The main goal of this handbook is to make the complex relationship between the environment and international trade more understandable and accessible to policy-makers, non-governmental organizations and the public. The book also aims to dispel the idea that the relationship between, trade, the environment and development can easily be described as either negative or positive. It is an immensely complex interaction that varies from country to country, sector to sector, and firm to firm. There are both threats and opportunities in this relationship for countries, local communities and firms pursuing economic development and environmental protection.

The challenge, for all these stakeholders, is to exploit the opportunities and reduce the threats, and in so doing to maximize the net positive contribution that trade can make to sustainable development. A broader and clearer understanding of the linkages between trade, environment and development among all stakeholders is a prerequisite for seizing those opportunities and reducing those threats.

The conclusions that can be drawn from this handbook are essentially about research and consensus-building, enhancement of international co-operation, and defining new and more balanced and participatory procedures for international policy-making on these issues. In particular, formal assessments of the environmental impacts of trade liberalization and the trade implications of environmental policies will have to be undertaken. These assessments will have to take account of the interrelated economic and social effects of environmental and trade policies, through integrated assessment techniques.

Research and assessment need to be undertaken in a participatory manner that includes all the relevant stakeholders. At the national level this implies involving civil society as well as government officials; at the international level this implies financial and technical assistance for developing countries and those with economies in transition to build their capacity to undertake this analysis. This assistance, and the broader awareness of the linkages it fosters, will help build consensus on the policy integration challenges that are faced, and the solutions that will then have to be developed at both national and international levels.

International negotiations which lead to new trade agreements will also have to be characterized by more balanced and equitable participation of developed and developing countries, if those agreements are to accurately reflect the needs and conditions in all countries. We also hope that an enhanced understanding and awareness of trade, environment and development linkages will inform implementation of existing, and negotiation of new, multilateral environmental agreements, enabling them better to respond to the needs and conditions in countries at differing levels of development.

Achieving these objectives requires first a broader understanding of the linkages between the environment and trade, and the policies designed to foster both. UNEP and IISD hope that this handbook will foster that broader understanding, and both organizations remain open to suggestions to improve the handbook in this regard, and offer their collaboration and partnership to the same end.