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INTRODUCING STUDENTS TO THE UNITED NATIONS
27 April 2004
 Over 20 students from Pace and Yale Universities were welcomed to United Nations Headquarters during the first week of CSD 12. Students were briefed on the UN system and on IUCN's role as a Permanent Observer to the UN General Assembly. The visit was part of an ongoing process of involving students more actively in IUCN's work with the UN. IUCN's governing Council has requested the IUCN Commission on Environmental Law to provide expert assistance to IUCN's UN Observer Mission on matters of environmental law and diplomacy. The Commission, in turn, has determined that one way to provide this assistance is to engage two of IUCN's university members in close proximity to the UN Headquarters. Precedent for this approach is found in the European Community's Mission, which engages graduate students to attend UN meetings representing the European Community, as a part of its delegation. Post-graduate education can also be provided through the delivery of services to the Mission.
For more information on the UN click here.
WATER AND SANITATION - THE TRADE AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT DIMENSION
23 April 2004
 How compatible are developing international trade and investment rules with the ability of countries to adopt strong domestic laws and policies for resource management, environmental protection and equitable access to water and sanitation? How do such rules recognise the need for adaptive management, in particular given the uncertainties surrounding global climate change? These questions and more were addressed in a side event held at CSD 12 on 22 April, New York, sponsored by the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD) and IUCN. Leading experts addressed the experience gained to date in Mexico, a country dealing with global and regional trade agreements, and the potential ramifications of the General Agreement on Trade in Services on domestic legislation where State's commit to liberalising trade in environmental services.
Side Event agenda
Overview Document
Opening Remarks - Tracking the Linkages
Papers Presented: GATS, Water Services and Policy Options
Trade Negotiations: Their Relevance for Water, Sanitation and Sustainable Development
Strengthening Systemic Linkages
The Case in Mexico
Find link to ICTSD here.
IUCN PROMOTES ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS AT CSD-12 MEETING IN NEW YORK
21 April 2004
 What is vital for healthy functioning river systems and critical for achieving economic prosperity and the conservation of biodiversity? The answer, offered by IUCN at the meeting of the 12th session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD-12), is environmental flows. 'Environmental flows' means enough water is left in our rivers and is managed to ensure downstream environmental, social and economic benefits. Following a delegates debate on balancing water issues, IUCN held a highly interactive side event on Environmental Flows for Sustainable Development. Close to 60 participants discussed the importance of environmental flows for people and nature, considered experience already gained in achieving environmental flows, and explored the next steps in promoting and implementing environmental flows for sustainable development. IUCN's guide "Flow - The Essentials of Environmental Flows" that sets out the way to ensure the long-term prosperity and health of river basins throughout the world was also presented. CSD-12, held from 19-30 April in New York, focuses on water, sanitation and human settlements.
Full Programme here.
Link to ENB summary here.
'Flow: the essentials of environmental flows' Full version
Find IUCN's Water and Nature Initiative (WANI) here.
INTERNATIONAL TREATY ON PLANT GENETIC RESOURCES WILL ENTER INTO FORCE IN JUNE
13 April 2004
 The conservation and sustainable use of "plant genetic resources for food and agriculture" (or "PGRFA") has long been recognised to be a very critical part of our global heritage - the key to the future of human life on earth. Efforts to ensure the continued vitality of PGRFA were enormously strengthened on 31 March by the announcement that eleven European countries, as well as Egypt and the EU (as a member organisation) have all ratified the International Treaty on PGRFA. This brings the total ratifications to 48, which is more than enough to trigger the 90 day process leading to the Treaty's entry into force on 29 June 2004. IUCN-Environmental Law Programme, through its Environmental Policy and Law series, is finalising a Guide to this Treaty, which will provide assistance to country parties in implementing their obligations under this instrument.
Full story
For more information on this treaty and the CGRFA click here.
To view current IUCN ELP Publications click here.
ARCTIC LEGAL REGIME FOR ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
6 April 2004
 'The fragile Arctic is under growing environmental stress. Accelerated resource extraction, industrial expansion and distant polluting activities threaten the ecological integrity of one of the world's last great wilderness area.' This is the opening statement of EPLP No 44, written in 2001 by Linda Nowlan for the IUCN ELP. The book, entitled 'Arctic Legal Regime for Environmental Protection', considers several key issues, including the current Arctic environmental legal regime, global treaties and agreements applicable to the Arctic, and the needs, as well as pros and cons, of developing a new and binding Arctic agreement on environment and sustainability. IUCN CEL considered it timely to review and update the conclusions of the study. A meeting of experts was held in Ottawa on March 24 and 25, with specialists from all eight Arctic countries. The experts participated in their personal capacity, but brought a wide range of perspectives: from governments, NGOs, Indigenous peoples organisations, and academia. A report summarizing the results of the meeting is being prepared for consideration by the Steering Committee of CEL, to guide its thinking on how it may play a useful role in the Arctic debate.
Download a copy of 'Arctic Legal Regime for Environmental Protection' here.
FOUR InWEnt RESEARCH FELLOWS JOIN IUCN ELC
5 April 2004
 IUCN Environmental Law Centre (ELC) is hosting four new Fellows sponsored by InWEnt, a non-profit organisation dedicated to international advanced training and human resource development headquartered in Bonn, Germany. The Fellows will work at ELC for a period of three months of research writing and experience-based training. They are Marianela Cedeño (Costa Rica), Hafiz Khan (Bangladesh), Viviane Ambare (Cameroun), and Dana Zhandayeva (Kazakhstan). The Fellows will each be working on a broad range of important topics, selected during the application process, including: Environmental impact assessment in the Meso American region; Applicability of equitable use and no harm principles to the Caspian sea; Environmental dispute resolution in Bangladesh; and Women in community forestry in Cameroun. InWEnt is seen as a natural fit with the IUCN Environmental Law Programme's (ELP) capacity building objectives and provides strong support to the ELP's efforts of promoting expertise in the fields of environment and natural resources management.
Find InWEnt here.
For more on the IUCN ELP Capacity Building click here.
News March 2004 >
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