Bridges Trade BioRes • Volume 6 • Number 16 • 22nd September 2006
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 Malena Sell.
ECOLABELS AND FISH TRADE: MARINE STEWARDSHIP COUNCIL CERTIFICATION AND THE SA HAKE INDUSTRY. By Stefano Ponte. Trade Law Centre for Southern Africa (tralac), 2006. Yet, the case study of Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification of the hake industry in South Africa illustrates that ecolabelling is sought in the context of competitive pressures, political economies, and specific interpretations of conservation, not simply on the basis of value-free science or systemic management alone. Developing country fisheries, and small-scale ones in particular, have been marginalised in the MSC system. The paper concludes that independent auditing, transparency of standard-setting, accountability, and the need for standards to be based on ‘good science’, are not enough to facilitate certification in small-scale developing country fisheries. What is needed are special systems of compliance and verification that cater to their needs. Until this happens, and until premiums are not paid at the producer level, MSC and similar initiatives will keep putting ’sustainability’ at the service of commercial interests.
MAURITANIA EU FISHERIES PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT: WHAT IMPACTS ON FISHERIES SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN MAURITANIA? Coalition for Fair Fisheries Arrangements, August 2006. This paper analyses the issues arising from the agreement on fisheries between Mauritania and the EU. It shows that, for some of Mauritania’s overexploited resources, like the octopus, the EU fleets’ proposed access runs contrary to the principles of sustainable development, as enshrined in the EU Fisheries Council conclusions on fisheries partnership agreements (FPAs). Moreover, a large number of the EU fishing vessels operating under the agreement will use destructive and unselective fishing methods, such as trawls, which are, in the Mauritanian coastal zone, a long term threat to the eco-system.
EVOLUTION OF THE EU FISHERIES SUBSIDY REGIME: DRIVERS AND APPROACHES. By James Brown, Institute for European Environmental Policy, June 2006. This paper considers the drivers behind the evolution of the subsidy regime in the build-up of overcapacity and thus overfishing. Firstly the history of the subsidy regime is briefly discussed. The following three sections then examine the role of integrated assessments, whole of government decision making and stakeholder involvement; all areas of interest to the work of the OECD. Wider economic and political factors are then discussed before final conclusions are drawn.
DEVELOPMENT FROM DIVERSITY: GUYANA’S FOREST-BASED ASSOCIATIONS SMALL AND MEDIUM FORESTRY ENTERPRISE. By Sharon Ousman, Grace Roberts and Duncan Macqueen, IIED, 2006. This study looks at the many forest-based associations in Guayana that are attempting to use forest-based products and services, and are concerned about sustainability. Opportunities to support such associations exist, but they are specific in nature. In most cases, details of these opportunities are known only by association members or a few trusted intermediaries. Lesson about what types of association work and why, lead on to conclusions about how to give appropriate support.
MAKING OR MISSING THE LINKS? THE POLITICS OF TRADE REFORM AND POVERTY REDUCTION. By the Panos Institute, August 2006. This briefing explores the polarised debate on the links between trade liberalisation, economic growth and poverty reduction, looking at the possible effects of trade reforms on the agricultural, manufacturing and service sectors. It explores the costs and benefits of trade reforms for different people in developing countries and asks what the options are for making trade work in favour of the poor.
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