WWF requests your action WWF has been working on the issue trade, environment and the WTO since 1990. Our experience has shown that while we can prove there is an urgent need for reforms to WTO rules and its dispute settlement process, the WTO listens attentively to these arguments only when they come directly from people and parliaments around the world. For this reason we are asking you to send a message directly to the Appellate Body of the WTO, which is hearing the appeal, and/or the General Council of the WTO, which is the central decision-making body of the WTO. A standard letter outlining the conservation and environmental concerns, and requesting specific actions from the WTO appears here. Please send it to either the Appellate Body representative or the General Council representative. Please take action via e-mail!

Take Action! On 6 April this year a World Trade Organization (WTO) Dispute Panel gave a legal ruling against a US import ban on shrimps caught in nets which were not fitted with Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs). This ruling dealt a serious blow to efforts to conserve critically endangered sea turtles, more than 100,000 of which drown in shrimp nets every year. Turtle mortality from shrimp fishing has been shown to be a critical factor in the steep declines in turtle populations along the coasts of many countries, and on the high seas. A single shrimp net trawl can drown as many as 18 turtles at once. Yet, these simple and inexpensive TEDs (costing as little as US$ 80 in some cases) have proven to be extremely effective in preventing sea turtles from drowning. The US requires all its shrimp boats to use TEDs and sea trials have shown that TEDs reduce the incidental catch of turtles to zero, or near zero, while actually increasing shrimp fishing efficiency. They can and have been adapted to local conditions in some countries (eg Malaysia), enhancing their efficiency and reducing the cost. Notwithstanding these conservation facts, the WTO ruled the US import ban illegal, and requires that this trade restriction is removed, or the US itself will face trade sanctions from the complainant countries (India, Malaysia, Pakistan and Thailand). In making the ruling the WTO Dispute Panel also overlooked the fact that these turtles are migratory species, moving between the high seas and waters of different countries, and as such a part of the common heritage of mankind. The WTO panel also ignored the fact that these turtles are protected under international conservation agreements, such as the Bonn Convention on Migratory Wild Species, the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species. US Appeal and WWF amicus brief On July 13 the US appealed against the original WTO Dispute Panel ruling on the grounds that grave errors were made in the legal interpretation of the exception clause (GATT Article XX) that exists in the WTO to allow measures to be taken to protect the environment. The US also appealed againts the panel's ruling that WTO Dispute Panel's cannot accept unsolicited "friend of the court" (amicus curiae) briefs from non-govermental organisations like WWF, that can bring new, relevant legal or conservation information to the case. Take Action!