Public
FTAA.soc/w/156
October 24, 2000

Original: Spanish
Translation: FTAA Secretariat

FTAA - COMMITTEE OF GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATIVES ON THE PARTICIPATION OF
CIVIL SOCIETY

CONTRIBUTION IN RESPONSE TO THE OPEN INVITATION

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Defensores del Bosque Chileno is a non–profit citizen’s organization, founded in 1994, whose objectives are to promote the protection of native forests, to inform and advise Chileans on the ecosystems which form their national forest heritage and to develop among Chileans an environmental awareness.

This organization has been supported from the beginning by thousands of individuals, becoming a credible advocate with the decision-makers, including business people who exploit the forest in a totally non-sustainable way.

To help the FTAA promote the sustainable development of natural resources, the protection of the environment and the protection of the biodiversity, we recommend:

1) To impose trade sanctions in cases of standard reduction and non-compliance with established standards. The low level of the Chilean standards and the short-sightedness of Chilean legislation give logging companies a competitive advantage. If this situation continues within the FTAA, it should be considered eco-dumping and be subjected to countervailing duties or to trade sanctions as in the case of commercial dumping.

2) To eliminate logging activities which do not take into consideration environmental costs and to require environmentally-sound technologies and sustainable practices. Subsidies should be given to small farmers who use sustainable agricultural practices and to owners of native forests for a sustainable management of their resources. (Important part of the Bill on native forests).

3) To incorporate measures for the conservation of natural resources and the protection of the environment. Trade control measures for the exportation and importation of natural resources should be specified to accelerate environmental sustainability and environmental protection. Trade restrictions, based on the standards governing the management of natural resources, should particularly be considered acceptable. Trade liberalization should not lead to an increase in non-sustainable development of natural resources

4) To tax transactions of natural resources. The “polluter-pays principle” is an internationally-recognized standard. A tax on multilateral trade transactions of natural resources would compensate for the environmental costs related to the intensification of forest development resulting from the FTAA. The funds would serve to raise the level of compliance of legislation on environment and natural resources and to protect biodiversity. Without such a joint tax on natural resources, many countries would oppose a green tax because they would find themselves at a competitive disadvantage and, at the same time, they would lose another economic tool to protect the environment.

5) To make sustainable development of natural resources a priority within the FTAA. The attention given to natural resources is one of the mainstays of the concept of “sustainable development”. To prevent negative effects of the FTAA on both forest and natural resources , it shall include provisions that: 1) require the tightening of legislation on the sustainable management of natural resources and 2) create an assistance program for the protection and restoration of natural resources, a program that would include scientists who could identify priority problem areas in Chile and that would provide the funds and technical assistance necessary for the study, protection and restoration of soils and fields among other things.

6) To make sure all control measures meet the criteria and indicators of the Agreement on the Montreal Process for the conservation and sustainable management of boreal and temperate forests. In 1995, Chile, along with ten other countries, ratified the Montreal Process. The agreement, also called the Santiago Declaration, identified 67 indicators for the conservation and sustainable management of forests. The seven criteria are: conservation of the biological diversity, maintenance of productive capacity of forest ecosystems, maintenance of forest ecosystem health and vitality, conservation and maintenance of soil and water resources, maintenance of forest contribution to global carbon cycles, maintenance and enhancement of longterm multiple socioeconomic benefits to meet the needs of societies and legal, institutional and economic framework for forest conservation and sustainable management.