. /.  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/CTE/GEN/19 
2 March 2005 
 
 (05-0903) 
Committee on Trade and Environment Original:   English 
  
 
RECENT ACTIVITIES OF THE UNEP/UNC TAD JOINT CAPACITY BUILDING TASK 
FORCE ON TRADE, ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT (CBTF) 
  
Statement by UNCTAD on behalf of the UNEP/UNCTAD CBTF at the Regular Session
 
of the Committee on Trade and Environment of 22 February 2005  
  
 
1. In the October session, our colleague from UNEP informed the CTE of recent activities of the 
UNEP/UNCTAD Joint Capacity Building Task Force on Trade, Environment and Development (CBTF).  It is my pleasure to update you on some activities that have taken place since then or are 
planned for the near future.  
2. The sub-regional workshop on trade and e nvironment for Portuguese-speaking African 
countries was hosted by the Government of Angol a, on 8-10 November 2004 in Luanda.  It was 
attended by representatives from trade as well as environment ministries from Angola, Cape Verde, Mozambique and S ăo Tome.  
3. During the Mauritius International Meeting to Review the Implementation of the Programme 
of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) held from 
10-14 Janury 2005, the CBTF organized a side even t on Trade Liberalization, Environmental 
Protection and Sustainable Development: Opportu nities and Challenges for SIDS (St Louis,  
11 January 2005).  You will recall that, recognizing that trade and environment is an important 
relationship for SIDS, the CBTF had already orga nized regional capacity building workshops, back-
to-back with WTO regional Trade and Environmen t Seminars, for Pacific Island Countries (Suva, 
Fiji, on 28 November 2002) and Caribbean countries  (Kingston, Jamaica, on 29 November 2003).  It 
is to be noted that the Mauritius Strategy for th e Further Implementation of the Programme of Action 
for the SIDS  listed the relationship between trad e, environment and development among a number of 
issues of special concern to SIDS in seeking to integrate into the global economy (paragraph 67(h)) 
and called for the delivery of coordi nated, effective and targeted tr ade-related technical assistance and 
capacity building programmes for SIDS including with  regard to examining the relationship between 
trade, environment and development.  The UNEP and UNCTAD secretariats have agreed to carry out fund-raising activities as a follow-up to the Mauritius side event.   
4. As part of a UNEP initiative to support the use of integrated assessment methodologies in 
national planning processes, CBTF organized a two- day training workshop (14-15 February) last 
week for the eleven countries pa rticipating in the initiative. 
5. With regard to future activities, CBTF is cu rrently preparing a meeting on environmental 
goods and services for Andean countries (Bolivia, Colo mbia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela) which is 
scheduled to take place in Lima, Peru, on 12 and 13 April 2005, and which will be hosted by the 
secretariat of the Andean Community.  We are also  planning a series of activities in the area of 
organic agriculture in East Africa. 
 WT/CTE/GEN/19 
Page 2  
 
 6. Thematic areas covered by CBTF during 2005 and 2006 will mostly cover capacity building 
activities in the areas of:  organic agriculture, environmental goods and services, and national 
coordination concerning the relationship between MEAs and specific trade obligations.  We are 
currently looking forward to an opportunity to  brief delegations on future activities.  Recent 
newsletters and meeting reports are available at the CBTF website.  Finally, we wish to thank the EU 
and the US for their support and financial c ontribution to current phase of CBTF activities. 
 
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