This paper was presented at the fourth NGO Symposium on Trade and Environment sponsored by the WTO in Geneva, Switzerland March 17-18, 1998. The comments cover three issues:

1)  The impact of intellectual property rights on food security and agricultural biodiversity, particularly in developing countries.

2)  The sovereignty of WTO Members to develop and maintain national biodiversity regimes consistent with the sui generis provision of Article 27 of   TRIPs.

3)  Linkages between the WTO and the Convention on Biological Diversity.

IATP also submitted a formal intervention outlining the politics at play among WTO members in regards to their questions about which, when and how Multilateral Environmental Agreements will or will not be challenged. The report outlines the views presented by of some of the attendees at the conference.