Bangkok, 15 February 2000 --- The UN Environment Programme and the UN Conference on Trade and Environment are launching here today a new Capacity Building Task Force that will assist developing countries in integrating their trade, environment, and development policies so that they are mutually supportive of sustainable development.
The Task Force will focus on building capacity at the national level using the technical expertise of the two organisations and their respective networks of experts and national research institutions.
"Interest in capacity building has intensified since the third WTO Ministerial Conference in Seattle, which brought to the world's attention the need for more practical policy analysis and for innovative approaches to the issue of trade and environment," said UNEP Deputy Executive Director Shafqat Khakhahel.
The Task Force will also contribute to building a consensus between developed and developing countries on this complex issue.
"We have seen just how controversial the interaction between trade and environment policies can be," said UNCTAD. "We need to work quickly to build confidence amongst governments so that they move forward and find solutions."
The major objectives of the Task Force are to help developing countries and countries with economies in transition to: better understand the linkages between trade and environment; assess the environmental, social and economic effects of trade liberalization, as well as the impact of environmental policies on trade and development; develop and implement integrated trade and environment policies which promote trade expansion in order to maximise the net benefits to developing countries; and participate effectively in trade-environment deliberations and negotiations at the international level. The Task Force is being established in response to growing developing country demand for activities that are jointly supported by UNEP and UNCTAD. The launch also reflects the interest of development cooperation agencies in supporting capacity building in this area.
The two organizations hope that the ongoing UNCTAD X conference in Bangkok will also serve as a launching pad for establishing a Trust Fund to underpin the Task Force's activities and for broadly advertising the Task Force's existence to potential beneficiaries of its services.
The Task Force will provide UNCTAD and UNEP with a versatile and flexible institutional mechanism to: undertake joint research work to address critical and emerging issues related to trade and environment; convene joint seminars and briefing sessions for policy- and decision-makers on the linkages and complementarities between trade and environment; hold joint national and regional training workshops and seminars for trade and environment officials and civil society; implement jointly supported demonstration projects to assess the impacts of trade liberalization and to develop and implement policy packages to promote sustainable trade and economic policies. UNEP and UNCTAD have been actively cooperating in the field of environment, trade and development since 1997 under a Memorandum of Understanding. The Capacity Building Task Force will substantially increase this cooperation, especially at the national level in developing countries, and accelerate the formulation and implementation of effective, integrated national polices on trade, environment and development.:
