Project report on

TRADE AND ENVIRONMENT:

AN APPROACH THROUGH BIODIVERSITY"

Submitted to:

Ms. Stuti Binay Nanda

Faculty- Environmental Law

Submitted by:

Apoorva Chandra
Roll No. 25

Semester IV (C)

Hidayatullah National Law University

Submitted on: 24th August 2015
 Contents
1. Declaration 3
2. Acknowledgements 4
3. Section 1: Introduction 5
i) Contextual Outline 5
ii) Objectives of the study 6
iii) Scope of the study 6
iv) Methodology of the study 6
v) Organization of the study 7
4. Chapter 2: Trade and Environment perspectives 8
i) Policy And Practice of Trade And Environment
ii) The Trade Perspective
iii) The Environment Perspective
5. Chapter 3: The WTO approach and the CTE 12
i) The committee on trade and environment
ii) The WTO approach
6. Chapter 4: Trade, Environment and Sustainable Development 15
7. Chapter 5: The role of wildlife in trade and environment
i) Medicinal Plants
ii) Wildlife Trade
iii) Animal skin Leather
iv) Significance of Wildlife in biodiversity loss
8. Conclusion 19
9. References 20
 Declaration

I, APOORVA CHANDRA, hereby declare that the project work entitled, TRADE AND
ENVIRONMENT APPROACH THROUGH BIODIVERSITY , is record of an original work
done by me under the guidance of my esteemed Environmental law faculty, Ms Stuti Binay
Nanda.

APOORVA CHANDRA

Roll No. 25

ID No. 1420141023

Semester IV Section-C

Hidayatullah National Law University

 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I am highly excited to work on the topic, TRADE AND ENVIRONMENT APPROACH
THROUGH BIODIVERSITY. This project could be a reality only through the assistance
provided by many persons. I would like to express my gratitude towards my teacher Ms. Stuti
Binay Nanda, for his unwavering support throughout the making of the project report. Her
constant supervision has helped me realize the detailed points of the topic at hand.

I would also like to thank the staff and administration of the Hidayatullah National Law
University, Raipur, for their continuous support in the form of our Library and the IT lab, which
were hugely resourceful.

APOORVA CHANDRA

Semester IV

Roll No. 25
 Chapter 1: Introduction

Contextual outline

Our world has seen fundamental and pervasive change in the last 50 years. National economies
are increasingly integrated in a global economic structure where all the elements needed to
produce a final good or serviceproduction of inputs, design, assembly, management,
marketing, savings for investment may be sourced from around the globe in a system held
together by powerful communications and information technologies. The trend toward
globalization has been driven in part by these new technologies, and in part by reduced barriers
to international trade and investment flows. Possibly as a result, the world has seen a steady
increase in the importance of international trade in the global economy: since 1960, while the
global economy almost quadrupled, world trade grew by a factor of 12

Environment and trade linkages These trends are not isolated; they are fundamentally related.
Much environmental damage is due to the increased scale of global economic activity.
International trade constitutes a growing portion of that growing scale, making it increasingly
important as a driver of environmental change. As economic globalization proceeds and the
global nature of many environmental problems becomes more evident, there is bound to be
friction between the multilateral systems of law and policy governing both. This book aims to
shed light on the area where these broad trends interact on the physical, legal and institutional
linkages between international trade and the environment. Two fundamental truths about the
relationship should become clear in the process:

The links between trade and the environment are multiple, complex and important.

Trade liberalization is of itself neither necessarily good nor bad for the environment. Its effects
on the environment in fact depend on the extent to which environment and trade goals can be
made complementary and mutually supportive. A positive outcome requires appropriate
supporting economic and environmental policies at the national and international levels.

Scope of the Study

This study covers definition and types of human trafficking accompanied by other
classifications.. It goes on to the different acts, laws, and provisions in the constitution of India
about trafficking of human beings. Also, this study gives emphasis on the fundamental rights of a
citizen of India.

Methodology of the Study

This project report has been compiled through descriptive and analytical research methodology.
The topic for this project has been decided by our learned faculty based on the needs of todays
society. Secondary and electronic resources have been used to a great extent to accumulate
knowledge and data related to the topic. Books, as advised by the Faculty, have been referred to
understand the topic and give it a strong foundation. Websites, dictionaries and articles have also
been referred.

Organisation of the Study

This study has been organized into three sections. The first section deals with the introduction to
the topic, followed by the objectives and methodology adopted for carrying out the study. The
second section deals with the definition of the term Environment and trade and the evaluation
of its causes. The third section deals with the relation between the levels and types or areas... The
final section deals with the concluding observations.
 Chapter 2-Trade And Environment

Perspectives

Policy And Practice of Trade And Environment

Many developing countries grow agricultural crops for domestic sale as well as for export. With
increased trade which is often a major feature of structural adjustment policies required by
international agencies such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank the area
devoted to export crops increases. What are the environmental effects of shifting to export crops?
In some cases they can be significant, and harmful.

