Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
ecting both what is
at stake in political and economic terms and the number of countries and associated civil
societies involved. A large number of anti-FTAA movements have developed positions
that place themselves outside the process (Newell, 2007). The forms of protest in many
ways mirror, and build on, experiences of campaigning around trade issues in the WTO
and investment issues associated with the aborted MAI (Multilateral Agreement on
Investment). 'Virtual' alliances held together through exchange of information and for-
mulation of positions through exchange over the internet, combined with joint demon-
strations around key summits such as Quito and Quebec, are indicative of this form of
mobilizing. Such protests have been aimed at challenging the secrecy of the process, as
well as the sustainability of the development model being promoted.
Within these coalitions, environmental groups critical of the process and sceptical
about the compatibility of trade liberalization with sustainable development have articu-
lated concerns which resonate with a much broader critique of neoliberal development
models. There are concerns about the potential for mobile capital to exploit lower envi-
ronmental standards, as it is claimed has occurred in the
maquiladoras
, or to encourage
'regulatory chill' among states competing for their investment. The environmental impact
of increased volumes of trade has also been a focus for groups such as Acción Ecológica
that argue, 'FTAA implies a direct increase in the consumption and therefore production
of fossil fuels, this implies an increase in CO
2
emissions which the US does not want to
control' (Acción Ecológica, 2004, my translation).
Opposition to FTAA within civil society has been widespread, re
fl
Institutionalized participation and political opportunity structures
The purpose of this section is to look at those mechanisms of participation that exist
within the formal arenas created by NAFTA, Mercosur and FTAA respectively, with a
view to understanding for whom such processes are working and which groups and inter-
ests are e
ectively screened out of current regional trade debates by the ways these insti-
tutional channels have been constructed.
ff
NAFTA
The impact of campaigns on institutional structures is often not easy to discern in the
short term, but may yield longer-term bene
ts for groups in the future. Hence with
NAFTA, although environmental concerns over trade policy did not substantively alter
the norms and principles of trade policy, some (minor) changes to institutional proce-
dures were achieved that may create windows of opportunity for future activism around
NAFTA. Audley notes (1997, p. 118), 'While NAFTA did not alter the practice of using
trade experts as panelists, panel members may now call upon experts from the environ-
mental community to provide them with information relevant to the case.' The Border
Environmental Cooperation Commission (BECC) was also created in response to con-
cerns expressed by NGOs about the e
fi
ect of trade expansion on the Mexico-USA border.
Previously operating as a bi-national institution, the BECC now constitutes a ten-person
board of directors which includes representatives of the 'general public'. Many environ-
mentalists are, nevertheless, 'fuming that the BECC operates behind closed doors'
(Timmons Roberts and Demetria Thanos, 2003, p. 57). Alongside this, there is an 18-
member advisory board, made up of residents of the border region, which is meant to
ensure that interests of state and local communities a
ff
ff
ected by BECC decisions are
