Conflict of trade-facilitating environmental regulations with biodiversity concerns: the case of coffee-farming units in India

Abstract

Coffee farming units of India, with their strong orientation to export markets, have in the World Trade Organization (WTO) era, displayed a high propensity for compliance with trade facilitating environmental norms arising from sanitary and phytosanitary measures. However, farming units seek to recoup incremental costs arising from compliance with these norms through unsustainable exploitation of their biodiversity wealth. Based on this unique case of conflict between WTO-related environmental standards and biodiversity concerns, the paper advocates integration of national and global environmental concerns with trade-related environmental regulations in the larger interests of sustainable agriculture in developing countries [CAB Abstracts 2002].