International cooperation

A massively important book in our new age of conflict that makes clear the links between international trade policy, aid and conflict and war over the control of resources such as oil, water, timber and diamonds. Presents vital strategies for using trade and aid to prevent the likelihood of armed conflict and to assist in nation building, such as the reconstruction of Afghanistan and Iraq. Iraq, Afghanistan, Darfur.

The Iron Curtain, running from the Barents Sea to the Black Sea, divided Europe for almost 40 years and no activity was allowed in this "forbidden" zone. When it fell in 1989, it left a strip of land that runs the entire length of Europe and that has remained comparatively undisturbed – a green belt. The Green Belt initiative aims to integrate this entire strip of land with its key habitats and ecological areas as part of an international network of valuable ecosystems.

There is an urgent need for concrete steps to foster the mutual supportiveness of the objectives embodied in the Convention on Biological Diversity and multilateral trade rules under the World Trade Organization. Intellectual property is one area of debate where such efforts could be undertaken.