Environmentalism in the South

Environmental Politics: Perspectives from the South Pham Van Dung 12 April 2011 The Southern Environmentalism (Guha, 2000) • Poor countries can generate environmental movements • Five examples of third world environmentalism: 1. The Penan community in Sarawak, Malaysia fight against commercial loggers with forums and network action. 2. The Sardar Sarovar dam on Narmada river in Central India, and movement of Medha Patkar to raise awareness of effected people. 3. Peasant protest against eucalyptus and monoculture in Thailand with Buddhist priests mobilization and practice of ‘ordination’ ceremonies for keeping natural forest. 4. Ogoni in Nigeria lost from Royal Shell oil exploration and beneficial government. 5. Environmental reconstruction by Green Belt Movement in Kenya. Nature of Southern Env’t struggles (Guha, 2000) • Causes/ oppression: – Commercial logging – Industrial monocultures – Oil drilling – Destructive ‘mega-projects’ – Large dams, displaced people • Consequences: – Environmental degradation – Intensifies economic deprivation – Moral urgency • People’s rights: – Traditional community rights – Natural forest http://www.un.org/ecosocdev/geninfo/afrec/vol21no4/2 14-saving-africas-forests.html India/ Brazil comparison (Guha, 2000) • Similarities: – Large, cultural diversity – Poverty – Aggressive gov industrialized programs – Free use of nature and natural resources – Env’l movement contributed to democracy, openness, accountabililty http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/india/maps.htm http://www.istanbul-city- guide.com/map/images/country/Brazil-map.jpg India/ Brazil comparison (Guha, 2000) • Differences: – India: • take more account of the human costs involved • long settled rural communities – farmer – Brazil • shorter history and vast Amazon resources • urban squatters and indigenous people • higher levels of literacy and education • environmentalism has higher inter’l visibility and influence Renewing the land and the people (Guha, 2000) • People’s involvement for good nature management • Equitable and ecologically sound way http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2008/09/16/rinjani- community-push-forest-regulations.html Chipko/ Chico comparison (Guha, 2000) • Chipko: – remote Himalayan peasant stopped loggers from felling hornbeam trees in 1973 – Represent for many conflicts: • access to forests, fish and grazing resources • effects of industrial pollution and mining • the sitting of large dams http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Chipko.jpg Chipko/ Chico comparison (Guha, 2000) • Chico: – deforestation during 1960-80s & road expansion – indigenous people do not have land titles – rubber tappers + indigenous inhabitants form a Forest Peoples’ Alliance http://www.chicomendes.com/ http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/may/14/endangeredh abitats.forests Chipko/ Chico comparison (Guha, 2000) • Outcomes: – Formulation of people-sensitive forest policies in India – Rubber Tappers Council of Brazil – Policies for Development for Forest People – Eco-feminism – Active environmental debate Question 1 • How do you evaluate the environmental movement in developing countries? [...]... similar to social domination Thousands of suicides by pesticide Pesticides banned in US are exported, dumped, or used in South –> global environmental inequality and racism Social Inequality, Labor, and the Ecology of Pesticides (Pellow, 2007) • Women – Lack access to meetings, training, information – Excluded from decision making – Gender-specific jobs & more exposed to pesticide poisoning – Risks to physical... coca, cannabis, and opium poppy in Colombia http://www.mindfully.org/Pesticide/2006/Agent-OrangeVietnam1aug06.htm International Agreements on Pesticide Production and Export (Pellow, 2007) • No law in the US against exporting and dumping banned pesticides • Some international law/ treaties: – The international Code of Conduct on the Distribution and Use of Pesticides (1985) – The Stockholm convention on...Pesticides Poison the South & Environmental Justice (Pellow, 2007) • Toxic waste dumping – Transnational environmental inequality – Reflects North /South divisions – Theorized in the context of race, class, nation, and environment • Impacts of pesticides – – – – – Problematic: greater efficiencies by producing larger crop yields Devastating public health and ecological harm Violence to the ecosystem is... evaluating other actors’ expectations, strategies – Mistrust in reality • North – South different point of view on compensation • South conomic liberalization and trade deficit, lost control • Financial event/ crisis North -South Non-cooperation (Roberts & Parks, 2006) • How the Development Crisis Breeds Mistrust in Climate Negotiations – rich nations need to rebuild conditions of trust – Trust, sincerity,... sustainable development environmental sensitivities profit generation with a conscience • Authentic CSR – elitist–self-serving – simple-minded paternalism • Subaltern publics – nonconsumer citizens together constitute the subaltern “Other – power differentials – large and heterogeneous group Corporate proxies (Munshi & Kurian, 2007) • Powerful corporations – states – financial institutions – Big businesses... beliefs influence issue definition, expectations, interests, principled beliefs http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp? NewsID=27015&Cr=climate&Cr1=change North -South Non-cooperation (Roberts & Parks, 2006) • Global Inequality & Climate Treaty Deadlock – three types of beliefs that influence policies and outcomes • Worldviews • Principled of beliefs • Causal beliefs – Structuralist ideas about the origins... barrier • Labour, marginalized, indigenous people, migrants http://www.hoahocngaynay.com/fr/hoa-hoc-va-doi -song/hoa-hoc-nong-nghiep/881-22022011.html Environmental Injustice, and the Violence of Toxic Markets (Pellow, 2007) • • • • • • • • • Migrant and agricultural workers are squeezed Developing countries increasingly import pesticide Consumption increase: 22% (in 1985) to 30% (in 1991) “development... sustained by principled, consistent behaviour – Poor countries face risk averse • Post-2012: Participation in a Climate Treaty – – – – principled belief affect environmental cooperation contract: no involved country stands to lose Definition of fairness are elastic, manipulated Negotiation is sometimes influenced by emotion rather than material self-interest – Aid needs to be reoriented and combined... states – financial institutions – Big businesses invariably team up with the state to get profit – State grant precious resources: land, water, and power – First and Third world trade in toxic waste – Powerful financial sector - capitalics system – Dominant coalition undermines subaltern publics Political realties (Munshi & Kurian, 2007) • Undermined the welfare of poor people • Child labour • Impacts... violence • Ban and remove pesticide • Sustainable agriculture & IPM adoption • Policy making of repelling and returning pesticides http://www.epa.gov/osw/conserve/rrr/greenscapes /projects/pji.htm http://www.speri.org/eng/index.php? act=newsdetail&pid=112&nid=123&id=515 Question 2 • How do you comment on the unequal trade relation between North and South (especially relating to toxic pesticides) Subaltern . from the South Pham Van Dung 12 April 2011 The Southern Environmentalism (Guha, 2000) • Poor countries can generate environmental movements • Five examples of third world environmentalism: 1. The. and indigenous people • higher levels of literacy and education • environmentalism has higher inter’l visibility and influence Renewing the land and the people (Guha, 2000) • People’s involvement. felling hornbeam trees in 1973 – Represent for many conflicts: • access to forests, fish and grazing resources • effects of industrial pollution and mining • the sitting of large dams http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Chipko.jpg