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The document outlines the ongoing negotiations within the WTO's Negotiating Group on Market Access to reduce industrial tariffs and non-tariff barriers. It details various proposed 'modalities'—including formula-based, sectoral, and request-offer approaches—and highlights the tension between developed nations seeking broad liberalization and developing nations concerned about revenue loss, de-industrialization, and the impact of tariff peaks and escalation. Specific focus is given to the EU's flexible approach, the US's zero-tariff proposal, and the emerging discussions on environmental goods.

The document details the early stages of the Doha Round negotiations on WTO rules, highlighting the friction between developed and developing nations over trade remedies and subsidies. It examines specific proposals to reform anti-dumping procedures, the debate over the 'safe harbour' of OECD export credit standards, and the contentious issue of fisheries subsidies. Additionally, it outlines the effort to balance the proliferation of regional trade agreements with multilateralism, noting a lack of consensus on key definitions and the developmental impact of such agreements.

Environmental organizations are urging the U.S. government to restrict the 'General Treatment' provision in the U.S.-Chile Free Trade Agreement to avoid granting foreign investors rights that exceed those of domestic investors under U.S. law. They specifically argue against the use of 'fair and equitable' or 'reasonableness' standards, which they claim would allow arbitral panels to subjectively second-guess democratic government actions. The petitioners recommend limiting the provision to 'full protection and security' and 'denial of procedural justice,' while requiring an environmental exception modeled on GATT Article XX and the exhaustion of domestic remedies before claims are brought.

The report by Friends of the Earth International details 22 campaigns against multinational corporations across various sectors—including mining, oil, logging, and biotechnology—that are accused of destroying biodiversity and harming local communities. It highlights the failure of corporate self-regulation and 'greenwashing' strategies, specifically criticizing the outcomes of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit and the approach of the 2002 Johannesburg World Summit. The document calls for the recognition of 'ecological debt' owed by Northern industrial nations to the Global South and demands a binding legal framework to ensure corporate accountability, including the right of communities to be consulted and to receive compensation for damages.

The report analyzes the potential for developing countries to leverage 'green markets' for sustainable products, focusing on Chilean exports of organic wine and certified forestry products to the European Union. It tests hypotheses regarding the existence of 'green industry havens' in importing countries and a lack of domestic capacity in Chile. The findings highlight significant non-tariff barriers, including complex certification requirements, high costs of conversion and auditing, and a lack of systematic market information. While the forestry sector shows more success through international schemes like FSC and PEFC, the organic sector struggles with a lack of a recognized national certification system and significant EU subsidies that distort competition. The report recommends coordinated government strategies, the creation of a Sustainable Trade and Innovation Centre, and the pursuit of mutual recognition agreements for certification standards.

The document is a participant list for the Ninth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties of the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI), which took place in Sao José dos Campos, Brazil, on June 27-28, 2002. It lists representatives from various national agencies, research institutions, and international bodies.

The document analyzes how specific design choices in global environmental reporting—such as framing, governance, participation, and communication—influence the effectiveness of these systems, measured by saliency, credibility, legitimacy, and awareness. Using the Global Environment Outlook (GEO) as a case study, the author argues that while GEO is a successful model for integrating environmental and development data across scales, its effectiveness can be further enhanced through more substantive early stakeholder participation, rigorous anonymous peer review, and long-term capacity development strategies for collaborating centers, particularly in developing regions.

The report argues that a TRC in Zimbabwe should be operationally independent of the government, well-funded from the start, and composed of a balanced panel of respected national and international commissioners. It suggests a broad mandate covering serious rights abuses, including land invasions, and recommends public hearings with victim counselling. The author proposes that a conditional amnesty model—requiring full disclosure and excluding crimes like genocide and torture—may be the only realistic way to persuade the current regime to relinquish power. Finally, it assesses the International Criminal Court's (ICC) jurisdiction, noting that while Zimbabwe is not a State Party, the UN Security Council could still refer the situation to the Court.

The report identifies a significant decline in financial contributions and institutional participation among IAI member countries since 1997. While 19 American countries have joined, only a few maintain consistent funding, with the USA providing the vast majority of programmatic support. The Working Group analyzed data on voluntary contributions, institutional meeting attendance, and scientific program participation to diagnose the lack of interest, concluding that further analysis is required to develop effective recovery strategies.

The paper argues that traditional project evaluation fails to capture the unique value of knowledge networks, which lies in relationships and collective influence rather than just individual deliverables. To address this, the author develops a three-part framework consisting of a planning process, quarterly progress journals for monitoring, and annual and final evaluations. This approach integrates elements from Outcome Mapping, Results Based Management, Logical Framework Analysis, and Human Resource performance evaluations. The framework distinguishes between 'network effectiveness' (doing the right thing) and 'network efficiency' (doing things right), using the Climate Change Knowledge Network as a practical example to demonstrate how to track behavioral changes in both network members and external stakeholders.

