Environment and Trade: A Handbook UNEP/IISD   
Other Resources



Inter-Governmental Organizations

  • CEC (NAFTA's Commission for Environmental Co-operation)


  • ISO (International Organization for Standardization)

Non-Governmental Organizations

CIESIN (Consortium for International Earth Science Information Network )
A comprehensive (though dated) overview page, with links to thumbnail primers and/or full text of articles on various trade-environment issues. This is one of several Thematic Guides CIESIN at one time maintained on interdisciplinary environmental issues. Also see CIESIN information, for information on CIESIN itself—hard to find from the trade page.
The Common Front on the WTO
A coalition of Canadian public interest and labour organizations. The site has some background on the WTO, and links to materials on the WTO and environment, and the Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI).
Friends of the Earth
Links to national organization trade pages, and to FoE briefing material and position statements on trade.
Harvard Centre for International Development
CID's global trade negotiations page is concerned more with trade and development than with trade and environment. Frequently updated, it has a number of background papers and articles, proceedings of conferences, and a section with summaries of various countries' positions on key negotiating issues.
IATP (Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy)
IATP, based in Minneapolis U.S.A., aims to create environmentally and economically sustainable rural communities and regions through sound agriculture and trade policy. Their trade and sustainable development-related material focuses mainly but not exclusively on agricultural issues (biodiversity, biotechnology, the WTO's agriculture negotiations). They also maintain the excellent WTO watch—an on-line information centre on the WTO, featuring news, an events calendar, an extensive document centre, publications and multimedia coverage.
ICTSD (International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development)
ICTSD, based in Geneva, is the primary source of news and information on trade and sustainable development. ICTSD produces the excellent weekly Bridges e-mail news summary, as well as a monthly hard copy publication of the same name with more in-depth analysis. Both can be ordered free from their Web site, which also houses searchable archives. ICTSD also regularly convenes dialogues that bring together the trade, environment and development communities, ranging from their informal café and croissants in Geneva to major regional conferences.

The National Wildlife Federation
A U.S.-based NGO working on trade and environment issues. The site has materials on NAFTA, FTAA and WTO Reform, as well as such specific issues as shrimp-turtle decision and the U.S. fast-track debates. Also has links to some NWF studies and reports.
Nautilus Institute for Security and Sustainable Development 
A Berkeley, California-based policy-oriented research and consulting organization that focuses on Asia-Pacific issues, with emphasis on security and ecologically sustainable development. The Nautilus Globalization and Governance Program, along with IISD, is a partner in the International Investment Rules Project, which aims to develop a framework for the governance of investment that promotes sustainable development, human rights, global security and economic inclusion. The program runs INVnet, a bi-weekly listserv that provides news and analysis on these emerging issues.
Public Citizen
Public Citizen, a U.S. public interest NGO founded by Ralph Nader, maintains a Web site as part of its Global Trade Watch program. The site has links to the program's briefings, news releases and publications, as well as to other sites of interest. Global Trade Watch focuses on NAFTA, the WTO and other trade and investment-related issues, and their effects on U.S. jobs and the environment
RIIA (The Royal Institute of International Affairs)
The London-based RIIA, or "Chatham House," has a long record of excellence on trade and the environment issues, centred in its Energy and Environment Program, embodied particularly in its "International Environment" and "Climate Change" work areas. Their area of greatest strength is multilateral environment agreements, and their relationship to trade rules. The Energy and Environment publications page has abstracts of all their books, briefing papers, reports and articles.
TED (Trade-Environment Database Project)
The Trade-Environment Database is a collection of over 200 case studies, based on trade-environment disputes, or trade or environmental agreements. Cases are researched by graduate students at the American University School of International Service, Washington, DC. The site has excellent search and sort utilities for the statistical analysis of the database.
TWN (Third World Network)
Third World Network Third World Network is the activist voice of the South on issues of economics, development and environment, with a sizable amount of attention paid to the global system of trade and its implications for the world's poor. Their Trade/WTO site has a wealth of articles on issues of current interest, dealing with such topics as trade, investment, implementation of WTO agreements, new issues and dispute settlement.
WWF (World-Wide Fund for Nature)
WWF International's publications page, on the topic of "sustainability," has a number of trade-related publications. The WWF has been active on trade issues for many years.

Listservs

The following are listservs on the subject of trade and sustainable development. Subscription and other information is given on IISD's SD Gateway site, which can be accessed by selecting a listserv name from below.


Agromsur Agropecuaria y Ambiente MERCOSUR


Ecointal Integracion y Ecologia en America Latina


EC Trade Issues EC's NGO newsletter


ENB Earth Negotiations Bulletin


FTAA-L Free Trade Area of the Americas list


GLOBAL-L Women, Trade and Globalization Digest


INCALIST Integración, Comercio y Ambiente


INVEST-SD Investment Law and Sustainable Development


SPS List WTO SPS Document distribution


TRADEDEV "Bridges" Weekly Trade News Digest from ICTSD


Trade Watch Public Citizen's Trade Watch


WTO Activist IATP's News service


WTO Agriculture Impact IATP's News service


WTO Bulletin WTO's NGO newsletter


WTO Impact ICDA's news service


WTO-watch update What's new at WTO-Watch

Key International Agreements

Environmental Agreements:
  • Basel Convention on the Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal
  • CBD: Convention on Biological Diversity and the Biosafety Protocol
  • CITES: Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna
  • FCCC: UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol
  • FCCD: UN Framework Convention to Combat Desertification
  • Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer and the Vienna Convention on the Protection of the Ozone Layer
  • NAAEC: North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation
  • PIC: Convention on Prior Informed Consent for Certain Hazardous Chemicals in International Trade
  • POPS: Persistent Organic Pollutants
Trade Agreements:
  • AFTA: ASEAN Free Trade Area
  • Andean Pact
  • APEC: Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
  • CACM: Central American Common Market
  • CARICOM: Caribbean Community and Common Market
  • FTAA: Free Trade Area of the Americas
  • Maastricht: Treaty on European Union
  • Mercosur: Common Market of the South
  • NAFTA: North American Free Trade Agreement
  • SADC: Southern African Development Community
  • WTO: World Trade Organization



© 2000 United Nations Environment Programme,
International Institute for Sustainable Development