Trade links – Issue 11
INFO 363, December 2011
Welcome
Welcome to the final edition of Trade Links for 2011. Trade Links is a 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 that New Zealand has with our free trade partners. If you are interested in environmental activities with one of our partner countries, please contact us.
Since our last issue in July, the following trade and environment cooperation activities have taken place:
Chile
Ministerial engagement
In September 2011 the Chilean Environment Minister, María Ignacia Benítez met with the New Zealand Minister for the Environment, Hon Nick Smith in Wellington. The Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to work cooperatively on environmental issues and discussed future opportunities for both countries to work together. The Ministers released a joint statement on environmental cooperation. For further information on the visit see the Minister’s press release.
Freshwater management
In part two of the Freshwater Ecosystems Programme two officials from the New Zealand Department of Conservation (DOC) participated in two workshops held in Chile in November 2011. For DOC, the most important insights were about the benefits of sharing the different approaches to freshwater management taken by both countries. Chile’s approach is based on only one or two main ecological drivers, which differs from the approach taken in New Zealand.
Forestry in carbon markets
The methodology of including forestry in carbon markets and the Permanent Forest Sink Initiative were discussed between Chilean delegates and New Zealand officials and industry professionals in New Zealand in November 2011. Three Chilean officials attended meetings in Wellington, and forestry sites in Wanganui and Rotorua. New Zealand’s carbon market would benefit from the development of new carbon markets in the Asia-Pacific region.
China
Cooperation with Ministry of Water Resources, China
Cooperation between New Zealand and China on water science and management continues to grow. Dr Paul Reynolds (pictured below, right), New Zealand Secretary for the Environment, and the Chinese Ambassador to New Zealand, Mr Xu Jianguo (on the left), signed a Cooperation Arrangement between the Ministry for the Environment and the Ministry of Water Resources, China. The signing was witnessed by Chinese Vice Premier Hui Liangyu. The Ministry of Water Resources plays a significant role in managing water resources in China as well as developing and managing water infrastructure. A delegation from the Ministry of Water Resources visited Wellington in November to discuss work they are involved in and opportunities for cooperation with New Zealand. China is investing significantly in areas that could be of interest to New Zealand, such as efficiency of water use, hazard control, water pricing and irrigation. For further information see the Ministry for the Environment’s Cooperation with China page.
Persistent organic pollutants and contaminated sites
China and New Zealand are sharing information on the issue of contaminated land and its management in New Zealand and China – the differences, similarities and challenges. To further this aim, New Zealand hosted a workshop on contaminated land and persistent organic pollutants in September 2011. The workshop brought together a number of officials from central and local government and scientists and researchers from universities and other science agencies and was attended by a delegation from the Chinese Ministry of Environmental Protection and the Beijing Academy of Environmental Protection Science.
Non point pollution in China
China has set challenging mandatory water quality targets (chemical oxygen demand and ammonia nitrogen) in its 12th Five Year Plan and is looking for new technologies and approaches to meet these targets. As a result, New Zealand involvement in a pilot project on effluent management from the livestock industry was discussed by officials from the Ministry for the Environment, scientists from AgResearch and Fonterra with the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Tsinghua University in Beijing in November 2011.
Trade Negotiations
Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP)
The ninth round of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations was held in Lima in October. Discussions on environmental provisions are progressing steadily and are now at a stage where proposals put forward by various countries are being consolidated into a negotiating text. The Environment Working Group will meet at the end of January 2012 to continue this process with a view to beginning full negotiations in March. While agreement has yet to be reached on the scope and structure of environmental provisions, discussions have revolved around two broad categories of issues – those relating to processes for implementing the provisions (such as objectives, institutional arrangements, cooperation and consultation) and specific issues such as those advanced by New Zealand including climate change and marine fisheries. Among the nine countries involved in the TPP, viewpoints still differ widely on many of the issues and the task of bringing these together will extend well into next year.
