-Caveat Lector- Environment: WWF Demands Trade Restrictions to Protect Resources BRUSSELS, (Oct. 4) IPS - The World Trade Organization's (WTO) new liberalization attempts threaten international actions to protect the environment, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) warned here today. The group urged a WTO ministerial meeting to be held next month in Seattle to allow nations to impose "those sensible and reasonable trade restrictions needed to implement international treaties to protect the environment," said WWF official Mikel Insausti. "If a trade restriction is introduced in order to implement (an) international environmental agreement, then it should not be open to challenge under WTO rules," he said. Charles Arden-Clarke, head of WWF's Trade and Investment unit, added that "international treaties to protect our global environment are vulnerable to challenge under WTO rules if they contain trade clauses. "The fear of legal challenges is holding back the development of new international treaties to tackle world-wide environmental problems," Arden-Clarke said. At least nine existing multilateral environmental agreements include trade measures. Because of fears of a challenge under WTO rules, the Persistent Organic Pollutants Agreement to prevent toxic chemical pollution is being held up, Arden-Clarke said. According to him, the Biosafety Protocol on trade in genetically modified organisms (GMOs) has been seriously weakened and delayed "by a small group of governments using WTO rules to undermine a strong agreement." At their ministerial meeting in Seattle, WTO's 135 member countries will launch a new round of negotiations to further liberalize trade. Ill-equipped to face the complexities of the talks, developing countries remain skeptical about the outcome. A ministerial meeting of the Group of 77 (comprising 130 developing countries and China) agreed last month in Marrakesh (Morocco) to coordinate their participation in order to maximize human resources. At the previous trade talks held under the banner of the WTO's predecessor -- the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT) -- most developing countries could not cope with the armies of experts and diplomats displayed by their industrialized counterparts in the talks. "The WTO system has now evolved to the stage where it is pursuing trade liberalization as an end to itself, leaving environmental and social values behind," the WWF environmentalists said. The forthcoming talks are of great concern to developing countries, "because until now it has been mainly the rich nations that have benefited from trade liberalization," the non-governmental organization added. According to the WWF, "a handful of countries dominate and put together the final elements of new world trade agreements" and poor countries have little say in WTO decision-making. Of WTO's 135 member countries, 29 do not have a permanent representative at its headquarters in Geneva. Thus, "many poor countries are rarely present at WTO meetings and have virtually no influence over the rules it makes," WWF said. The further liberalization of environmentally sensitive sectors, such as fisheries and timber industries are likely to be proposed in Seattle, a matter directly affecting developing countries rich in forests and other natural resources. Most poor nations say that toughening the rules on environmental protection -- an attempt to ensure that any economic or industrial advances do not further deplete natural resources -- is a "Northern Agenda" which would go mainly against the interests of those countries who are now less developed. Trading giants such as the European Union (EU) and the United States reached their dominant economic position in world trade thanks to a very polluting phase of industrialization, developing country representatives argue. World trade is now 14 times higher than in 1950, mainly due to the elimination of trade barriers such as import tariffs, quotas and other restrictions. However, a number of restrictions is still in force in richer countries, in order to protect agriculture and other non-competitive sectors. Forced by financial pressures to open their markets to manufactured foreign goods, developing countries demand an end to agricultural subsidies in EU countries and the U.S. and the elimination of the system of quotas on selected imports such as steel, textiles or shoes. Increased world trade is a major contributor to current trends such as growing pollution, declining biodiversity and a gradual depletion of many of the world's natural resources environmentalists say. It is estimated that since 1970, some 30 percent of the planet's natural wealth has been lost, mainly because of increasing greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation, soil erosion and overfishing. The WWF today published a list of existing and proposed international treaties and conventions which contain trade measures which could conflict with WTO rules and "could be seriously undermined," by across the board liberalization according to the non-profit organization. The list of existing treaties at risk includes, among others, the Convention on Biological Diversity -- signed by 175 countries to preserve the planet's genetic wealth -- and the Basel Convention, signed by 110 countries, which bans the export of hazardous waste to countries where it cannot be properly managed. The WWF also today released an information kit aimed at raising awareness on the importance of the forthcoming trade talks and its potential consequences on environmental agreements. "More than 13,000 packs are being sent to Parliamentarians and other decision-makers in more than 60 countries...to shake politicians out of their complacency," said Insausti. ======================= Robert F. Tatman Computer Help Desk Desktop & LAN Services Systems Department Philadelphia Newspapers, Inc. [EMAIL PROTECTED] 215.854.2729 215.854.2788 The contents of this message represent the opinion only of the writer, and may not be construed to indicate the endorsement of Knight-Ridder, Inc.; Philadelphia Newspapers, Inc.; The Philadelphia Inquirer; or the Philadelphia Daily News. "Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity." DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! 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