Second International Steering Committee Meeting on UNEP's Trade and Biodiversity Initiative

Geneva, 30 - 31 May 2006

On 31 May 2006, UNEP-ETB held the Second International Steering Committee Meeting (ISC) to discuss the results of the first phase of its four-year initiative on “Integrated Assessment of Trade-Related Policies and Biological Diversity in the Agriculture Sector” and launch the second phase.

The main activity during this first phase has been the development of a draft Reference Manual on Trade and Biodiversity that provides guidance on how to conduct an integrated assessment with special focus on assessing the impact of trade in the agricultural sector on biodiversity. Approximately 25 representatives from regional and international organizations, NGOs, research institutions, and government ministries working on trade, agriculture and biodiversity related issues convened to discuss the draft reference manual and provide guidance for the next phase. The next phase of the initiative will involve the selection of six African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP group) countries, which will receive technical and financial support to conduct an integrated assessment of trade-related policies in the agricultural sector.

Prior to the ISC, UNEP convened two meetings on 30 May setting the context for the following day: (1) a workshop bringing together representatives from potential ACP countries interested to be involved in the initiative, and (2) a meeting with a small group of international experts to discuss detailed recommendations for the draft Reference Manual.

The workshop for ACP countries brought together a select group of representatives from different ministries (environment, agriculture, trade and foreign affairs) from Cuba, East Timor, Fiji, Jamaica, Madagascar, Mauritius and Uganda, and a national research institute from Papua New Guinea. The objective of the workshop was to introduce the initiative to the countries, and provide them with enough information on the main elements of an integrated assessment so that they would be able to explain the main features of the projects to their colleagues and initiate the immediate next steps for country project development.

Further information on the initiative can be found at: Initiative on Integrated Assessment of Trade-Related Policies and Biological Diversity in the Agriculture Sector.