trade liberalization and forests in
central america
javier baltodano and isaac rojas,
coecoceiba/friends of the earth costa
rica
There are a host of ongoing trade
negotiations and agreements between Latin
American countries and the United States
and other developed countries that are
likely to have negative impacts on forests.
For example, the Free Trade Agreement
between Central America , the United States
and the Dominican Republic has a number of
specific provisions that will impact
negatively on forests.
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Firstly, signatory governments are
compelled to introduce intellectual
property rights protection for plants. This
places pressure on forests, which are rich
in biological diversity and likely to be
the target of companies seeking new genetic
material. Secondly, the agreement will lead
to increased infrastructure, such as roads,
hydroelectric plants and large tourism
developments, to satisfy the needs of
incoming corporations and investors. This
will also contribute to the destruction and
degradation of forests. Thirdly, in Costa
Rica , the agreement would mean that the
current Forest Law, which regulates all
extractive and trade activities taking
place in the forest, would have to be
revoked, as would the human rights
component of this law which allows anyone
to speak up for the need to protect
forests. Finally, bioprospecting could be
regulated under the agreement by a range of
specific provisions benefiting prospectors,
including an “expropriation” clause that
allows companies to sue for lost profits if
their activities are restricted (even for
environmental reasons).
frustrating community management
Trade liberalization as presented in
such free trade agreements favors
international trade above local trade, and
facilitates the operations of large
corporations wanting to invest in and sell
forest resources.
Free trade agreements put pressure on
traditional community and artisanal
practices relating to the use of resources,
including community forest management,
which is generally developed on a small
scale to satisfy local markets. In Costa
Rica , peasants, environmentalists and
indigenous groups have proposed schemes to
produce the amount of wood required in the
country through practices that respect the
forest and ensure a fair distribution of
the wealth generated. Such techniques have
difficulties surviving competition from
incoming investors. Corporations use the
forest's resources in a much more
destructive manner even when they do
operate within regulatory and legal
frameworks, relying on heavy machinery and
generating serious negative impacts on
ecosystems.
monocultures destroying diversity
Free trade agreements are also linked to
the expansion of tree monocultures. In
order to manage significant quantities of
forest resources, corporations have
homogenized, standardized and simplified
their operations. Monocultures, including
trees for wood production, paper or carbon
credits, and soy, banana and pineapple
plantations, are a key component of this
approach. Monocultures destroy huge swathes
of forest, provoke or worsen land
conflicts, and thwart local land
distribution processes and agrarian reform
in the ‘developing' world.
Free trade agreements are based on an
economic model that promotes the
functioning of international markets and
status of foreign investors. They are the
last stage of a neoliberal scheme that,
since the 1980s, has been responsible for
the disappearance of local markets, small
ecoagricultural initiatives, and food
security in many countries. Small farmers,
whose practices ensured the diversity of
systems and the stability and
sustainability of species, have seen their
land and local forests being taken over by
large banana, orange and pineapple
plantations.
getting worse under nama
Recent moves in the World Trade
Organization to pursue the liberalization
of wood and forest products though the Non-
Agricultural Market Access agreement (NAMA,
see page 7) will likely place further
pressure on forest resources in Central
America. Big corporations will have greater
access to local markets, placing more
pressure on community-based forest
management initiatives. At the same time,
demand for large-scale plantations is
likely to increase, accompanied by the
necessary clearing of land and the
heightened use of chemicals.
