The Hindu Business Line : From eco barriers to bizarre activism

Joseph E. Stiglitz's Fair Trade For All urges developed countries to adopt the `help-thy-neighbour' philosophy, even as Paul Driessen's Eco-Imperialism: Green Power Black Death, reveals `a dark secret of the ideological environmental movement'. D. MURALI recommends both books as worth reading.

Dispute No. 8 in the `environment' section on www.wto.org is about the `shrimp-turtle' case brought by India, Malaysia, Pakistan and Thailand against the US.

"This dispute arose over US restrictions on imports of shrimps from countries that did not have conservation programs for migratory turtles," narrate Joseph E. Stiglitz and Andrew Charlton in "Fair Trade For All," from Oxford University Press (www.oup.com).

The US had insisted that shrimp boats be equipped with TEDs or turtle-excluder devices, to enable turtles to exit unharmed, but shrimp-exporting countries such as India argued that the restriction was illegal. "The US lost the case, not because it sought to protect the environment but because it discriminated between WTO (World Trade Organisation) members," explains the book. It seems the US had given Caribbean Basin nations three years, while Asian countries had only four months to comply.

The Appellate Body of the WTO had underscored thus: "We have not decided that the sovereign nations that are Members of the WTO cannot adopt effective measures to protect endangered species, such as sea turtles." Stiglitz and Charlton observe that the significance of the ruling in the case is that the world body endorsed the use of trade policy to enforce environmental standards.

The authors foresee a danger that economically powerful nations and groups, such as China and the EU, too could think of imposing their political will upon countries economically dependent on uninterrupted access to their markets. "The WTO should encourage members to assist countries in crisis by undertaking special measures to open up their markets," urges the book, but the suggestion appears to be highly idealistic, banking as it does on `help-thy-neighbour' philosophy.

A practical idea, though, is that WTO commitments be voluntary especially in "areas where the purported gains are controversial and where implementation and opportunity costs are high." The authors cite as example the FDI (foreign direct investment) policy, with tangible results that persuasion has yielded. "In 1999 alone, there were 140 changes to FDI regulations worldwide... Developing countries have seemingly acted responsibly in their own interests, without the need for multilateral compulsion." But there can be more than one opinion on the impact of FDI, as we have been hearing closer home.

Considering the asymmetry between the developed and the developing nations, the book puts forth radical suggestions.

Such as: All WTO members committing themselves to providing free market access in all goods to all developing countries poorer and smaller than themselves; developed countries eliminating agricultural subsidies; and not insisting on rules of origin.

`Priorities behind the border' include anti-corruption policies, and restrictions on tax and incentive competition.

Interestingly, Stiglitz and Charlton devote a chapter to `what should not be on Agenda' of any future development round. In this non-list, what tops is IPR (intellectual property rights). "A new intellectual property regime needs to be created which balances more carefully the interests of the users and the producers of knowledge and goes some way toward closing the North-South `knowledge gap'."

Another item in this list is `investor agreement'. The authors see trouble potential in putting `capital market liberalisation' on the table. "There is mounting evidence that full mobility of short-term speculative capital (`hot money') would actually increase economic instability, in turn increasing poverty. There is little evidence that it enhances economic growth." Wonder if the latest Budget has only added fuel to hot money.

A compact book on global trade, though the developed countries may pooh-pooh many of the suggestions.

the $8-billion-a-year gorilla

Environment may bring to mind fresh air and greenery, at least till you read Paul Driessen's "Eco-Imperialism: Green Power Black Death," from Academic Foundation (www.academicfoundation.com). For, the book reveals `a dark secret of the ideological environmental movement' and describes how the rich nations impose their views on the poor. The book talks about an $8-billion-a-year international gorilla with eco-centric supporters to whom "wildlife and ecological values are more important than human progress or even human life."

Deepak Lal writes in his foreword that the `movement' worships not god, but nature — "nature not in its actual form but in an idealised form that never existed." Lal cites the example of DDT, "the most cost-effective chemical ever produced to control diseases spread by bugs like flies and mosquitoes."

As a result of banning the chemical, "malaria now infects some 300 million people, and kills 2 million (most of them children and pregnant women) every year." Introduction by Niger Innis commends the book for the way it strips `the radicals' mantle of virtue', and dissects `their bogus claims'.

Driessen begins with `corporate social irresponsibility' where he warns that CSR (corporate social responsibility) can be "a dangerous virus, a lethal weapon of mass destruction" in the hands of "misguided or unscrupulous social and environmental activists and trade protectionists."

The author traces the roots of the evil to CSR that has bizarrely mutated to "routinely dominate business, economic, technological, scientific, and health debates". Behind the intertwined CSR doctrines such as socially responsible investing, precautionary principle, and sustainable development, Driessen sees "the concerns, preferences and gloomy worldview of a small cadre of politicians, bureaucrats, academics, multinational NGOs and wealthy foundations in affluent developed countries."

Their doctrines are based on pessimistic premises, the author avers. "Eco activists erroneously believe, for example, that energy and mineral resources are finite, and are rapidly being exhausted." Does that sounds like a flat earth theory? In a chapter titled `cow dung forever' cites statistics to prove that wind turbines can be hazardous: "A recent study in Northern Spain revealed that mere 400 wind turbines killed 432 raptors, 671 bats and 6,152 small birds in a single year."

People are worried that migration may be halted in its tracks if Spain proceeded with its plan to build 10,000 wind turbines!

Catch up with more in chapters such as: playing games with starving people, sustainable mosquitoes - expendable people, sweat shops and prostitutes, renewable energy mirages, climate change riches, greenwashing for greenbacks, and investor fraud.

Driessen exhorts shareholders to insist that all decisions be made "on sound, peer-reviewed science and solid evidence - not on hysterical claims and shrill rhetoric by activists, regulators and journalists."

The book ends with `corporate social responsibility reborn', calling for `responsible companies and politicians' to `demonstrate real leadership' and `lead the way in making the world a better place for its poorest inhabitants.'

A shrill voice, worth listening to.

Economics@TheHindu.co.in

D.Murali