Monday, January 13, 2020
Environmental Justice In Central America Region: A Critical Perspective Essay
This paper aims to talk a about the realities of life in the Central America region without withholding any truth about the situation in the country. The things that will be dealt with in this paper is very relevant in giving inquiries about how the economic and political intervention of superior countries affect the whole lives of the people in the Central America region. Introduction            Human needs do not only include the necessity to eat meals everyday. It also includes the right to live with dignity and self-reliance without the oppressive intervention of other countries. Life in the Central America region is just as simple as that of other third world countries, that are known to be developing in their status. People there are also hoping for a peaceful, harmonious and progressive existence on earth. That is why people are trying hard to cope up with the changes in the environment brought out by the decisions made by man.            The decisions that I am talking about has something to do with the ability to commit to the preservation of natural resources in the region. Without the will to choose preservation of natural resources, the next generation of the said region will suffer after the prior generation will harvest what nature has to give back. It is not debatable that the people in the region are suffering through the years due to lack of giving importance of natural resources. There may be different factors outside the will of the people, that has been considered as the causes of this event, but at some extent, it is still the fight of the people that will stop the environmental abuse in the region. The environment is no longer working in line with man’s needs but rather going against it. The said situation is very alarming that many scholars and authors like Roberts and Thanos who gave a very comprehensive and relevant criticism and analysis of the situation in Central American region. This paper then, would be guided by the way how the two authors attacked the environmental injustice that occurred in the region under study.            Basically, the needs of an individual alone will include food, shelter and clothing. These needs must be provided to the person because it will serve as one factor on how he would live his life. The moment these needs are not achieved, the individual will suffer physically, as he would get sick due to lack of food, shelter and clothing. The individual will also suffer psychologically and emotionally as he would be disturbed on the difficulty of his situation. Therefore, human needs must be met in all circumstances in life.            In connection with that, it is humbly and respectfully submitted that, the necessity of the development of long-term and sustainable alternative production mechanisms and the promotion that human needs must determine the distribution of food are the solutions to stop environmental crises and poverty in Central America region. Thus, politics and economics must not be the determinant factors or basis in the distribution of food in the region, but human needs in general. What has been the root cause of this submission? The authors of the book â€Å"Trouble In Paradise†, which are Roberts and Thanos perfectly pointed out the environmental problems in the Central America region which greatly affected the lives of the people and will surely affect the next generation. The book talks about Green Revolutions, Deforestation, and New Ideas, that are very much related with each other. Basically, it was pointed out in the article that the widespread adoption of pesticides and fertilizers as well as the rapid growth of biotechnology and genetic seed manipulations altered the human conditions in the region. With that, there is a need to work hard in order to solve the problem.            The purpose of the said changes and innovation in the said region is the attainment of modernization and economic progress at the expense of the environmental or ecological balance. It must be stated that without the preservation of the environment, the economic progress that has been achieved will become useless by the time floods, storms and other calamities will occur due to abuse in nature.            Deforestation has been done to be able to supply logging needs of other countries with the hope of gaining profits with the said import transaction without thinking that eventually, it will cause greater problems aside from poor economic condition. The problems of overpopulation, unequal distribution of wealth and land, as well as natural hazards occurred in the region affecting the lives of the people. If nothing will be done at the moment, the problem will become worse and worse as the time continue to roll. Environmental Justice in Central America Region            Roberts and Thanos practically stated that, the purposes of the modernization of agriculture are to develop the third world through United States aid projects, address poverty and economic stagnation as well as to create markets for United States products. Actually, there is something questionable on these purposes, as these has been the reason why many people are suffering in the Central America region. In the guise of United States aid projects, the countries in the region are affected by the results of widespread modernization of agriculture.            The main reason why it should be done is to augment the food supply system in the region and to sell the agricultural products surplus to other countries. But, the ends does not justifies the means, as the purpose was defeated in the long run. It is true that poverty is addressed in those ways, but there was no valid and diligent consideration on how the processes will affect ecological balance in the region.            