Strengthening capacities for trade and environment policy co-ordination

Donors: UNDP
Implemented by: UNCTAD
Beneficiary Countries: India
Status: ongoing

Description:
This project aims at identifying priorities and modalities for achieving greater environmental and trade policy coordination in India, with a view to promoting sustainable development, involving the Government, the private sector and non-governmental organizations. It is a collaborative effort between UNCTAD, UNDP, the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MOEF) and the Ministry of Commerce (MOC). It also involves other government agencies and the civil society.

Objectives:

  • To assess the impacts of environmental factors on market access and competitiveness for India (including trading opportunities for environment friendly products);
  • To identify ways and means to improve India's access to environmentally sound technologies (ESTs) in the context of multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs);
  • To enhance understanding of the contribution that foreign direct investment can make to sustainable development in India and to identify priorities for further work;
  • To identify the trade implications of the ISO 14001 standard for environmental management systems as well as appropriate strategies to promote their use by Indian industry; and
  • To identify needs of and modalities for capacity-building for strengthening policy co-ordination in India on trade, environment and development.

Activities:
A project launching seminar was held in Jaipur, on 13 and 14 January 1999. This seminar was hosted by the Consumer Union Trust Society (CUTS), an Indian NGO.

Studies under preparation :  
Veena Jha
  • Trade and Environment Policy Coordination in India
Vijay Sharma
  • Trade and Environment in India
Ghayur Alam
  • Experiences with the transfer of Environmentally Sound Technologies (ESTs) in the framework on Multilateral Environmental Agreements
A Damodaran
  • Study on biodiversity
Atul Kaushik
  • Impact of Environmental requirements on India's export performance
Mohemmed Saqib
  • Environmentally Preferable Products
Atul Kaushik
  • A study on the impacts of HACCUP on the shrimp sector
IIM Calcutta
  • Sector Studies on jute, tea and flowers
Veena Jha
  • TNCs and environmental performance in India
Asok Kumar Mohapatra
  • The role of public sector joint ventures in promoting the transfer of environmentally friendly technologies

Rene Vossenaar and Pranay

 
  • The experiences with the implementation of ISO 14001 in India
Forthcoming events :  

Calcutta, October 1999
Hosted by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI)
  • Seminar on Market Access and Trading Opportunities for Environmentally Preferable Products
Bangalore, October 1999
Hosted by the Indian Institute for Plant Management (IIPM)
  • Seminar on experiences with transfer of ESTs in the framework of MEAs and Public Sector Joint Ventures