ paradigm. The first section discusses the concept of integration in recent sustainable development policy thinking, outlines several ways of understanding it and culminates in highlighting and explaining the concept of goal integration. Two conditions relating to ‘goal integrity’ for policy design are set out. The remainder of the paper is concerned with whether and to what extent a market paradigm can meet these necessary conditions. The overall conclusion of this paper is that there are key respects in which the pursuit of goal integration by a market paradigm involves a logical failure to meet the conditions required for an appropriate degree of respect for goal integrity.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, BIODIVERSITY AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: RESOLVING THE DIFFICULT ISSUES. By Martin Khor. (Zed Books 2002). Intellectual property rights have become a major source of controversy. Corporations are now patenting human genes, plants and other biological materials, many of which exist in nature or have been used for generations by farmers and indigenous peoples. In this book, Martin Khor examines the "biopiracy" phenomenon, its links to the TRIPS Agreement, and its various effects.
CARING FOR CLIMATE - A GUIDE TO THE CLIMATE CHANGE CONVENTION AND THE KYOTO PROTOCOL. (UNFCCC, September 2003) The Climate Change Secretariat has produced a new guide to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Kyoto Protocol. The guide includes a history of the negotiations and information on the UNFCCC and Kyoto Protocol, including a description of the market mechanisms developed under the Protocol. It also contains a section on future directions.
EVOLVING A NATIONAL SYSTEM OF BIOTECHNOLOGY INNOVATION, SOME EVIDENCE FROM SINGAPORE, By Sachin Chaturvedi. (Research and Information System for the Non-Aligned and Other Developing Countries). This paper attempts to look into the dynamics of National System of Biotechnology Innovation (NSBI) in the wider framework of its role in the economic development. It has been found that NSBI crucially depends not only on budgetary allocations and institutional support for advancement but also on response to the market demand. The evidence from Singapore shows that sectoral approach in NSBI may help developing countries in finding a niche for growth instead of broadening the area of investment within biotechnology.
"Salmon aquaculture in the Pacific Northwest: a global industry with local impacts" by Rosamond L. Naylor, Josh Eagle and Whitney L. Smith in ENVIRONMENT 45 (8, 2003) pp. 18-39. From the docks of declining coastal villages to the desks of corporate and government offices, salmon farming has been hailed as a new hope for the world’s ailing offshore fishing industry and a way to reduce pressure on severely depleted fish stocks. However, the aquaculture industry has grown so quickly that, in many areas-including the Pacific Northwest-it has outstripped the wherewithal to address its adverse ecological impacts. Will fish farms, in the end, do more harm than good? Or can they deliver on their sustainable promise?
"Moving towards sustainable development : rhetoric, policy and reality of ecological agriculture in China" by Tian Shi in INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND WORLD ECOLOGY 10 (3, 2003) pp. 195-210. This paper attempts to provide a general review of the emerging background, development history, policy initiatives and recent tendencies of ecological agriculture. In addition, the extant problems and potential contributions of this alternative practice to China’s sustainable agricultural development are discusses. The purpose of this study is to identify the gap between the policy rhetoric and practical implementation of Chinese ecological agriculture and therefore to facilitate its moving towards sustainable development.
"Behind the collapse of the Cancun Ministerial," by Martin Khor in THIRD WORLD ECONOMICS 313 (Sept. 16-30, 2003) pp. 2-4. The Fifth WTO Ministerial Conference in Cancun ended on 14 September without reaching agreement on a Ministerial text. While differences among members on the Singapore issues appeared to be the immediate cause of the breakdown in talks, the collapse has deeper roots that extend to the woefully undemocratic decision-making process in the WTO.
"Regionalism and the Multilateral Trading System". By the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD, 2003). This study examines how regional trade agreements are undermining and/or contributing to global trade agreements governed by the World Trade Organisation. The chapter on intellectual property validates what people have been saying about the TRIPS-plus deals peddled by Washington, Brussels and other economic powers: they are not only multiplying, but they are seen to be setting new international IPR standards.