Meeting

1
UNCTAD/FIELDBuilding Capacity for Improved
Policy Making and Negotiation on Key Trade and
Environment Issues

• Meeting
• 30 September and 1 October 2002

2
Need for capacity building on trade, environment
and development

• UNCTAD X Plan of Action
• Doha Ministerial Declaration
• Paragraphs 16, 22, 25-27, 33, 38-40, 42 and 43
• WSSD
• Emphasis on trade-related technical assistance
  and capacity-building in general, funding
• Cooperation on trade and environment, including
  in capacity building, between secretariats of
  WTO, UNCTAD, UNDP, UNEP and regional
  organizations

3
UNCTAD CB Programme on TE

• Assist developing countries in their
  participation in the WTO Doha work programme
• Promote efforts of developing countries to
  increase share in world trade and achieve
  sustainable development through trade
• Some areas
• Environment, market access, competitiveness
• Trading opportunities for environmentally
  preferable products
• Biodivesity and harnassing traditional kowledge
  for sustainable development
• Sustainable management of materials and natural
  resources, including material/resource recovery

4
Characteristics

• Long-term efforts
• Synergies with intergovernmental and research
  activities
• Work with local/regional institutions
• Close cooperation with WTO, UNDP, UNEP
• Linkages with other UNCTAD programmes (e.g.
  commodities, services)
• Strengthening cooperation with regional economic
  and social commissions and other institutions
• Cooperation with civil society (FIELD, SOLAGRAL)

5
Major components

• UNEP-UNCTAD Capacity Building Task Force on
  Trade, Environment and Sustainable Development
• UNCTAD/FIELD project
• Thematic projects
• Country projects

6
Activities

• Brainstorming
• Policy dialogues
• Research and briefing papers
• Country and regional projects
• Training workshops
• Participation in activities of WTO (in particular
  regional trade and environment seminars), UNEP,
  OECD, other IGOs and civil society

7
UNCTAD CB to support developing countries in Doha
work programme

• Technical assistance and capacity building for
  developing countries, especially LDCs, and
  economies in transition in support of their
  participation in the WTO Post-Doha work
  programme (UNCTAD/RMS/TCS/1)
•  
• Demand-driven
• Balance between the needs imposed by Doha work
  programme and the long-term development and
  capacity building needs of developing countries
• Also takes account of economic integration
  processes as well as the need to build supply
  capacities
• Endorsed by Trade Commission

8
Environment window

• Brainstorming on the negotiating mandates
• Positive agenda on TED
• Development aspects of specific policy
  instruments under MEAs and implications of
  proposals
• Interface agriculture and the environment
• Environmental goods and services (EGS)
• EPPs, in particular organic produce
• Environmental requirements/SPS and market access
• Traditional knowledge (TK) WIPO, CBD and WTO
• Training on trade and environment issues
• Impact assessments

9
Characteristics UNCTAD/FIELD project

• Builds on experience of earlier 2-year project
  and recommendations by developing countries
• Prepared over several months and adjusted to take
  into account results of Doha
• Regional focus
• Focus on key issues
• Assist core beneficiary countries in implementing
  practical and meaningful legal and policy
  initiatives
• Planning phase

10
Lessons learnedstrong points
UNCTAD

• 5 workshops in 3 different developing regions,
  plus Geneva and London, plus large number of
  papers
• Analysis of key issues on a recurrent basis
• Other issues on non-recurrent basis
• Exchange of national experiences
• Intra-developing country learning process
• Larger group of stakeholders in host countries
• Continued commitment and pro-active approach
• Inputs to CTE
• Very positive evaluation by participants

11
Lessons learnedweak points
UNCTAD

• Progress on issues uneven. Too many issues?
• Certain problems in securing participation of
  core group of national experts in all project
  activities.
• The lead country system did not work very well
  in practice.
• Not enough dissemination at national level
• No national backstopping built in project

12
Status
UNCTAD

• Number of countries
• Africa (6, including 5 LDCs)
• Asia (6, including 2 LDCs)
• Latin America (8)
• Role of core and partner countries
• Identification of issues

13
Organization of work

• Workshop to make progress on sub-regional plans
  of activities and modalities for implementation
• Planning phase to be completed by consultations
  in each region (November)
• Regional breakout groups (2 additional rooms
  available)
• Reports to be discussed in plenary