What is more shocking is the very purpose of finding dumping grounds for the products produced by the Americans. The country tried to look for markets for their products by means of establishing connection with other countries, particularly third world countries through giving them numerous aid projects in return. The said underground purpose of the American nation is so oppressive and destructive that it should be stopped. Third world countries must be given their chance to govern their own economic and political development under environmental justice considerations.            There were so many problems that occurred in the region due to the Green Revolution, that is the modernization of agriculture. First, the said modernization of agriculture was not introduced into a social vacuum. The modern techniques for agricultural production was mainly confined on the rich and affluent families that are connected with political leaders that they are closely associated with. The poor and working tenants or the masses were not informed of the said modern techniques. This is because the modern techniques of agricultural production is the vehicle for producing export commodities. The local inhabitants were not taken into consideration as there will be no profits that can be taken from them. Their role in the situation is to become the working class as farmers and not to share with the fruits of their labor.            Second, the situation reinforced and worsened the economic and social divisions in the Central America region. The truth is, few of the elite landowners as well as wealthier peasant farmers and the poor are greatly divided as there was a great disparity of their income and social standing. The poor and working class, who were the people who caused the tremendous production of agricultural products were downgraded to wage laborer status instead of getting an appropriate share of the profits.            Third, there was a terrible states of erosion and contamination. This happened because there was a serious and heavy reliance on agrochemicals that created ecological damages. Merriam- Webster On line Dictionary simply defined agrochemicals as those belonging to fields or soil (â€Å"Agrochemicals†). Practically, agrochemicals were used to control the presence of pests in the agricultural fields worldwide to be able to prevent it from destroying the crops.            However, this solution to the problem was not really effective and there was no difference on the results when agrochemicals are used compared to its lack of use. Roberts and Thanos declared in their work that, pests continue to destruct around 37% of the world’s agricultural products and compared to the time before the modernization of agriculture, pests also caused the loss of 34-40% of all the global agricultural production (Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 70). Thus, due to the ineffectiveness of the use of agrochemicals, the environment was affected and the ecology with all its living things suffered imbalance. Now, what are other effects of this destructive practice in farming? What about the share of political agenda on this matter? Was it fair for the people in general?            Unfortunately, the answers of these questions were vague and we need to seriously deal with this. Roberts and Thanos correctly commented that, in the political arena, what happened was that, agricultural inputs such as seeds and machinery that are exported from wealthy countries are very expensive but agricultural products are sold cheap (Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 70). This means that aside from the environmental injustice that was brought by the use of agrochemicals, there was also an economic unfairness that was experience by those farmers who worked hard to till the land that may be owned by them or by rich large landowners.            What is worse is the fact that, there was a finding that pesticide poisonings known as nemoticide caused sterility in male laborers. This product was actually banned in the United States but was dumped or sold in the Central America region (Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 70). The product was obviously banned due to its negative effects in the health of the person. The farm workers who will be affected in the said pesticide will surely suffer.            Besides, regulatory agencies and United States manufacturers were aware of the danger of pesticide use but there was no care on the matter as long as profits can be taken from the export of pesticide activities (Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 70). The dumping ground of this product are the third world countries of which are trying hard to improve their agricultural production for economic advancement. Then, the third world countries are easy prey to the deception that was done in terms of exporting dangerous nemoticide chemical. In order to facilitate the export of these restricted pesticide products, the same were illegally shipped to third world countries without warning labels of its negative effect in their consumption pertaining to agricultural production (Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 70).            In addition to that, Roberts and Thanos also pointed out that, the said dangerous chemical can also affect women and children (Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 70).Going back to the scenario wherein the other poor and working peasants became the workers of the large lands to produce export commodities, there were many negative effects it would bring to them in particular. The owners of these farms only raked profits of the production but little did they know that the farmers who worked in the farm experienced health problems in the process.            