Natural Resources and Violent Conflict - WaterWiki.net

102 crossin, hayman, and taylor• Harmonization with existing international law: (a) Are new controlsystems compatible with existing control regimes? (b) Are theycompliant with the WTO? If not, is a challenge likely?If political will exists, it is perfectly possible to establish a successfulCTR based on these elements subject to contextual considerations.The 10 elements can also provide a basic framework for building newCTRs. The paper begins by examining the five basic elements of agood generic tracking system by drawing on the experiences of thecontrol regimes listed in table 4.1. It then broadens the perspective toexamine the five wider contextual matters to be considered in thedesign or reform of any given CTR. A set of conclusions is presentedto facilitate further discussion.Comparison of the Five Necessary Elementswith Existing CTRsThis section describes our five essential elements of an effective CTRand compares and contrasts the operational lessons from existing controlregimes.Element 1: Common Definitions and Reporting RequirementsAs the majority of tracking systems need to follow transboundary commodityflows, it is preferable that a commodity agreement be establishedon an international level. Although this seems obvious, there areclear examples where commodity tracking efforts have been hamstrungby lack of effective coverage. For example, the Montreal Protocol onSubstances That Deplete the Ozone Layer only instituted a global requirementfor licensing of trade in ozone-damaging substances some10 years after the protocol was originally negotiated. This allowed“virgin” ozone-depleting substances to be easily passed off as recycledmaterial (which was not controlled by the protocol) because it was impossiblefor an importer to check the provenance of specific shipmentswith an exporter.The absence of agreed international controls on forestry means thatnational controls are not reciprocated or respected by trading partners.Hence, once illegal timber has left a producer country, it will not be detectedor sanctioned elsewhere. As a result, although rough estimatessuggest that about 60–70 percent of the tropical timber imported intothe European Union (EU) may be sourced illegally, the member states