2004

15 December 2004 - Montreal, Canada

On the occasion of a seminar on "Le droit mondialisé et la mondialisation du droit", organized by the Centre d’études sur le droit international et la mondialisation of the Université du Québec à Montréal, Marc Paquin and Jean-Frédéric Morin present their research on the impacts of international agreements on investment and services liberalization on the ability of States to manage water services.

30 November 2004 - Montreal, Canada

Unisféra releases a new series of discussion papers on the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NACEC) and the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC). The documents can be consulted in the Economy, Trade and Sustainable Development section of Unisféra’s publications.

11 November 2004 - Montreal, Canada

A new study by Carla Sbert conducted on behalf of Environment Canada is now available for comments until 30 November 2004. The study looks at environmental management in Central American countries and is designed to assist these countries in their efforts to improve the efficiency of their environmental management regimes. The study is available in Spanish only and can be consulted online.

9-10 November 2004 - Paris, France

Jean-Frédéric Morin represents Unisféra at a roundtable on "Practicality, Feasibility, and Cost, of Certificates of Origin" hosted by IDDRI, United Nations University and Université Catholique de Louvain.

1 November, 2004 - Amsterdam, Netherlands

Jean-Frédéric Morin makes a presentation entitled "Certificates of origin for genetic resources and international trade rules : what compatibility ?" in the context of the conference "Trade, Environment, and Development : the North-South Dimensions" organized by the Institute for Environmental Studies.

19 October 2004 - Paris, France

Inernational Trade Canada has retained the services of Unisféra and IISD to prepare a summary of the 6th Informal Consultation between the OECD Trade Committee and Civil Society Organisations. Marc Paquin, who will be representing Unisféra at these consultations, will make an oral statement pertaining to the WTO July 2004 negotiating text.

18 August, 2004 - Montreal, Canada

In this morning’s edition of Le Devoir (Montreal), portions of an interview with Karel Mayrand are published in an article on NAFTA’s parallel agreements on environmental cooperation and labour. The article appears on page B1 of the Économie section.

16 July, 2004 - Vancouver, Canada

Jean-Frédéric Morin makes a presentation entitled "Trips-plus or Bad Trips ?" in the context of the conference "The WTO and Beyond : Global Governance and State Power in the 21st century" hosted by the Centre for Global Political Economy of Simon Fraser University.

13 July, 2004 - Montreal, Canada

Karel Mayrand makes a presentation entitled : "Payments for Environmental Services : their Potential and Limitations as Market-Based Instruments" in the context of the International Society for Ecological Economics annual congress

15 June, 2004 - Paris, France

Jean-Frédéric Morin makes a presentation entitled "Bilateralism : between the WTO and WIPO" in the context of a roundtable on "Bilateralism : a way toward or a way out of the multilateral trade regime" organized by the Institut du développement durable et des relations internationales (IDDRI).

14 June, 2004 - Montreal, Canada

Karel Mayrand gives an interview on NAFTA’s Environmental impacts during the environmental show "D’un soleil à l’autre" on Radio-Canada’s radio network. The interview can be downloaded from Radio-Canada’s website.

9 June, 2004 - Quebec City, Canada

In its 2003-2004 Report, which addresses sustainable development, Quebec’s Auditor General refers to the work of Unisféra, the OECD, the United Nations, the European Commission and the International Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions.

9 June, 2004 - San José, Costa Rica

In the context of a joint Canada - Costa Rica governmental workshop, Karel Mayrand makes a presentation on the benefits of adopting mutually supporting trade and environmental policies.

12 May, 2004 - Montreal, Canada

Karel Mayrand makes a presentation entitled "NAFTA and the Environment : Assessing a Decade of Environmental Governance in the Context of North American Economic Integration" in the context of a colloquium on Globalisation and Sustainable Development at the ACFAS Congress.

28 April, 2004 - Vancouver, Canada

Karel Mayrand makes a presentation entitled "The Doha Agenda on Agriculture and the UNCCD : Seeking Policy Integration through Impact Assessment of Trade Liberalisation" in the context of the 24th conference of the International Association on Impact Assessment.

22 April, 2004 - Montpellier, France

Jean-Frédéric Morin makes a presentation entitled : " Bilateralism and the Governance of the International Trade Regime" at the Institut agronomique méditerranéen de Montpellier.

7 April, 2004 - Geneva, Switzerland

The Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) grants observer status to Unisfera.

6 April, 2004 - Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

Marc Paquin makes a presentation entitled "The Impacts of Trade Agreements on National Freshwater Management" in the context of the International Colloquium on the Economy of Water organised by the Institut de l’environnement des pays francophones (IEPF).

5 April, 2004 - Aix en Provence, France

Jean-Frédéric Morin makes a presentation entitled : "Recent US Trade Agreements : An Analysis of Investment, IP and Environmental provisions" at the Law Faculty of Université d’Aix en Provence.

30 March, 2004 - Montreal, Canada

Karel Mayrand makes a presentation entitled : "Doha’s Development Agenda and the Implementation of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification" at Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM). The presentation is organised by the Observatoire de l’écopolitique internationale.

24 March, 2004 - Montreal, Canada

Karel Mayrand makes a presentation entitled : "NAFTA and the Environment : The Limits of Environmental Law in an Economic Integration Process" at Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM). The presentation is organised by the Chaire Économie et Humanisme in cooperation with Unisféra International Centre.

19 February, 2004 - Montreal, Canada

Karel Mayrand gives an interview on freshwater exports during the environmental show "D’un soleil à l’autre" on Radio-Canada’s radio network. The interview can be downloaded from Radio-Canada’s website.

19 February, 2004 - Montreal, Canada

Karel Mayrand makes a presentation entitled "Freshwater as a Trade Issue : Where are the Real Risks ?" in the context of a conference on continental integration and freshwater resources. This conference is part of a series of scientific public conferences organised by the Institut des sciences de l’environnement of the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) in partnership with the city of Montreal and UNESCO.

4 February, 2004 - Montreal, Canada

Carla Sbert will soon join Unisféra as a senior researcher. She will be coordinating the Environment and Sustainable Development Law Programme and pursuing opportunities to devote some of her efforts to environmental health and justice issues, particularly in Mexico. Carla Sbert is a Mexican lawyer who worked at the North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation from 1998 to 2003.

4 February, 2004 - La Rochelle, France

Jean-Frédéric Morin gives a training session on international IP law and sustainable development in a workshop held by the Environmental Law Programme of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR).

28-30 January, 2004 - Geneva, Switzerland

Marc Paquin takes part in a working session on the Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context (Espoo, 1991), under the auspices of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe : http://www.unece.org/env/eia/

26-27 January, 2004 - Geneva, Switzerland

Unisféra is invited to participate to preparatory works for the first meeting of the signatories of the Kiev Protocol on Strategic Environmental Assessment, organized under the auspices of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe.

19 January, 2004 - Montreal, Canada

Unisféra welcomes Valérie Gendron for a four-to-six month internship research program. Valérie has just completed a multidisciplinary Master of International Relations at Laval University. She recently worked as a UNESCO intern in Brasilia and for the Ministry of International Relations of Quebec, in Buenos Aires.

12 January, 2004 - Montreal, Canada

Unisféra welcomes Irène Artru for a four-to-six month internship research program. Irène is completing a Master of International and Transnational Law at Laval University. Her main topics of study are international economic law (WTO, NAFTA, foreign direct investments, intellectual property) and international environmental law.