Sincere Reflection and Discussion Is Required for the Western Hemisphere Summit Process to Be Able to Achieve Its Goals
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IDRC - Lib. Table of Contents: Preface (Arias) Introduction (Editors) 1. A Hemispheric Trade and Sustainability Agenda? (Cordonier Segger) 2. Americas Perspectives on Integration and Sustainable Development 2.1 A Venezuelan View (Nrno) 22 A Caribbean View (Francois) 23 An Argentine View (Guerrico) 2.4 A North American View (Ferretti) 3. Civil Society Participation 3.1 Constructive Civil Society Participation: A Chilean Experience (Frohrmarm) 3 2 A Citizen's Agenda against the FTAA (Larrain) 3.3 The Inter-American Strategy for Public Participation (Gimn) 3.4 Civil Society in Americas Trade and Environment Negotiations (Cordonier Segger) 4. Financing and Investment 4.1 Encouraging More Sustainable Investment in the Americas (Deere) 4.2 Balanced Hemispheric Investment Regimes (von Moltke) 43 Investment Policy and the FTAA (Araya)? 4.4 Changing Paths on Investment (Reynal)? 5. Trade and Biosafety 5.1 The Biosafety Protocol for the Americas (Arwnduaga) 5.2 Biosafety, Consumer Protection and Trade (Salazar) 5.3 GMO Concems and Americas Agriculture (Dawkins) 6. Intellectual Property Rights and Biodiversity 6.1 Biodiversity, Indigenous Knowledge and IPRs (Bastida Munoz) 6.2 Indigenous Peoples, Cultural and Biological Diversity (Soto) 6.3 Biodiversity and IPRs: A Costa Rican Experience (Cabrera) 7. Sustainable Water Management 7.1 Drinking Water and Sanitation (Mercer, Mayrand) 72 A Social Vision of Sustainable Water Management: A Colombian Experience (Rankin) 7.3 Self-Help, Water and the Excluded: A Trinidad and Tobago Experience (Forde) 7.4 Drinking Water and Basic Sanitation (Contain) 8. Mining and Stakeholder Participation 8.1 Mining Industry at the Crossroads (Echevarria, Peeling, Brooks) 82 Rhetoric or Reality in Stakeholder Involvement: A Chilean Experi (Blanco, Borregaard) 8.3 Placer Dome's Sustainable Mining Policy (Killam) 9. Climate Change Policy in the Americas 9.1 Global Climate Change and the Caribbean (Hurst) 9.2 Implementation of the Kyoto Protocol: Argentina and Brazil Experiences (Patelin) 10. Conclusions: 10.1 An Environmental Cooperation Mechanism for the Americas (MC, Leichner, etc) 10.2 Moving Forwards: A Triple-Win Strategy (QCS) Preface By OscarA ryas, fwru President cf Casta Rica and Nd d Peace Prize Wxr, A rias Famdatiad Sincere reflection and discussion is required for the Western Hemisphere Summit process to be able to achieve its goals. Leaders in the fields of business and sustainable development need more opportunities to come together in one room. For far too long, many have believed economic interests and environmental interests to be intrinsically opposed. The world is slowly waking from this out dated belief, coming to recognize that both commerce and the conservation of natural resources are actually just means, rather than ends unto themselves. The common aim of their different labours is human well-being. We all wish to see a world where jobs replace unemployment, where clean air replaces pollution, where families can afford to buy decent homes and children can enjoy forests and fields and learn about the great diversity of life on this planet - rather than its extinction. We all want to see an end to climate change, not because we believe high temperatures to be intrinsically bad, but because- among other things- climate change is exacerbating natural disasters, resulting in more illness, injury, and death, especially in the developing world We all want to see an end to poverty, not because money is good in itself, but because we know in our hearts that something is wrong, when we see the massive scale of human suffering resulting from crushing poverty and underdevelopment, in so many places of the world We need more people to care about the present and the future of our fellow human beings, and those who already do, must be commended for this. There is a pressing need to examine the areas where the business and environmental spheres intersect, and propose a vision for human well-being which encompasses both economic development and responsible use of resources. The human development paradigm has much to offer here. Critique is also needed - certain policies contribute both to poverty and environmental degradation, while corrective steps are possible for the governments of our hemisphere. In both the economic and environmental sciences, we are familiar with the language of crisis. Those active on behalf of the global environment have been calling upon the rest of us to recognize the crisis of our planet's health for decades, and the world is just beginning to listen. In economics, we speak of financial crises, and we have seen entire economies and currencies collapse. But the world is suffering from crises more subtle, and these bear closer examination. It is a development crisis when nearly a billion and a half people have no access to clean water, and a