Women and children can be seen in the farm helping in the production process. The children, young as they were, would help in harvesting the export commodities produced in the fields. Women also work, in addition to the activities they are confined with in their homes. In line with these, Pan International said that, short term economic interests greatly affects policy-making (â€Å"Dangerous Pesticide Use In Central America-Wanted A New Approach†, 2001, p. 1). The said interests of producers of those export commodities and the pesticide industry have prevailed over concerns of public health (â€Å"Dangerous Pesticide Use In Central America-Wanted A New Approach†, 2001, p.1). This was really a sad report and very unfair for that matter.            Another thing is that, theres was a directive to use pesticides safely but by all means use pesticides in the agricultural production (Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 70). Yet, the assurance was repeated by pesticide producers and backed up by scientific studies which was paid for and done by pesticide companies themselves (Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 70).That was also a case of utter deception. It was pointed out by Pan International that, pesticides are hazardous technology when used under conditions that cannot give a minimum of safety, and they have negative effects in the worker’s health (â€Å"Dangerous Pesticide Use In Central America-Wanted A New Approach†, 2001, p.1).            The truth is, this is incompatible with principles of sustainable development. Global community defined sustainable development as the sound balance among the interactions designed to make a healthy economic growth, preserve environmental quality, make a wise decision on our resources and enhance social benefits (â€Å"Definition of Sustainable Development†). Another thing that was done by companies to produce export commodities was the biotechnology industry. Roberts and Thanos explained that, â€Å"many seed and biotechnology companies was bought by chemical producers who made species resistant to their own herbicides, so that other plants will die while only the modified species continues to grow after application of weed killers†(Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 70). This process will also destroy ecological balance as it will eventually make other living things extinct.            Moreover, the University of Texas Press also pointed out that, economic reform or liberalization in Latin America generally included the eradication of protectionist rules, the availability of international markets by decreasing tariffs and quotas, the privatization and or disbanding of government corporations for rural credit, infrastructure, commercialization and technical assistance, the end or even reversal of land reform rules and regulations and the radicalization or reorientation of food policies pointed on the internal market toward an export-based agricultural economy (â€Å"Food For The Few: Neoliberal Globalism and Biotechnology in Latin America†, 2008, p. 1). The effects on this pattern was directed to the constituents of the third world countries, particularly the Central America region. Aside from that, the University Press presented the fact that, â€Å"many people are excluded as producers by the new agricultural policies and technologies†(â€Å"Food For The Few: Neoliberal Globalism and Biotechnology in Latin America†, 2008, p. 1).            Furthermore, the ranks of the unemployed was increased due to this phenomenon and peasant farmers were made as wage workers (â€Å"Food For The Few: Neoliberal Globalism and Biotechnology in Latin America†, 2008, p. 1). The sad thing is that, third world counties possess the largest plant biological diversity on earth, as well as the largest problems of soil depletion and environmental problems (â€Å"Food For The Few: Neoliberal Globalism and Biotechnology in Latin America†, 2008, p. 1). The injustice that we knew through this fact is very evident and degrading on the part of developing countries that for so long, they were deceived and used by oppressive rules and polices.             This time, we will be informed of the effects of deforestation due to the efforts of agricultural modernization of countries. But before that, it is wise to define first the term modernization. Global Change defined deforestation, as â€Å"the conversion of forest to another use or the long- term decrease of the tree canopy to include below a 10% threshold†(â€Å"Deforestation†). It also implies the long-term or permanent loss of forest cover and its transformation into another land use (â€Å"Deforestation†). Some of the activities that are very much related to deforestation are forest clearing, degradation and fragmentation by means of timber harvest, conversion to agricultural road building and human-caused fire (â€Å"Deforestation†). Merriam-Webster also simply defined deforestation, as the action or process of clearing of forests, the state of having been cleared of forests (â€Å"Deforestation†).            Roberts and Thanos mentioned that, rich countries are considered consumers of forest timber and they contribute to deforestation in a large capacity (Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 77). The regular harvest of timber products without replacing them was exported to wealthy nations for their use. The Central America region is rich in its timber products resources and it follows that many of its forests were victims of rampant deforestation.            