ABSTRACT

The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) regulates international trade in living modified organisms (LMOs). As the Protocol concerns trade in commodities, for example, genetically modified seeds and vegetables, it concerns a trade which is of major importance to the world’s economy. The relationship between the Protocol and the World Trade Organization (WTO) is therefore of primary importance. The central point in the Protocol is the precautionary principle. This principle is in itself of crucial importance when discussing the relationship between the Protocol and the WTO. Therefore the Protocol must, in more than one sense, be considered a milestone in the discussion about the relationship between trade and environment. The issue of the extent to which the provisions of the Protocol will be respected by the WTO’s Dispute Settlement Mechanism might therefore be regarded as decisive for whether it is at all possible to unite trade and environmental interests under the present WTO system. The purpose of this chapter is to discuss this problem and, based upon all the facts, to seek some conclusions.