A study of Mali, for example, finds that the development of cotton as a cash export crop has
substantially increased the cultivated area and markedly reduced the fallow period. . . the
profitability of cotton led farmers to increase greatly the area cultivated, extending onto marginal
land. There is evidence of farmers occupying and working land in excess of their real needs in
order to forestall its use by others. Almost no fallowing is practiced in the region. The
environmental effects are evident in land degradation and soil erosion owing to over cultivation,
insufficient fallow, and the use of marginal land against a backdrop of increasing aridity.

At the most basic level, trade and the environment are related because all economic activity is
based on the environment. It is the basis for all basic inputs (metals and minerals, soil, forests
and fisheries), and for the energy needed to Environment and .It also receives the waste products
of economic activity. Trade is also affected by environmental concerns, since exporters must
respond to market demands for greener goods and services.

The trade perspective

 Trade creates the wealth that could be used to increase human wellbeing.

But most national governments answer too directly to national industries, and will try to
preserve domestic markets for these industries, keeping foreign competitors at bay.

In doing so, governments make their citizens worse off: domestic firms become inefficient,
domestic consumers pay higher prices, and more efficient foreign firms are shut out.

The best protection is a strong system of rules against such behaviour, such as World Trade
Organization (WTO) rules, by which all countries can abide.

Even after signing such agreements, countries will look for loopholes. Banning or restricting
trade on environmental grounds may be one such loophole.

Trade can actually be good for the environment, since it creates wealth that can be used for
environmental improvement, since the efficiency gains from trade can mean fewer resources
used and less waste produced and since trade can enhance access to efficient and
environmentally-friendly technologies.

The environmental perspective

Our current social and economic systems, including the reality of prices that do not reflect the
full cost of environmental damage, seriously threaten the earths ecosystems.

But most national governments answer too directly to national industries, and will try to protect
them against costly environmental demands.

One way to avoid these problems is a strong system of rules spelling out clearly how the
environment shall be protected, at the national and international levels. Environment and Trade

Even after such rules are in place, governments and industry will look to scuttle them. Trade
rules forbidding certain types of environmental regulations may be one way to do so.

More trade means more economic activity and thus in many cases more environmental
damage. The wealth created by trade will not necessarily result in environmental improvements.
Chapter 3- The WTO approach and the
Committee on Trade And Environment

The Committee on Trade and Environment

The terms of reference given to the CTE were To identify the relationship between trade
measures and environmental measures, in order to promote sustainable development; To make
appropriate recommendations on whether any modifications of the provisions of the multilateral
trading system are required, compatible with the open, equitable and non-discriminatory nature
of the system

The Committee narrowed this broad mandate down to a 10-item agenda for work and used this
agenda as its framework for discussions until its role was fundamentally changed by the 2001
Doha Declaration. In Doha the members charged the Committee with focusing primarily on three
issues:

1. The relationship between the WTO and MEAs;

2. Procedures for information exchange between MEA Secretariats and the WTO, and criteria for
granting MEAs observer status in WTO meetings; and

3. Reducing or eliminating barriers to trade in environmental goods and services. For these issues
the CTE was to serve as a negotiating forum, contributing to the Doha agenda resultsa role
fundamentally different than the discussion forum it had been up to that time, and for which it
convenes in special negotiating sessions.
The CTE was also instructed, in pursuing its work on the 10- point agenda, to give particular
attention to three issues (though not in the form of negotiations):

1. The effect of environmental measures on market access, and the environmental benefits of
removing trade distortions;

2. The relevant provisions of the TRIPS Agreement; and

3. Labeling requirements for environmental purposes.

The WTO approach

From the WTO perspective, the responsibility for environmental policy should remain at the
national level. As far as possible, decisions on international trade policy should not be
complicated with environmental issues. This is consistent with an economic principle known as
the specificity rule: policy solutions should be targeted directly at the source of the problem.
Using trade measures to accomplish environmental policy goals is therefore a second-best
solution, which is likely to cause other, undesired effects such as the reduction of gains from
trade. This argument, placing the responsibility for environmental policies on national
governments, has been criticized on several grounds. It fails to consider the competitive
pressures that may encourage trading nations to reduce environmental protections, as well as the
inadequate institutional structures in many developing countries. It is also inadequate for dealing
with environmental problems which are truly transboundary or global.

Functions of the WTO

The main functions of the WTO can be described in very simple terms. These are:

To oversee the implementation and administration of the WTO agreements; Environment and
Trade
 To provide a forum for negotiations

To provide a dispute settlement mechanism. The goals behind these functions are set out in the
preamble to the Marrakech Agreement Establishing the WTO.