billion live in miserably substandard housing? It is a leadership crisis when we allow wealth to be concentrated in fewer and fewer hands, so that the world's three richest people have assets that exceed the 1 In 1988, Dr. Arias furthered his vision of democracy and non-violence by founding the Arias Foundation for Peace and Human Progress. The mission of the Foundation is to promote just and peaceful societies in Central America and other regions. The Foundation's continuing work is divided among three active and expanding programs: The Centre for Human Progress, the Centre for Peace and Reconciliation, and the Centre for Organized Participation. Avd&ble ncrr. or cr 2 Report of the World Summit of Sustainable Development, Johannesburg, South Africa, 26 Aug - 4 Sept 2002, A/CONF.199/20; UNDP, HtanmDeui7p mRepwr Dcx x,pa lrrrzxrzcy in afiumrx,7&t1uvdd (New York: UNDP, 2002). combined gross domestic product of the poorest fort three countries 3 It is a spiritual crisis when- as Gandhi said- many people are so poor that they only see God in the form of bread, and when other individuals seem only to have faith in a capricious `invisible hand' that guides the free market. It is a moral crisis when 40,000 children die each day from malnutrition and disease.4 And it is a democratic crisis when 1.3 billion people live on an income of less than one dollar per day and are effectively excluded from public decision making because of the wrenching poverty in which they live.' How do we face these crises? How do we confront these challenges? Certainly, the business community seeks to promote economic growth, which over the long term can alleviate some of these problems, if effectively managed. If we addressed the issues of deforestation, greenhouse gas emissions, and over-cultivation seriously, we would also make some headway. What is most essential, in any of our efforts, is that we remember to place people at the center of our planning. It will do us no good whatsoever to protect trees if people continue to starve, and it will be completely unproductive to unleash the power of globalized trade if all of the benefits go to a lucky few. Given the fact that 80% of the world's population lives in the developing world, and that that number will have risen to 87% by the year 2050,6 we would do well to check every corporate and government action against how it affects the world's poor. If we do so, and allow our reflection to lead us to radically different actions, then the crises may abate. Development is important. We have many phrases and buzzwords in this field, and each has different connotations. The phrase "sustainable development" for most people immediately brings to mind concerns about the natural environment and the importance of using natural resources wisely. At the same time, the concept of "development" on its own most often suggests economic growth. When we speak of the developing world, it is understood that we are speaking of countries which are economically poor. Development, for better or worse, also calls to mind the construction of factories, as well as business and tourist facilities. In short, when we think of development, we think of money and infrastructure. But where are the people in development? In 1968, Robert Kennedy warned us that we cannot rely on the amount of the Gross National Product (GNP) to tell the story of human well-being. He said, "Our gross national product ... counts air pollution and cigarette advertising, and ambulances to clear our highways of carnage. It counts special locks for our doors and the jails for those who break them. It counts the destruction of our redwoods and the loss of our natural wonder in chaotic sprawl. It counts napalm and the cost of a nuclear warhead, and armored cars for police who fight riots in our streets.... Yet the gross national product does not allow for the health of our children, the quality of their education, or the joy of their play. It does not include the beauty of our poetry or the strength of our marriages; the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our public officials. It measures neither our wit nor our courage; neither our wisdom nor our learning; neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country; it measures everything, in short, except that which makes life worthwhile." 3 UNDP, ibid. + WHO/WFP, FarlArdforHwJth aryl Derelop mr (WHO, 1997), at 4. 5 UNDP, supra note 2. 6 Ib". 7 R Kennedy, Address, University of Kansa, Lawrence Kansas (18 March 1968). This insightful comment was offered more than three decades ago, but still rings true to us today. We recognize the truth of Kennedy's remarks when we see that Kuwait, for example, has a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita that is higher than that of the United Kingdom, and yet thin five percent of its children are not enrolled in primary school.' GNP and GDP cannot measure what is most important, yet we continue to use these numbers, too often, as the guiding principle for development decisions.