The TER 2006 focuses on environmental and related health requirements and their impact on developing countries´ market access. It examines both the opportunities and challenges presented by these requirements, which are increasingly stringent, complex and multi-dimensional. The Review includes both general and sectoral analyses of the issue, and looks at two sectors where environmental requirements are critical to market access: electrical and electronic equipment and organic agricultural products.
The evidence presented in the Review supports recommendations for developing countries to adopt a more strategic and proactive approach to coping with environmental and related health requirements in export markets. This requires being involved from the initial stages of standards-setting, both in the context of government regulations and the increasing number of private-sector standards that apply across supply chains. A proactive approach is also needed in order to take full advantage of the trade and development opportunities generated by increased environmental and health requirements, such as expanding markets for organic products and catalytic effects on resource efficiency and occupational safety.
The Review also provides an overview of recent UNCTAD technical cooperation and capacity building activities in the area of trade and environment, including:
- the Consultative Task Force on Environmental Requirements and Market Access for Developing Countries (CTF);
- the UNCTAD-FAO-IFOAM International Task Force on Harmonization and Equivalence in Organic Agriculture (ITF);
- the BioTrade Initiative; and
- the UNEP-UNCTAD Capacity-building Task Force on Trade, Environment and Development (CBTF).
