This keynote address of the conference on Natural Resource Conservation Use and Sustainability in Drylands, focuses mainly on some new concepts of resource assessments in dry areas, some recent debates on organizational ideas on communities and their institutions; larger issues to place the...

This paper takes a detailed look at the SSM and analyzes its usefulness for developing countries. It also explores how the concept of a special agricultural safeguard has evolved in the present round of negotiations and what are the country positions on SSMs in the Doha Round. The paper then...

The paper points out that some provisions of the framework will allow developed countries to maintain and, in some cases, even increase domestic farm support and still remain WTO-compliant. In most cases, though, the July Framework only provides broad guidelines and leaves the field open for...