Raising standards of living, Ensuring full employment, Ensuring large and steadily growing
real incomes and demand, Expanding the production of and trade in goods and services.

The WTO aims to achieve its objectives by reducing existing barriers to trade and by preventing
new ones from developing. It seeks to ensure fair and equal competitive conditions for market
access, and predictability of access for all traded goods and services. This approach is based on
two fundamental principles: the national-treatment and most-favored nation principles. Together,
they form the critical discipline of non-discrimination at the core of trade law.
Chapter 4: Trade, Environment and
Sustainable Development

Sustainable Development

The main elements of sustainable development emerged at the 1972 United Nations
Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm, Sweden. The central themes of the
conference were:

The interdependence of human beings and natural environment

The links between economic and social development and environmental protection;
The need for a global vision and common principles.

The Brundtland Commission went on to say that:

...sustainable development is not a fixed state of harmony, but rather a process of change in
which the exploitation of resources, the direction of investment, the orientation of technological

The Rio Declaration, which was held in Rio in 1992, firmly established the inherent link
between environmental issues and development, stating, in its Principles 4, that in order to
achieve sustainable development, environmental protection shall constitute an integral part of the
development process and cannot be in isolation from it.

The Declarations 15th and 16th Principles set out two other important ideas that are now
widely accepted by policy makers: the precautionary approach , which requires that when
there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of full scientific certainty shall not be
used as reason for postponing cost-effective measures to prevent environmental degradation ;
and the polluter pays principle, establishing that the polluter should, in principle, bear the cost
of pollution .
 Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) It has long been recognized that some
environmental problems require international solutions. The first international treaty dealing with
trade and the environment was the Phylloxera agreement of 1878, which restricted trade in
grapevines to prevent the spread of pests that damage vineyards.

In 1906 an international convention was adopted banning the use of phosphorus in matches.
Phosphorous was responsible for serious occupational disease among match workers, but it was
the cheapest ingredient for matches.

An international convention was required to prevent any exporting country from gaining
competitive advantage by using phosphorus in match production.13 Since then, numerous
international treaties have been adopted to respond to specific environmental issues. These
include conventions protecting fur seals, migratory birds, polar bears, whales, and endangered
species.

Transboundary and global environmental issues have been addressed in the Montreal
Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (1987), the Basel Convention on
Hazardous Wastes (1989), the Antarctica Treaty (1991), and the Convention on Straddling and
Highly Migratory Fish Stocks (1995). In 1997 the Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change established
guidelines for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, including important trade-related measures.
Chapter 5: The Role of Wildlife in Trade
and Environment

Medicinal Plants

Medicinal plants also play an important role in the lives of rural people in India with few health
facilities. The plants that possess therapeutic properties or exert beneficial pharmacological
effects on the animal body are generally designated as Medicinal Plants. They play a
significant role in providing primary health care services to rural India. They serve as therapeutic
agents as well as important raw materials for the manufacture of traditional and modern
medicine.

Substantial amount of foreign exchange can be earned by exporting medicinal plants to other
countries. In India there are 880 medicinal plants species involved in all India trade. Of this, 48
species are exported and about 42 spices are imported.

The Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India, reveals that there are over 8000
species of medicinal plants grown in the country. About 70 percent of these plants are found in
the tropical forest; spread across the Western and Eastern Ghats. The Export-Import Bank of
India, in its report for the year 1997, puts medicinal plants related trade in India at $.5.5 billion
and the same is growing rapidly.

According to World Health Organisation (WHO) the international market of herbal products is
around $6.2 billion, which is poised to grow to $5 trillion by the year 2050. Unfortunately,
Indias share in the global medicinal plants related export trade is just 0.5 percent. The export of
Medicinal plants is Rs.33453.23 lakhs during 1991-92 to 2002-2003. Its overall trend has been
increased in 0.21 percent. And the average Import of Rs.2827.01 lakhs. Also its trend has been
increased in 0.39 percent.
Wildlife Trade

Wildlife trade refers to the sale and exchange of animal and plant resources. This includes
ornamental animal products such as corals for aquaria, reptile skins for the leather industry,
tortoiseshell, as well as ornamental plants such as orchids and cacti. It also includes timber
products, medicinal and aromatic products such as taxol, agarwood, and musk, fisheries
products, and live animals for the pet trade including parrots, raptors, primates, and a wide
variety of reptiles and ornamental fish.

