Trade Briefing
Introduction - WTO - Poverty - Environment - Conclusion
Trade and the Environment
WTO rules mean that there is little or no incentive for developing countries to put environmental concerns above economic interests, even if they could afford to. Global trade places economic growth above the environment at every level; indeed countries can appeal to the WTO if it is felt that environmental concerns are interfering with their rights of free-trade.
When the European Union decided it did not want to risk allowing the import of genetically modified foods due to scientific uncertainty around its safety, the US filed a complaint to the WTO. If the WTO rules in favour of the US, the EU will have to import GM foods despite widespread concerns about the risks involved. (For more information, visit the Bite Back website.)
Global competition means goods have to be produced as cheaply as possible to survive in the market place, environmentally sensitive production costs more and there are no financial rewards - who is going to go down that route? Furthermore, importing countries are not allowed to impose environmental safety requirements on the goods they import, so there is no incentive for the exporter to do so.
The global market has led to the crazy situation where fruit and vegetables come from Asia, Africa and Latin America, chalking up millions of air miles and CO2 emissions in the process. A quick look at our supermarket shelves shows how difficult it is to buy locally produced seasonal produce. (Visit our Real Food Guide website to find out where you can!)
A major cause of environmental damage in the South is land degradation such as deforestation and desertification, caused by changing land use for commodity production to supply the North.
Deforestation
About 45 percent of the Earth's original forests are gone, cleared mostly during the past century. Deforestation rates are now so high that more carbon dioxide is released by forest clearing than is absorbed by the world's remaining forests [7]. Between 1980 and 1995 the extent of world's forests decreased by about 180 million hectares (Mha). This was the result of a net loss of 200 Mha in developing countries and a net increase of 20 Mha in developed countries [8].
Many countries in the South are rich in natural resources such as timber - vital for export earnings. The worldwide value of trade in wood products is estimated at $150 billion [9]. Deforestation for timber, occurs on a massive scale, but timber is not the only reason for forest clearance.
Vast areas are cleared for agriculture and cattle ranching. Timber, agriculture and cattle are all important export commodities - and they mostly go to consumers in the North! In Asia, Africa and Latin America, large national and international corporations carry out forest clearance, in line with government policy.
Forest fires are a common method of clearance, causing extensive environmental damage but reaping immense economic benefits. Between 1997 and 1998 forest fires in Indonesian alone destroyed an area the size of England and Wales, it is estimated that at least 2 million hectares of forest were burned including protected forests and parkland [9a].
Indigenous Peoples
Furthermore, hundreds of millions of people depend on forest resources and fuelwood for their survival; most of today's 2 billion people without adequate energy services are in rural areas [10]. Wood fuel is an important non-renewable source of energy, and accounts for 'half of all wood consumption', and in Africa it accounts for 58% of all energy used [11].
Commercial croppers and loggers make deforestation and degradation much worse by forcibly displacing indigenous people and subsistence farmers. Natives have less land and resources to live from, and cannot live sustainably, e.g. no dead wood means live trees are used for fuel, land is over cultivated and over grazed which reduces soil fertility and productivity. Hunger and poverty lead to a downward spiral of ever more desperate measures and unavoidable environmental destruction.
The problem is huge, country-specific estimates compiled by NGOs suggest that in six Southeast Asian countries alone (India, Indonesia, Nepal, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand) the forest-dependent population exceeds 600 million [12].
Desertification
Desertification can affect all the earth's drylands, which cover a third of total land surface and are mainly in the South. The basic cause is lack of water, but it is made worse by overgrazing, overcultivation and deforestation.
In Africa the problem of desertification is especially severe. Again deforestation to expand commercial agriculture has reduced land availability. Subsistence farmers and pastoralists have to survive on ever dwindling resources, leading to loss of soil fertility, soil erosion and ultimately desertification.
One billion people in more than 80 developing countries are facing hard-ships due to the fact that 65-70% of all drylands are now seriously degraded or desertified [13].
Pollution & climate change
Countries which are starting to industrialise such as China, often use old and dirty technology and fossil fuels. As China's economy expands its CO2 emissions keep apace and will shortly outstrip those of the US, currently the largest CO2 polluter on the planet.
And of course, these carbon dioxide will contribute towards climate change, which in turn will hit the poorest hardest, increasing the rate of desertification in Africa and the frequency and severity of storms and flooding in Asia.
References
7. Conserving Biodiversity Sustaining Livelihoods
P10, www.undp.org/gef/undp-gef_publications/publications/ biodiversity_brochure.pdf
8. www.fao.org/sd/wpdirect/wpan0050.htm
9. From the Environmental Investigation Agency website
30.03.2005, www.eia-international.org/cgi/forests/forests.cgi?a=10&t=template.htm
9a.(E.I.A.1998)
10. www.fao.org/sd/wpdirect/wpan0050.htm
11. 'Our Forests, Our Future', The Report of the World
Commission on Forests and Sustainable Development (1994)
12. Sustainable Development Department of UN Food and
Agriculture Organisation. Forests: food and livelihood security for
people, www.fao.org/sd/EPdirect/EPre0043.htm
13. Conserving Biodiversity Sustaining Livelihoods
P4, www.undp.org/gef/undp-gef_publications/publications/ biodiversity_brochure.pdf