Aside from that, each generational increase in human numbers places additional demands on land and natural resources (Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 77). The people will cut more and more trees and clear the forest fro them to have additional place to live and land to till for survival. Those who are poor and cannot afford a land for their own, will be forced to go to the countryside to live. They would develop the forest area on their own way and live there with their extending families. As a result, in the Central America region, the forest was in the edge of disaster due to deforestation (Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 77). The living things that can be found in the area will loose its place to live. As a result, they would become extinct in the long run. Extinction of living things in the ecosystem will cause ecological imbalance affecting the entire place. Ecological imbalance will affect farming activities that will cause shortage in the production of food resources.            There are examples of forest in the Central America region that is known for its rich biodiversity features and natural resources. In Mexico, for instance, the forest named as Lacondona Forest was known for its rich natural resources and wide area (Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 78). Also, in Costa Rica their forests was famous for being full of bird species larger in numbers compared to other countries with the same land area. This fact is good to know but was disrupted by the fact that these forests has been used to produce timber products for export purposes without doubling its reforestation activities. It is alarming to note that trees were cut in these areas without giving much effort in replacing those trees that had been cut. The soil erosion is common in areas were tress are always cut and were forest were cleared. That would cause flood and storms that will affect the people living in the area. If there will be more floods in these areas, the lives of the people will be displaced. Many will die and get sick for that matter.            In line with that, Roberts and Thanos practically mentioned that, there were some research pertaining to this matter speaking that, when there is environmental degradation, social inequality increases (Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 78). As the natural resources become depleted, the rich nations will find more places to exploit almost destroying all forests, while the poor ones will eventually loose its home. More people will loose their jobs and others will continue working with timber companies having a low wage. Children will suffer from too much hunger and their development as a child will be affected. The women in the families will live within their means that is already too small for their families to survive. Their families will suffer diseases brought by famine and natural disasters while the rich ones continue to live comfortably. This social inequality had exists in the region for so many years and will continue to happen if the environmental problems will not be given priority for solutions. While the rich countries are the most benefited by the natural resources production of developing countries, they should be aware that if they will continue to do this practice, they would also be eventually affected because we are just living in the same planet.            With that, Roberts and Thanos pointed out that, transnational groups such as the World Wide life Fund, Conservation International and Nature Conservancy intended to give assistance and funding to countries that were politically â€Å"open†and where there were already active local conservation groups (Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 78). Now, what is the rationale for this one?Why is it necessary for the wealthy countries to select only those politically open nations to extend aid projects? That was very alarming and it means injustice. Admittedly, it could be logically said that wealthy countries would give help in the guise of financial aid for reforestation projects to get something in return. They like those nations who could give them favor while they extend funding to them. As such, the developing countries will believe with them because of the hope that they could use the extended or sponsored reforestation to rehabilitate their already destroyed forests. Yet, these purpose actually cause so many problems involving the same people who live in the areas where forests are rehabilitated to some extent by foreign aid projects.            In line with that, Roberts and Thanos were aware that, forest-dwelling individuals were relocated out of the protected areas and treated as poaches if they continued to harvest fuel wood, wildlife, medicines or other forest resources that had sustained them for generations Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 79). It would be unfair for this people who are the most holder of rights to live in the area knowing that they can no longer survive to live in the cities. Their only resort is to live in the forest and depend on the natural resources that they could get there. These natural resources are the only things that they could afford because they do not have the money to afford things that are sold in the city like medicines, foods and even clothing.            For so long, they were so dependent on the produce of the forest for food for their families to survive. Thus, any attempt to deprive them of the right to take resources in the forest and to live there give them no choice but to rebel. It is ironic that the people who occupied and called the lands their owned were not allowed to use the same for their benefits. Then, it was absurd to rehabilitate forests when the supposed to be recipients are driven away.            