World Bank Chief Urges Resumption of WTO Talks

  “The head of the World Bank added his voice on Monday to those calling for a revival of last month's abortive world trade talks.

World Bank President Robert Zoellick said that the July meeting, which foundered on a proposal for a safeguard to help farmers in poor countries withstand a flood of imports, had left a good package of results on the table. ‘It would be a mistake for the world economy and harmful for developing countries not to retrieve it,’ he said in a statement e-mailed from the Bank's Washington headquarters. …” [Reuters/Factiva]

  AFP reports that Zoellick further said “… ‘Working with WTO Director General Pascal Lamy, the United States, India, and China should come up with a compromise,’ Zoellick said. ‘Brazil, a developing country that is both a major agricultural exporter and home to many poor farmers, can help. Indonesia and Australia may be in a position to contribute to a solution too.’ …

 Zoellick offered several suggestions to make a farm safeguard doable. Noting that it can take two or more years to challenge the grounds for imposing a safeguard, in which time the new barrier blocks trade, Zoellick said: ‘A compromise could create a speedy due process for challenges, without appeal.’ The World Bank president said that all parties seemed to agree that safeguards should not be imposed to block normal trade flows, but they disagree on how much of a change warrants the temporary protection of a safeguard. …” [Agence France Presse/Factiva]

  Xinhua writes that “… Since the purpose of a safeguard is to help cushion the effect of a significant increase in imports on local producers, an acceptable justification for the safeguard could require examination of factors in addition to increased trade flows, said the leader. Under current WTO practice, the economy imposing a safeguard decides how much protection is appropriate. But this protection could be disciplined and limited, he added.

‘It may be understandable that tired negotiators couldn't assemble these and perhaps other variables in a way to solve the problem. But they should not quit trying,’ Zoellick stressed. ‘There is too much at stake to let this problem derail a global trade package that could expand economic growth and opportunity by cutting subsidies drastically, lowering tariffs significantly, and opening up services markets. There is a good Doha deal still to be seized,’ he said.” [Xinhua (China)/Factiva]

World Water Week Kicks Off In Stockholm

  “A week-long conference on the impact of lacking water resources around the world began in Stockholm Monday with calls for radical changes in behavior and mentality when it comes to water usage.

‘We've had a luxurious lifestyle during the last 25 years, not caring at all about the environment. It's necessary to change the way people consume, buy, eat,’ said British professor John Anthony Allan, winner of the 2008 Stockholm Water Prize. The annual World Water Week, which has gathered some 2,500 experts in the Swedish capital, is focused this year on how lacking water supply impacts sanitation and hygiene. Almost half of the world's population lacks proper toilet facilities, a situation that can have dire consequences on public health and which poses a challenge to resolve since water is becoming an increasingly scarce resource. …” [Agence France Presse/Factiva]

Reuters writes that a study released by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) on Monday said “cities in developing countries around the world are using untreated or partially treated wastewater for agriculture, posing serious health risks to urban consumers. …

The study looked at 53 cities in Latin America, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. [The report …] found 80 percent were using untreated or partially treated wastewater. ‘In over 70 percent of the cities studied, more than half of urban agricultural land is irrigated with wastewater that is either raw or diluted in streams,’ the institute said. At the same time, the IWMI noted that wastewater agriculture contributes to urban food supplies and helps provide a livelihood for the urban poor.

The institute highlighted Accra, Ghana's capital city, as an illustration of the tradeoffs from wastewater-based agriculture. Accra has an urban population of nearly 2 million and about 10 percent of the people every day buy vegetables produced on just 100 hectares of urban agricultural land irrigated with wastewater. …” [Reuters/Factiva]

AP further writes that speaking on the sidelines of Water Week, British professor Allan “… slammed the growing use of biofuels and urged people to eat less meat -- to help cut the amount of water used in food production. Allan said the effect of the growing use of biofuels ‘is too frightening to even begin to realize.’ Allan, 71, of King's College, London, was awarded the 2008 water prize for his concept of ‘virtual water,’ which measures amounts of water used in the production of food and industrial products. … ‘Non-vegetarians consume five cubic meters (176 cubic feet) of water per day; your bath is a tiny puddle compared to that. It is the water for food that is the big problem,’ Allan told The Associated Press. …” [The Associated Press/Factiva]

Dirty Water, Poor Hygiene Cost Indonesia $6 Billion, Bank Says

 “Dirty water and unhygienic practices in Indonesia cause about 120 million cases of disease and 50,000 deaths a year, and cost the economy more than $6 billion annually, according to the World Bank.

