Ecological Debt in Extractive Industriespercy makombe EJN

• Concept of Ecological debt• Examples• Ecological debt: transparency and

accountability• Key challenges• EJN and CSOs campaigns• Way forward

Concept of Ecological Debt

The Debt accumulated by the Northern industrial countries towards the Third World countries on account of resource plundering, environmental damages, and the occupation of environmental space to deposit wastes, such as greenhouses gases. Those who abuse the bio-sphere, transgress ecological limits and enforce resource extraction of a range of natural resources must begin to discharge this ecological debt (Accion Ecologica).

Concept of Ecological Debt

It includes the appropriation of traditional knowledge, for example, of seeds and plants, on which the modern agri-business and biotechnology are based, contamination of the atmosphere through the emission of various greenhouse gases, producing and testing chemical, biological and nuclear weapons in countries of the South, and the dumping of chemicals and toxic waste in the Third World.

Raina, V. (2005). Dams as a source of ecological debt. SPEEDCA:Quito.

Examples

• The carbon debt: the debt acquired by the pollution of the atmosphere caused by industrialised countries due to their disproportionate greenhouse gas emissions.

• The biopiracy: the use of intellectual property laws (patents, plant breeders’ rights) to gain exclusive monopoly control over knowledge and innovation of farmers and indigenous peoples.

• The Environmental liabilities. Debt acquired through the extraction of natural resources, such as oil, minerals, or forest, marine and genetic resources.

• The export of hazardous waste that are originated in industrialised countries and disposed in impoverished countries, without the minimum environmental and social safety conditions.

The ‘impeccable’ logic of pollution

trade DATE: December 12, 1991TO: DistributionFR: Lawrence H. Summers

... I think the economic logic I think the economic logic behind dumping a load of behind dumping a load of toxic waste in the lowest toxic waste in the lowest wage country is impeccable wage country is impeccable and we should face up to and we should face up to that… that… I've always thought that under-populated countries in Africa are vastly UNDER-polluted. (full memo at www.whirledbank.org)

Sajida Khan (1952-2007)

though felled by cancer from dump, her EIA challenge to

methane flaring rebuffed the World Bank PCF, 2005

at present, Durban lacks

investors

South Africa

applied for a $3.75 bn loan from the World Bank to finance Eskom’s coal-fired power.

Examples

• Destruction of natural habitats and human livelihoods as a result of damage from petroleum extraction. For instance the damage wrought by Shell Oil in the Niger Delta, the home of the Ogoni people.

• Oil activities commenced in the 1960s in Angola but Angola still imports much of its oil at a much higher price.

Examples• Antifungal from Namibian giraffe• Appetite suppressant from SA and Namibia• Antibiotics from Gambian termite hill• Wild seed varieties account for $66 billion in

annual bio-piracy benefits to the US (Vandana Shiva, Yash Tandon)

• Oil and gas extraction has been done with little or no environmental mitigation provisions. These methods ensure huge profits for TNCs and leave an equal deficit to the local communities.

key challenges• Although quantification is useful in illustrating

the impact of ecological debt, it can be very dangerous. The problem with placing a monetary value on pollution or resource depletion is that it commodifies nature.

• Professor Joan Martinez Alier (1998) has made the argument that: “although it is not possible to make an exact accounting, it is necessary to establish the principal categories (of ecological debt) and certain orders of magnitude to stimulate discussion.”

CSOs and Ecological Debt campaigns

““I can’t understand why there I can’t understand why there aren’t rings of young people aren’t rings of young people blocking bulldozers and blocking bulldozers and preventing them from preventing them from constructing coal-fired power constructing coal-fired power plants.”plants.” - Al Gore - Al Gore speaking privately, speaking privately, August 2007August 2007

Upsurge of protest against electricity disconnections, price

increases, WB loan

Way forward• 1) at global scale, work in solidarity to

block ecological destructive projects. • 2) at national scale, continue to make

demands and challenge weak legislation • 3) at national scale pressure

environmental regulatory agencies to do their job.

• 4) at regional/provincial/state/municipal scales, engage public utility commissions and planning boards to block ecological destructive practices and projects.

• 5) at local scales, target point sources of destructive habits and raise consciousness in local communities.