Costa Rica - CINPE

• Innovation in the Agro-Industry Sector in Costa Rica: Main Determinants
  The search for eco-efficiency and clean production methods is closely linked to the capacity for innovation at the firm level. Given that environmental problems are highly specific to firms and locations there is a need for firms to develop the capacity for innovation to find solutions to problems for which there are no “on-the-shelf” technologies available. This paper looks to examine the relationship between innovation strategies at the firm level and some specific characteristics of innovation processes, to analyze internal and external factors working as barriers or motivators for the introduction of cleaner technologies in firms; and to analyze components of the system of innovation and its impacts on the innovation processes in the agro-industry sector.

Africa - TIPS

• Trade and Environment: South Africa Case Studies - Full Report
  This study looks at three trade-related sectors in South Africa: coal, steel and citrus. In the coal and steel sectors, it forecasts the future trends in the industry and surveys the key environmental concerns. It also looks for threats to South Africa's exports based on environmental concerns or multilateral environmental agreements in their export markets. In the citrus sector, it details the way in which some producers have gone beyond domestic environmental standards in an effort to penetrate certain high-standard export markets.

Workshop Papers and Reports

• Proceedings of the TKN Phase I South Africa Workshop
  Report of the TKN Trade and Sustainable Development Workshop, held July 1-2, 1999 in Midrand, South Africa.

Argentina - CENIT

• Environmental Management and Innovation in Argentine Industry: Determinants and Policy Implications - Full Report
  The possibility of fostering a sustainable development process depends, to a significant extent, on the environmental activities undertaken by firms. While in industrialized countries these activities are mostly carried out in response to environmental regulations and market incentives, the importance and the incentives for allocating resources to environmental activities in developing countries are not yet well established. In this Argentine case, the impact of the Convertibility program and structural reforms on economic and social development issues during the 1990s has been largely analyzed, with attention to environmental activities by private firms.

Bangladesh - IUCN

• Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary Barriers to Trade and its Impact on the Environment: The Case of Shrimp Farming in Bangladesh - Summary
  Bangladesh (IUCN, North-South University): This study examines the shrimp industry in Bangladesh, focusing in particular on the effects of the standardization of production and processing methods resulting from sanitary and phyto-sanitary agreements. The production of shrimp has exploded in recent years, and it has become an important source of foreign exchange. Yet, it suffers from significant production inefficiencies, and is exposed to social and environmental risks. Standardized production and processing methods have proven hard to impose on small shrimp farms. Capacity building for shrimp farmers is required, to make them aware of the impact of chemicals and the risks of the shrimp business. The report concludes that a multi-stakeholder process is necessary to build trust among farmers and processors, to make them aware of their responsibilities and to address the high commissions taken by middlemen.

China - PRCEE

• Trade and Sustainable Development in China - Full Report
  This study looks at three cases of trade and sustainable development linkages in China. The first is the environmental effects of trade in leather products. The second is the introduction of regulations in China's export markets to address the environmental problems of textile dyes. The third is the potential markets for Chinese-produced organic foods. The study makes recommendations in all three areas.

El Salvador - PRISMA

• Trade, Environmental Services and Sustainable Development in Central America: The Cases of Costa Rica and El Salvador - Full Report (Español) - Summary (English / Español)
  This study looks at two cases. The first is about the export of shaded coffee from El Salvador. Shaded coffee provides striking environmental benefits, including biodiversity conservation and soil erosion control. But the rules of international trade do not allow importing countries to discriminate against the more damaging traditionally cultivated coffee. The second case is about the potential for trade in environmental services, particularly in the context of the Kyoto Protocol of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Countries like Costa Rica and others in Central America are exploring whether they can benefit from maintaining considerable land under forest—or restoring land to forest cover—and be rewarded for the environmental services thus provided. The Kyoto Protocol provides for a market reward for carbon fixation, but may not prove acceptable under the current interpretation of WTO agreements.

Other Related Research

• Coffee, Conservation, and Commerce in the Western Hemisphere
  This report by the Natural Resources Defense Council gives an overview of the role coffee plays in Latin American economies. It also contrasts shaded coffee and plantation coffee, and looks at policy options to promote sustainable coffee production in the region.

• Measuring Consumer Interest in Mexican Shade-grown Coffee: An Assessment of the Canadian, Mexican and U.S. Markets
  This report presents the findings of a market analysis measuring consumer interest in, and potential demand for, Mexican shade-grown coffee in North America. This report on the consumer side of shade-grown coffee complements the work of the authors (The Commission for Environmental Cooperation) in developing environmentally-sound and sustainable production criteria.

• The Kyoto Protocol and the WTO
  This brief paper covers the key issues that might cause friction between the WTO rules of international trade and the Kyoto Protocol. It was produced as a result of an IISD-RIIA workshop at the WTO Seattle Ministerial.

Workshop Papers and Reports

• Proceedings of the TKN Phase I Central America Workshop: Comercio y Medio Ambiente: Hacia una verdadera agenda centroamericana (Español)
  Report of the Regional Forum on Trade and the Environment
  Held in San Salvador, July 7-10, 1999
  Organized by SG-SICA, CCAD, IISD, IDRC and IUCN

Pakistan - SDPI

• Environmental Impacts and Mitigation Costs Associated with Cloth and Leather Exports from Pakistan - Full Report
  This study looks at two key export industries in Pakistan: the leather industry and the cotton and textiles industry. It estimates the environmental impacts of trade liberalization along the lines laid out in the Uruguay Round's Agreement on Agriculture, focusing on increases in production to fill expanded quotas. The projected increases in pollution, assuming current technologies, are significant. It also estimates the costs in both sectors of adopting clean technologies, and finds these to be in most cases quite low.

Workshop Papers and Reports

• Balancing Trade and Environment Needs - Singapore's Experience
  This paper describes Singapore's experience in addressing the trade-environment link. It focuses on the proactive measures taken in response to greening of export market demand, and win-win measures that made Singaporean industry more competitive and more environmentally friendly.

• Environmental Impact of Cotton Production and Trade
  The purpose of this paper is to explore prospects and mechanisms for a transition to sustainable production of cotton and cotton products in Pakistan (and more generally in the South), and the effect of international trade on such prospects. The analysis looks at the differing capacities for change in the different sections of the cotton commodity chain, and explores the policy implications.