Indonesia, Asia's third-most-populous country, lost $6.3 billion in 2006, or about 2.3 percent of gross domestic product, because of poor sanitation and hygiene, the Washington-based bank said in a statement Tuesday. The Bank's Water and Sanitation Program report found health-related expenses accounted for more than half the costs. ‘There is a need for greater investment in water and sanitation infrastructure and in promoting improved hygiene practices in Indonesia because of the impact on health and on the economy,’ Guy Hutton, a senior economist for the program and author of the report [Economic Impacts of Sanitation in Indonesia], said in the statement. …

Human waste entering waterways adds to the cost of safe water for households and reduces the production of fish in rivers and lakes, the World Bank said. Economic costs of water pollution caused by poor sanitation exceed $1.5 billion a year, it said. ‘Basic water and sanitation services are vital to human life, and in this day in age, no one should be without such basic dignities,’ said World Bank Water Sector Manager Abel Mejia in the statement. ‘Although there has been progress, much remains to be done to stop these preventable deaths and spread of disease.’ …” [Bloomberg]

Africa Meeting Key Step In Climate Talks: UN Climate Chief

  “Rich nations will come under pressure at climate talks in Africa this week to get specific about how quickly and by how much they intend to cut their carbon footprints, [Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, Yvo de Boer told AFP in a phone interview]. The expert-level gathering in Accra, Ghana kicks off Thursday, and will lay the technical groundwork for a major UN meeting in Poznan, Poland at the end of the year.

‘I expect rich countries to agree on the ranges by which they feel that greenhouse gas emissions should be reduced,’ said Boer. ‘Specific targets will probably come in Copenhagen,’ he said, referring to the December 2009 UN conference where the world's nations have pledged to validate a successor plan for tackling global warming after the Kyoto Protocol runs out in 2012. … Negotiators feel ‘if not an emergency, at least a sense of urgency,’ he said … noting that the UN has added four additional negotiating sessions to an already packed schedule next year. ‘The Accra meeting is very important in terms of determining what instruments rich countries can use in order to achieve their targets over the longer term,’ de Boer said.

Separate working groups will address key components in any future climate change agreement: whether the Kyoto list of six greenhouse gases will be expanded and how they will be measured; the role of global industry-specific initiatives, favored by Tokyo and Washington; and how to integrate the impact of deforestation. … The meeting will also focus on technical and financial assistance for developing countries, both to help cut emissions and to cope with the consequences of climate change. ‘I hope that, in all these areas, countries will come to Accra with very specific proposals on the kind of language to be included in the Copenhagen agreement,’ de Boer said. …” [Agence France Presse/Factiva]

Meanwhile, Reuters writes that Harald Dovland, a Norwegian official who chairs meetings among Kyoto backers said on Monday ahead of the climate talks that “Rich nations should not wait for the election of a new US president before making progress on agreeing ambitious 2020 greenhouse gas cuts. ‘Many of the developed industrialized countries are not very keen on coming forward with strong commitments post-2012 without knowing what the US is doing,’ he told Reuters….

Dovland noted that the 37 countries which have emissions limits under Kyoto agreed last year to be guided in negotiations by a non-binding goal of cutting emissions by between 25 and 40 percent by 2020 below 1990 levels. But few countries have discussed such deep cuts. Among the strictest targets, the European Union has said it will cut emissions by 20 percent, or by 30 percent if others follow suit.” [Reuters/Factiva]

African Sun Fuels Solar-Powered Study Time

  “Burkina Faso student teacher Hema Cecile has a lot more time to crack the books thanks to a recent initiative from the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation (IFC).

The launch of the Lighting Africa program (www.lightingafrica.org) by the two organizations this year has made it possible for Cecile to swap kerosene lamps for a solar-powered LED lantern. That means she and a thousand other households in the town of Dedougou -- which lies more than 200 km (124 miles) west of the capital Ouagadougou -- can extend hours of study, reading or leisure without cutting back on other things. Cecile lives in the world's second poorest country, where the choice to keep a light on at night means sacrificing resources for necessities such as food, heat, power and shelter. The LED lights consume almost no power, and can keep shining all night if required. That should mean a more productive, better educated, wealthier population -- a virtuous circle of reduced energy use and increased economic activity. …

Lighting Africa is a $12 million project which intends to bring light to the poorest regions across sub-Saharan Africa. The program works with the lighting industry to develop clean, affordable lighting and energy solutions for millions without access to electric grids. Its aim is to accelerate the market and to develop education programs that inform off-grid populations currently dependent on costly, inefficient and hazardous fuel-based lighting about modern alternatives.

