| Montreal, 18/06/2002 – The Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) of North America and its Advisory Group on Assessing the Environmental Effects of Trade announce a public call for papers examining the effects of trade on the North American environment.
Researchers who have submitted proposals that are selected by the advisory group will be invited to present findings of their original research papers at the second North American Symposium on Assessing the Environmental Effects of Trade, to be held in March 2003. Financial support of up to $10,000 per research paper will be available for successful applicants, on an as-needed basis.
Researchers from academia, nongovernmental organizations, the private sector and/or members of civil society are invited to submit proposals for papers that deepen our understanding of the environmental effects of free trade within North America. Proposals will be entertained on the environmental effects of specific trade liberalization accords (for example, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) or the World Trade Organization (WTO), as well as on the environmental effects of trade flows more generally. Environmental issues linked to free trade should focus on effects within the North American countries-Canada, Mexico and the United States of America-with special attention to shared, transboundary, regional and/or global environmental impacts linked to trade.
Analysis at the sector-specific level has proven to be useful in understanding complex, direct and indirect, environmental effects arising from trade. Accordingly, proposals covering two broad economic sectors-agriculture and energy-form the basis of phase two of the CEC's work in this area. Any subject matter within these two economic sectors, including land-use change related to farming or energy uses, forestry, fisheries, farm commodity outputs, changes in farm production techniques, energy policy, energy inputs into other economic sectors, technology transfer, or trade-related investment, is eligible.
Analysis that explores an "environment-first" approach to environmental assessments of trade is also strongly encouraged. Such an approach would begin with an environmental issue, fragile region, species or other indicator, and then examine the likely impact that free trade will have on the issue, area or indicator chosen. (See for example, the map of the ecological regions of North America.) An environment-first approach is intended to strengthen interdisciplinary approaches to environmental assessments, and should include experts and analysis from a variety of disciplines, including biology, environmental science, geography, atmospheric chemistry, environmental law, and others.
Within the agriculture and energy areas, research proposals are invited in the following areas:
1. Analysis of past (ex post), current or potential (ex ante) direct and indirect environmental effects of trade on any aspect of North America's agricultural and energy sectors. Ex ante environmental assessments are encouraged to refer to drivers of change that complement trade (for example, technological innovation), and draw insights from the extensive work underway in environmental trends and futures-related work.
2. Analysis of links between trade in the agricultural and energy sectors and changes in: (a) environmental quality; (b) environmental policies, regulations or regulatory enforcement; (c) transfer of, and access to, production-related technologies or management techniques.
3. Analysis of links between trade and changes in the geographic location and concentration of production in the agricultural and energy sectors.
4. Analysis of the environmental effects of trade-related investment, including mergers and acquisitions in the agriculture and energy sectors.
5. In addition, proposals are encouraged that examine challenges and opportunities presented by trade-environment policy integration to institutions.
In the course of developing its Analytical Framework and first Call for Papers in 2000, the CEC found that there is no single methodological approach that best captures diverse direct and indirect environmental effects of trade. Accordingly, analysts are encouraged to use a "menu" of approaches and tools, including:
- the CEC Analytic Framework for Assessing the Environmental Effects of NAFTA, or other methodologies, including CEC approaches for examining present and future environmental trends developed under the guidance of the Critical and Emerging Trends Advisory Group;
- quantitative economic or ecological models;
- analysis in support of an "environment first" approach to assessments, the use of ecosystem health, spatial analysis, environmental indicators or other techniques that provide insight into the effects of trade on the integrity of major ecosystems, including important habitat areas, biodiversity hotspots, airsheds, grasslands, wetlands, or measurements; and
- collaboration and network building among research consortia from Canada, Mexico and the United States, in which community-based cooperation, NGO coalitions, or other forms of international cooperation form the basis of research.
As noted, papers should contain insights or recommendations involving policy responses that mitigate negative environmental effects of trade, approaches to integrate environment and trade policies, including specific institutional and governance responses, and approaches that engage the meaningful input of civil society in environment and trade policy integration.
The CEC is soliciting abstracts in English, French or Spanish (a maximum of 300 words) that include a general description of the issues the paper will address, and summarize the treatment of study, as well as the contribution that the research will make to deepening trade-environment links.
Research proposals are welcome from authors both within and outside North America. However, the subject of analysis should focus on environmental effects within Canada, Mexico and the United States. Submissions are welcome in English, French or Spanish. Submissions should be sent by mail to:
Environment, Economy and Trade Program Area
Commission for Environmental Cooperation
393, rue St. Jacques ouest Bureau 200
Montreal, Quebec, H2Y 1N9
or e-mailed to Zachary Patterson at: zpatterson@ccemtl.org
Abstracts, accompanied by a brief biography of the author(s), should be submitted to the CEC Environment, Economy and Trade program area no later than Wednesday, 21 August 2002. Abstracts submitted will be reviewed on their merits and all applicants will be notified by Friday, 20 September 2002, as to the status of their submissions.
The authors of the papers will be invited to present the papers at the second symposium, to be held in March 2003. The papers chosen will then be edited and published in a symposium proceedings. All written papers must adhere to the CEC Style Guide to be acceptable for publication.
The CEC was established under the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC) to address environmental issues in North America from a continental perspective, with a particular focus on those arising in the context of liberalized trade. The CEC Council, the organization's governing body, is composed of the environment ministers (or equivalent) of Canada, Mexico and the United States.
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