Trade Links – Issue 10
INFO 618 July 2011
Welcome
Welcome to the 2011 winter edition of Trade Links. Trade Links is a quarterly newsletter from the Ministry for the Environment which provides an update on New Zealand's international trade and environment activities.
These activities occur through the Environment Cooperation Agreements New Zealand has with free trade partners. Cooperation activities address a range of environmental issues. This has been a busy year. New Zealand has had a range of cooperative activities with China, Thailand, Chile and Singapore.
If you are interested in environmental activities with one of our partner countries, please contact us.
In this issue:
Thailand
The Waikato Regional Council and Thailand's Regional Environment Office 5 (REO5) have been working together on how communities can address water quality issues. The focus of the project is the Tha Chin River catchment in Thailand, which is a similar size and is facing similar challenges to the Waikato River catchment; particularly rapid intensification and land-use change.
The project has three phases. In the first phase representatives from the Ministry for the Environment and the Waikato Regional Council visited the Tha Chin River catchment to learn about the water quality issues and management practices adopted by community organisations.
In the second, representatives from REO5 and community groups visited the Waikato River catchment and learnt how communities, iwi and local government are taking action to manage water quality. Particular interest was taken in Landcare groups as a potential model that could be replicated in Thailand.
In the third phase, AECEN with input from REO5 and the Waikato Regional Council, will develop a model for involving the community in managing water quality in Thailand. The Waikato Regional Council will assist with training courses to be held in Thailand to support the development of community participation in other Thai regions.
China
Minister Smith’s visit to China
Cooperation with China continues to strengthen and grow. A highlight of 2011 was the Minister for the Environment Nick Smith’s April visit to Beijing to meet with the Minister for Environmental Protection and the Minister of Science and Technology. The Ministers agreed that water quality in rural areas is a shared priority for both countries and discussed the strong link between science and the environment. Minister Smith visited the National Training Base for Urban Search and Rescue to personally thank the team who had travelled to New Zealand to assist after the Christchurch earthquake.
Pictured: New Zealand Minister for the Environment Nick Smith and China’s Minister of Environmental Protection Zhou Shengxian in Beijing.
Visiting delegations
The Ministry for the Environment hosted two delegations from China in May this year.
The Economic Research Institute (part of China’s National Development and Reform Commission) sent a delegation to learn about New Zealand’s experience of the Emissions Trading Scheme. China is considering using market mechanisms to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions as part of its 12th five year plan.
China’s Ministry of Environmental Protection led a delegation of scientists and policy makers to New Zealand to investigate opportunities for cooperation on non-point source water pollution in rural areas. The delegation met with policy makers, managers, scientists, industry and farmers in Hamilton, Wellington and South Otago. Further information and a report of the visit can be found on our website.
P4 Meeting of the Parties
The P4 Environment Cooperation Agreement has been going strong since 2006. It has been an excellent platform for cooperation between the members, Chile, Singapore, Brunei and New Zealand. Singapore hosted the third Meeting of the Parties in mid June where country representatives met to review the implementation of the agreement. Water management and climate change continue to be New Zealand's priority cooperative areas for the P4 ECA.
Pictured: Officials from the P4 Countries: New Zealand, Chile, Singapore and Brunei at the third Meeting of the Parties in Singapore 2011
Singapore
The Third Meeting of the Parties provided an opportunity for bilateral discussions on environment with Singapore. New Zealand officials met with officials from the Singaporean Ministry of Environment and Water Resources, the National Environment Agency and the Public Utilities Board to discuss policies on urban water management; waste management and climate change. Singapore expressed interest in collaborating on waste management issues, especially packaging and recycling, and learning more about New Zealand's Waste Minimisation Act. The meetings highlighted strengths in Singapore's urban water management policies and systems, and opportunities for future collaboration.
Chile
Freshwater Management
In May 2011, the Department of Conservation (DOC) hosted Chilean freshwater experts to work on common environmental management challenges. The Chileans learned about DOC's Freshwater Ecosystems of New Zealand ( FENZ) tool. The New Zealanders learned about the Chilean functional (key ecological drivers) approach. Chile and New Zealand have similar climates and geography so have environmental challenges in common. Specialists from both countries found working through the two different approaches useful to their work.
Marine Energy
Chile, like New Zealand, has great potential for marine energy due to its long coastline. In early July 2011 Chile hosted an international seminar on Marine Energy. This brought together representatives from Chile, the UK, the US, Canada and New Zealand to discuss technical and scientific issues of marine energy development. New Zealand marine energy expert Garry Venus from Chatham Island Marine Energy Limited gave a presentation on New Zealand's potential for marine energy and the Chatham Islands Pilot Project
Negotiations
India
The New Zealand-India FTA negotiations began in 2010. They include discussions on trade and environment, exploring our respective perspectives on this issue. During discussions so far New Zealand has shared its experiences of negotiating environment outcomes in FTAs and the benefits of this approach.
Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP)
Negotiations to expand the P4 Agreement between Brunei Darussalam, Chile, New Zealand and Singapore to include the United States, Australia, Peru, Malaysia and Viet Nam began in 2010 - the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP). Seven TPP rounds have been held to date. While the partiescontinue discussions about what an expanded agreement might cover, a number of countries, including New Zealand, support looking at shared trade and environmental challenges such as illegal fishing practices and harmful fisheries subsidies, and liberalising trade in environmental goods and services.
Contacting us
We welcome your comments and queries, and encourage you to pass this newsletter on to others with an interest in international trade and environment cooperation activities. The first nine issues of Trade Links are available here.
Please either phone us on: 04 439 7415 or email us at: trade.environment@mfe.govt.nz.