The IAI invested approximately US$20 million between 1995 and 2000 to establish multinational research networks in the Americas. This was achieved through four primary programs: Start-up Grants (SG), the Initial Science Program (ISP), the Collaborative Research Network (CRN), and the Program to Expand Scientific Capacity in the Americas (PESCA). The IAI's Science Agenda focused on four themes, with the largest funding allocation going to 'Changes in the Composition of the Atmosphere, Oceans and Fresh Waters'. The institute reports 145 publications resulting from ISP and CRN funding and emphasizes student training as a key mechanism for regional scientific development. However, the IAI notes a funding gap of over US$6 million for high-quality research proposals that remain unfunded.

The IAI Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) met in May 2001 to review the first-year progress of various Collaborative Research Network (CRN) projects, discuss the upcoming Human Dimension open science meeting, and plan for an ISP Synthesis Conference in 2002. The committee identified a critical need for a standard reporting format to better track scientific outputs and human dimension impacts. The meeting also addressed SAC membership vacancies, the development of the IAI Data Information System (IAI-DIS), and the failure of a proposal for the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment to secure funding for Latin America.

The IAI Science Grant Program – Phase II (SGP-II) is a competitive funding initiative designed to support the development of multinational research networks addressing global change issues in the Americas. The program offers one-time awards of up to US$ 30,000 for projects lasting up to one year, with a specific priority on 'Integrated Assessment, Human Dimensions and Applications' (Theme IV) and the participation of young scientists. Eligible proposals must involve institutions from at least three IAI ratifying countries and align with the IAI Science Agenda's four primary themes: climate variability, ecosystem/biodiversity studies, atmospheric/oceanic composition, and integrated assessments.

The report details the IAI's efforts to maintain member country engagement, manage scientific research programs, and expand educational capacity in the Americas between July 2000 and June 2001.

The report evaluates the initial year of the CRN program, highlighting a strong scientific output and significant capacity building through graduate courses and workshops across the Americas. While many projects successfully leveraged millions in additional funding, the IAI identified critical administrative gaps, specifically the lack of a standard reporting format and difficulties in international fund transfers.

The document examines the restructuring of Argentina's electric power sector, which transitioned from state dominance to a privatized model of unbundled generation, transmission, and distribution. It analyzes the political economy of this shift, highlighting the influence of the World Bank and other multilateral development banks in promoting neoliberal reforms. The study finds that while the reforms improved technical efficiencies and reduced wholesale prices, they often resulted in regressive social impacts, such as the elimination of social tariffs for low-income groups and significant job losses. Environmental concerns were largely relegated to compliance with pre-existing manuals, and energy efficiency initiatives were hindered by the unbundling of the sector and low electricity prices. The report concludes that the reforms were largely irreversible due to a strong government commitment to the market model, despite emerging governance challenges and public dissatisfaction following major service failures like the 1999 EDESUR blackout.

A joint statement from several environmental organizations providing recommendations to the U.S. Trade Representative to ensure that the proposed United States-Chile Free Trade Agreement (FTA) protects environmental standards, incorporates the precautionary principle, and avoids trade liberalization in sensitive sectors like forestry and mining.

A coalition of environmental NGOs urges the U.S. and Chile to ensure their Free Trade Agreement does not weaken environmental laws or stimulate damage in sensitive sectors like forestry and mining. They propose incorporating the Precautionary Principle, rejecting investor-state dispute settlement mechanisms similar to NAFTA, and establishing mandatory reporting for pollutant emissions by foreign investors.

The document analyzes Ghana's power sector reform, which was primarily triggered by World Bank conditionality for a thermal power project and a need to address power shortages caused by droughts. The Government of Ghana (GOG) opted for a competitive model involving the unbundling of the Volta River Authority (VRA) into strategic business units to attract private investment and reduce sovereign guarantee liabilities. The reform established two regulatory bodies: the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) for tariff setting and the Energy Commission (EC) for licensing. While social goals like universal access by 2020 were integrated, the paper notes that environmental concerns were largely a 'spin-off' of other measures like Demand Side Management (DSM) and Embedded Generation Facilities (EGF).

The document explains the roles of the IFC and MIGA in providing loans and guarantees to private corporations in developing countries and details the functions of the CAO, which was created in 1998 to address complaints from affected communities. It outlines the specific requirements for filing an Ombudsman complaint, the assessment and prioritization process used by the CAO, and the potential outcomes, such as settlement agreements or compliance audits. The guide also notes the limitations of the CAO, including its inability to award compensation or cancel projects, and provides a comparison with other accountability mechanisms like the World Bank Inspection Panel.