The trade in wild species can contribute significantly to rural incomes, and the effect upon local
economies can be substantial, such as in the trade in Vicua products. The high value of wildlife
products and derivatives can also provide positive economic incentives that can compete with
other land use options available to local people, protect wild species and their habitats, and
maintain the resource for sustainable and profitable use in the medium and long term.
Consequently, sustainable wildlife trade can be beneficial to species and habitat conservation, as
well as contributing towards sustainable livelihoods and social development

The sustainable trade in wildlife can consequently represent a positive contribution to human
societies, without which we would live very different lives. Wildlife trade can also represent a
sizeable contribution to developed country economies

Animal Skin Leather

Re-importing and re-exporting of skins in different stages of processing leads to double-counting

and consequently figures on the value of the reptile skin trade must be taken as approximations.
However, trade records for reptile skins have been estimated to represent only 50% of total
capture, as only good quality skins are selected for export . In some cases, such as for some
crocodile species, the legal trade has largely displaced the illegal trade, and properly managed
captive breeding and ranching of reptiles for the skin trade can provide incentives for sustainable
trade and the conservation of wild population

The Significance Of Wildlife Trade In Biodiversity Loss

A number of factors including habitat loss and climate change contribute to global biodiversity
loss. However, wildlife trade can be an equally significant threat to the survival of certain
species, such as the Tiger for medicine and skins, and the Tibetan Antelope for its wool. The
2006 IUCN Read List of Threatened Species records a significant increase in the number of
animals and plants in the Critically Endangered, Endangered and Vulnerable categories .The
high value of wildlife trade can increase threats to biodiversity by acting as a financial incentive
for people to trade in wildlife products even when the trade is not sustainable . These cases
involved commodities from highly endangered species, such as rhino horns, shahtoosh shawls,
and certain parrots and birds of prey.
 Conclusion

Trade expansion can often have environmental implications. Trade may increase environmental
externalities at the national, regional, or global level. While it is usually economically
advantageous for countries to pursue their comparative advantage through trade, environmental
impacts such as increased pollution or natural resource degradation may also occur as a result of
trade.

The effects of trade on the environment are varied. Agricultural cropping patterns altered by the
introduction of export crops may involve environmental benefit or harm. Secondary effects of
trade may arise from the disruption of existing communities, increased migration, and impacts on
marginal lands. Industrial pollution may be increased, reduced, or shifted in regional impact.

Policy responses to trade and environment issues can occur at the national, regional, or global
level. The European Union is an example of a free trade area that has set up institutions for
transnational environmental standards enforcement. The North American Free Trade Agreement
was accompanied by a side agreement setting up an environmental monitoring authority, the
Commission for Environmental Cooperation, but this body has little enforcement power.

Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) address specific environmental issues which are
transboundary or global. Conflicts between MEAs and World Trade Organization rules are
possible, but have so far been avoided. Proposals have been made for a World Environmental
Organization to oversee global environmental policy, and to serve as an advocate for
environmental interests in the world trade system.

Where effective environmental protection policies are lacking at the regional or global level,
national policies are needed to address trade-related environmental issues. Certification and
labeling requirements, instituted by governments or by private nongovernmental organizations,
can help to promote consumer awareness and greener corporate practices in international trade.
 References

Bibliography

1. http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/envir_e/envir_e.htm The World Trade Organizations

web site devoted to the relationship between international trade issues and environmental quality.
The site includes links to many research reports and other information.

2. http://www.oecd.org/ech/ The web site for the trade division of the Organisation for Economic
Co-operation and Development. The site includes many publications on trade issues, including
trade and the environment.

3.<http://www.wto.org/english/docs_e/legal_e/legal_e.htm>.

Refrences

Brack, Duncan ed. Trade and Environment: Conflict or Compatibility? London: Royal
Institute of International Affairs, 1998.
Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC). Assessing Environmental Effects of
the North American Free Trade Agreement: An Analytic Framework and Issue Studies.
Montreal: CEC, 1999.
Esty, Daniel C. Greening the GATT: Trade, Environment, and the Future. Washington
D.C.: Institute for International Economics, 1994
Charnovitz, Steve. Trade Measures and the Design of International Regimes, Journal
of Environment and Development Vol. 5, No.2 (1996), pp.168-169.
Esty, Daniel C. Bridging the Trade-Environment Divide, Journal of Economic
Perspectives, vol. 15, no. 3 (2001): 353-377. Fredriksson, Per G., ed. Trade, Global
Policy, and the Environment. World Bank Discussion Paper No. 402. Washington, D.C.:
The World Bank, 1999.
 5 United Nations Environment Programme United Nations Conference on Trade and
Development (UNEP-UNCTAD).
Which is Objective 3 of five key priorities in the ASEAN Regional Action Plan on
Trade in Wild Fauna and Flora 20052010.
Document 16164/06 (Presse 349).
Selected tropical timber commodities include (under the HS2002 classification):.