While it is true that there was a peasant- administered conservation reforestation projects, the same was not reasonable and fair. Roberts and Thanos confided with this respect that, large landowners were reportedly paid up seven times more than small landholders and squatters were paid less Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 79). The said disparity in payment is not acceptable in a society that loves freedom and self-reliance. That was an example of economic and environmental injustice to the prejudice of the people in the Central America region.            However, no matter how unfair the situation may be, as long as it can contribute to the rehabilitation of the forests, then it would be okay. The best thing that should be done is fight for the rights that is accorded to an individual so that injustice will not prevail. Yet, how said it is to say this, that if we succeed in saving an ecosystem but lose the people that are a part of it, what have we really won? No matter how we try to save the environment when the people are no longer surviving, it will be useless.            One solution to the problem is the introduction of ecotourism. This term was simply defined by the American Heritage Dictionary of the American Language as, a tourism involving travel to places of natural or ecological interest, typically under the guidance of a naturalist, for the purpose of observing wildlife and learning about the environment (â€Å"Definition of Ecotourism†). This means that, there were groups of people who are holding projects in this purpose for governmental profits or purposes and sometimes aided by foreign funding.            Tourists are the frequent visitors of places that are placed as ecotourism business and only few of the domestic people who availed of the said services. These people who avail services under ecotourism pay an indigenous community, government agency, or even private establishment to let them â€Å"experience nature†(Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 80). They would really enjoy the adventure as the forests in the Central America region are beautiful places to visit with and that it was known for its rich biodiversity and ecological resources.            Actually, the visitors will also be informed of the importance of ecological imbalance. However, environmentally benign projects, like observing or feeding wildlife, can be incredibly disruptive when repeated by flocks of ecotourists everyday, or even several times a day (Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 80). That means the living things that are preserved in ecological preservation projects are â€Å"preserved to death†as pointed out by Roberts and Thanos (Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 80). For instance, if there were many birds in the area for ecotourists, these species of birds will be disrupted by the constant presence of people who will sometimes feed them improperly. Besides, due to the increase of the number of tourists in the area, it could be possible that building other infrastructure within the area for commercial purposes could happen. The aim of preserving the ecology would become useless if this thing would occur.            At this juncture, it is expected that we will be informed of the contentious globalization touching the topic of international law, treaties, green labeling and human rights. This is a very important topic since it talks about the dynamics of the environmental problems in the Central America region. According to Roberts and Thanos, Justice Lloyd Doggett’s decision to allow the suit in a Texas court was a pivotal step in the international struggle to make transnational corporations more accountable to their employees (Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 81). This a practical solution to end utter oppression in the region leaving the indigenous inhabitants nothing in their hands as if their lives depends upon the whims and caprices of these transnational corporations.            In connection with that,this was considered an international struggle because the problem is not only existent in the Central America region but also in other third world countries. The said case proposed that, the principal determinants in the case were political, economic and social factors-not technical or procedural factors as claimed by Dow and Shell (Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 80). If the principal determinants of the case would be technical and procedural factors, the rationale that was built within the law used as the basis for rendering decision will be put to nothing.            There was a very strong argument that is connected of the case given as an example on how international law would come to the rescue concerning international struggle for environmental injustice. If we could remember the cases of laborers who are victims of sterility due to the dangerous chemical nemoticide produced by Dow and Shell Companies, thousands of farmers filed cases against them asking for damages (Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 71). In line with that, the dominance of profit interests as well as control over information and technology by the manufacturers who concealed early toxicological research evidence of the reproductive hazards and by the managers of the banana producer-companies influenced and ultimately determined the case (Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 81). Profit-oriented companies do not care with the health of the people and instead refuse to disclose the danger of said chemicals early on so that the peasants could prepare and be warned of its ill effects.            