IUCN, the International Union for Conservation of Nature

Co-Chair: Marie-Claire Cordonnier Segger

On October 4, the first of two papers being prepared by the Specialist Group on Trade and the Environment was presented during the II Latin American Congress on National Parks and other Protected Areas held in Bariloche, Argentina, 30 September to 6 October 2007.

The first paper, which is now being reviewed by members of the Specialist Group, explores ecosystem services flow in international trade, in particular virtual flows not captured by the market, and will serve as a basis for discussions on how the international trading regime can better respond to the 21st century challenge posed by global ecosystem change.

The second paper under development takes a radically different perspective and will explore the normative conditions under which successful local sustainable development strategies, that have international trade as a central element, operate. This paper includes information gathered from a number of local experiences and is meant to provide a foundation for a discussion on how trade rules can be made to work in favour of such local and sustainable endeavours.

The Specialist Group is also taking the presentation of the first paper as an occasion to re-organize its membership.

Over the next year, the group will be discussing the two draft papers as well as its participation in the upcoming World Conservation Congress in Barcelona, where the papers will be submitted for broader discussion within the Union.