Workshop on Capacity Building on Environment, Trade, and Development
Washington, D.C. 16th July, 2002
The need for capacity
building for developing countries to address the challenges of sustainable
development was highlighted last November at the Fourth WTO Ministerial,
where delegates from 144 countries agreed on an agenda for a new round
of WTO negotiations. Paragraph 33 of the Ministerial Declaration was
exclusively devoted to the need for capacity building on the trade,
environment and development policy intersection.
At the United Nations Conference on Financing for Development in March
2002, government leaders amplified this call for increased technical
assistance. In the months before the World Summit on Sustainable Development
(WSSD) in Johannesburg, there is a need to assess recent capacity
building efforts on environment, trade, and development to identify
gaps where improvements can be made to enhance the coordination of
current capacity building activities.
UNEP, in cooperation with the Carnegie Endowment for International
Peace and in consultation with the WTO and UNCTAD Secretariats, convened
a workshop, on 16 July 2002, in Washington, DC, on Capitol Hill. The
workshop, entitled "Capacity Building on Environment, Trade and Development,"
provided a forum for identifying capacity building activities that
can help countries effectively engage in trade and environment negotiations,
assess the environmental and developmental implications of WTO agreements,
and develop and implement mutually supportive trade and environment
policies.
The workshop was one in a series of workshops UNEP, in close collaboration
with the WTO and UNCTAD Secretariats, convened on the subject. At
the first workshop, convened in Geneva in March 2002, more than 200
participants, including representatives from governments, intergovernmental
organisations, MEAs, and NGOs, had an opportunity to assess emerging
needs and reassess current approaches to capacity building. One of
the main outcomes of the workshop was the need to develop a long-term,
coordinated capacity-building programme based on regional needs and
priorities.
Participants in the 16 July workshop included US-based think tanks
and institutions, US government officials, including US State Department,
EPA, Commerce, USTR, USAID, the European Commission, donor countries,
and UN organizations.


NOTE: For more information about the workshop,
please contact us.

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Chairman's Summary of the Workshop
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Meeting invitation
16th July
Annotated Agenda 16th July
Updated Agenda
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