Cecile used to spend $3-4 a month on kerosene for her lamp. That is a large proportion of her earnings - like 70 percent of the population she lives on less than $2 a day. ‘I can work later at night - its good for my studies; I can read a book,’ said Cecile. … Her solar lantern is made and distributed by CB Energie which won an open competition to be awarded the contract. … Because of the large number of sunlight hours in Burkina Faso, the lamps can be relied on to work whenever needed. The battery life is 2-4 years, and can be replaced once they lose their storage capacity. The LED lights last 5-10 years. …” [Reuters/Factiva]

Also in this Edition: Briefly Noted...

Briefly Noted… Lars Thunell, Executive Vice President and CEO of IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, Monday concluded his first official visit to Uzbekistan by emphasizing that IFC will continue to increase access to finance for micro and small enterprises, contribute to improving the business enabling environment, and help develop housing finance. [UzReport.com/Factiva]

Zimbabwe's annual inflation rate soared to 11.2 million percent in June, state media reported on Tuesday quoting figures from the central statistical agency. [Agence France Presse/Factiva]

The United Nations and Myanmar have resolved a problem with distorted official exchange rates that led to UN losses of more than $1.5 million in the delivery of aid to survivors of Cyclone Nargis. UN officials said on Monday the military government had agreed to let outside donors pay local companies directly and in US dollars, rather than via the official, long-winded system involving foreign exchange certificates. [Reuters/Factiva]

Income distribution gap in Indonesia is increasingly wider, barring the fact that the poverty rate has hit its 10 year-record low of 15.4 percent. Data by the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) showed the Gini ratio or the income distribution gap rate in 2007 reached 0.37, up from 0.33 in 2006. [Bisnis Indonesia/Factiva]

UN and other aid agencies issued a joint appeal for $58.6 million on Monday to help more than 100,000 people affected by fighting in Georgia. The money would help supply victims of the crisis with food, medicine, shelter, water, sanitation and other essentials for the next six months, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a statement. [Reuters/Factiva]

Tropical Storm Fay pounded Cuba with torrential rain and wind Monday, prompting authorities to evacuate dozens of low-lying communities, cancel carnival celebrations in a central of province and warn of flooding. Forecasters said Fay, which earlier left at least five people dead in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, crossed central Cuba early Monday and was expected to pass near the Florida Keys that night. [The Associated Press/Factiva]

Cuba is looking at watering down the generous social welfare system that has been a cornerstone of its economy for nearly 50 years, according to a senior government official. Alfredo Jam, head of macroeconomic analysis in the economy ministry, told the FT that Cubans had been “over-protected” by a system that subsidized food costs and limited the amount people could earn, prompting labor shortages in important industries. [The Financial Times]

The International Finance Corporation is considering a loan of up to $500 million to help finance the expansion of the Panama Canal. In a press release published its Web site Friday, the IFC said the loan to the Panama Canal Administration would help fund a portion of the total project cost, estimated at around $5.25 billion. [Dow Jones/Factiva]

The Palestine Securities Exchange, where 37 companies from the West Bank and Gaza Strip trade, plans to sell shares to the public by the end of the year, Chief Executive Officer Ahmad Aweidah said. The PSE, whose listed companies have a market value of $3.1 billion, will sell a stake of at least 25 percent, Aweidah said in a telephone interview from the bourse's headquarters in the West Bank city of Nablus. [Bloomberg]

Emergency help provided by the world’s central banks should be better harmonized to stop large financial groups shopping around in future for the best deal, the head of Switzerland’s central bank has urged. The possibility that greater integration of financial markets could one day lead to bigger banks going outside their home country for financial assistance when they are in trouble was raised by Jean-Pierre Roth, chairman of the Swiss National Bank, in an interview with the Financial Times. [The Financial Times]

The key rate at which banks lend to each other in dollars hit its highest level in two months on Monday, suggesting there could be more turbulence ahead for the financial system. The three-month dollar London interbank offered rate reached 2.81 per cent, a level not seen since mid-June. [The Financial Times]

The world's poorest countries have one thing in ever greater abundance: people. "Nearly all of world population growth is now concentrated in the world's poorer countries," said Bill Butz, president of the Population Reference Bureau, a Washington-based independent research organization. Currently 1.2 billion people live in countries classified as developed by the United Nations, compared with 5.5 billion in less developed regions, PRB said in its annual Population Data Sheet, released Monday. [The Associated Press/Factiva]