The danger that current WTO trade negotiations pose to people and their environment is exposed in a new report, "The Tyranny of Free Trade," published Thursday by Friends of the Earth International. On the same day as 750,000 votes for trade justice were delivered to Tony Blair in an attempt to influence British negotiators.

The trade report presents a series of case studies from the Seychelles to Indonesia exposing the environmental and social impacts of current free trade policies in including damage to forests, fisheries, food, minerals, water and biodiversity.

The report shows that intensive agricultural practices and liberalized international trade are leading to social disruption, environmental damage and even hunger, particularly in developing countries.

Small-scale farmers are particularly vulnerable to market opening pressures and often forced from their land when it is converted to plantations or planted with crops for export, according to "The Tyranny of Free Trade."

Friends of the Earth's Trade Campaigner Eve Mitchell, said, "The mounting evidence from the World Bank, United Nations, World Resources Institute and our own research shows that the current system is making poor people poorer. Instead of basing trade on sensible resource management, it puts profits for big business first. The UK government fully supports proposals at the WTO that take us in the wrong direction, despite promising us otherwise. This can't continue."

Ronnie Hall, Friends of the Earth International's trade campaigner and one of the report's authors, said, "The myth of unfettered free trade as a solution to poverty needs to be exploded. Regional and bilateral trade agreements running in parallel are as untransparent and as harmful as the WTO."

"What we need now is a halt to trade liberalization negotiations and an urgent review of the impacts of international trade rules on poor people and the environment," Hall said.

Ministers from 149 member nations of the World Trade Organization met Tuesday to open the Sixth Ministerial Conference in a new effort to push forward the stalled Doha Round trade talks.

At the same time, more than 5,000 protesters from South Korea, Japan, India, the Philippines and some African and European countries staged a demonstration outside the Convention and Exhibition Center where the meeting is being held.

Korean demonstrators clashed with police as they tried to break a police roadblock set up to prevent people from entering a forbidden zone around the Convention Center. Police used pepper spray to break up the demonstration, spraying several reporters in the process.

About 100 anti-WTO demonstrators, including Koreans and Hong Kong residents jumped into the sea near Wanchai as a form of protest. Some demonstrators tried to swim to the Convention Centre, but they could not get on the shore as they were surrounded by the police. Some demonstrators brought along a wooden altar and tried to light it with fire but were stopped by the police.

This is the second anti-WTO demonstration held in Hong Kong this week. Thousands of anti-globalization and anti-WTO protesters took to the streets on Sunday.