There were so many people who fought to solve these problems in the region. Many people also fall as victims of human rights violations as they magnified their struggles. Some died for that matter. With that, Roberts and Thanos wrote that, the deaths of these people gives us an idea that we must turn our focus to the social and political underpinnings of violence. It was so sad that individuals needed to shed blood in order to defend their own lands. For example, Sign On San Diego pointed out that, a leading human rights group said that, it had lost its faith in Mexico’s legal system and would take is efforts to clear the names of two celebrated anti-logging activists to an international tribunal (â€Å"Mexican Rights Groups Says It Will Take Environmentalists Case To International Court†, 2002, p. 1).            Finally, alternative production mechanisms should be done by the people in their own efforts with the assistance of their governments in the region. The organic food production was tried wherein the use of pesticides was lessened to some extent. However, Roberts and Thanos reported that only a few profit will go to the contract farmer and the rest of the fruit of his labor will go to the seeds producer, fertilizer companies and others (Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 81). Fair trade efforts was also done wherein farmers were paid a fair amount or living wage on their exported products. Conclusion            The destruction of the environment will result to the suffering of the people. It will create a dilemma that will haunt them as pervasive as to the next generation. That is why it is necessary to take good care of the ecological balance of nature. Deforestation must be stopped and reforestation must be done double time. This is because according to the Rotarian Fellowship for Population and Development, deforestation contributes to soil erosion, scarcity of water, and climate changes (â€Å"Population and Deforestation in Central America†). Aside from that, three fourths of Central America is hilly or mountainous and that when it would be stripped with cover and the trees would be cut, it would unable to hold water and soil (â€Å"Population and Deforestation in Central America†). As a result, the destruction from Hurricane Mitch was seriously caused by the deforestation because of overpopulation in the region.            It is also concluded that, the environmental preservation projects that was made in the forests of the Central America region was not sustainable because it could disrupt the existence of living things in places made and intended for ecotourism. The purpose of preserving the wild animals and plants will be defeated of the constant presence of visitors and adventurers in the area. Thus, environmentally-benign projects are indeed not sustainable.            Finally, we should learn lessons from this paper since it has something to do with our survival and the future of the next generation. We must admit that all things are interconnected that any destruction done in the other side of the globe would affect us in one way or another. The realization that the environment is the common factor that would help us solve poverty is evident and we should not discard the idea. It may be true that wealthy nations will live comfortably because of the wealth that was taken from deforestation and inappropriate farming methods, but time will come that they would experience calamities as a result of the ecological abuse. Therefore, all of us must unite in preserving the fragile planet in which all of us are housed. References Global Change. (2008). Global Deforestation. Retrieved March 23, 2008,           from            http://www.globalchange.umich.edu/global/change2/current/lectures/deforest/deforest.html. Global Community. (2008). Definition of Sustainable Development. Retrieved March 23, 2008 from            http://globalcommunitywebnet.com/globalcommunity/definitionsustainabledevelopment.htm Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary.(2008). Agrochemicals. Retrieved March 23, 2008, from            http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/agrochemicals. Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. (2008). Deforestation. Retrieved March 23, 2008, from            http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/dictionary&book=dictionary&va=deforestation. Pan International Website. ( December 2001). Dangerous Pesticide Use In Central America-    WantedA New Approach. Retrieved March 23, 2008 from http://www.pomuk.org/pestnews/            issue/pn54p.12.htm Roberts, J. T. and Thanos, N. D. (2003). Trouble In Paradise. USA: Routledge. Rotarian Fellowship for Population and Development. (2008). Population and Deforestation:   Central America. Retrieved March 23, 2008, from            http://www.rifpd.org/overview/predicaments/enviroment/deforestation/deforestation.html. Sign On San Diego. (21 August 2002). Mexican Rights Group Says That It Will Take                                  EnvironmentalistsCase To International Court. Retrieved March 23, 2008, from            http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/mexico/20020821-1356-mexico-humanrights.html. The American Heritage: Dictionary of American Language. (2000). Definition of Ecotourism.                                                                                                                                                           20            Retrieved March 23, 2008, from http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/            ecotourism. University of Texas Press. (2008). Food For The Few: Neoliberal Globalism and Biotechnology in            Latin America. Retrieved March 23, 2008, from http://www.utexas.edu/utpress/excerpts/            exotefoo.html. Â
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.