Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
ts of fair trade in Africa, given the prevalence of national,
regional and household food insecurity. Although the concern with local food production
is well taken, it must be recognized that most African small-scale producers already
produce market crops, often for export, and rely on their sale for household survival. This
strategy of combining food and cash crop production is common particularly among
small farmers. Fair trade standards require that producers be paid a better price for crops
they already export and restrict the conversion of food croplands to export production or
the clearing of new lands. As Barratt-Brown (2007) suggests, fair trade may foster food
security in Africa directly through the investment of social premiums in environmental
and household food production projects, and indirectly through the payment of higher
prices for exports, freeing up resources for food crop production.
Although the potential environmental and social bene
Some question the bene
fi
ts of fair trade in Africa, as in
other regions of the global South, are substantial, the increased geographic spread,
product diversi
fi
fi
cation and enterprise variation within certi
fi
ed networks makes realizing
those bene
fi
ts more di
cult. The growth of certi
fi
ed fair trade production across Africa
can bring substantial environmental bene
fi
ts, particularly if
this certi
fi
cation fosters
organic production. This spread can simultaneously bring signi
cant social improvements,
especially as fair trade enters into commodity areas where women and other disadvantaged
workers predominate, thus increasing their access to the
fi
fl
ow of fair trade bene
fi
ts.
Fair trade and the environment
Africa is a continent rich in biodiversity and natural resources. The livelihood of much of
the African population depends on agriculture, yet increasing soil degradation, defor-
estation and deserti
cation threaten current living standards and future production
capacity (World Bank, 2001). According to the United Nations Environment Programme,
regional poverty could be eliminated through more equitable and sustainable environ-
mental resource management (UNEP, 2006). However, the expansion of the conventional
global food system, foreign-agribusiness-dominated export sectors and disadvantageous
trade policies are threatening the ecological resources upon which the poor depend
(Gibbon and Ponte, 2005). The spread of chemical pollution, invasive species and genet-
ically modi
fi
ed organisms (GMOs) further undermines agricultural sustainability, lending
a contemporary twist to environmental degradation (UNEP, 2006; World Bank, 2001).
The growth of fair trade in Africa works to protect environmental resources in three
key ways. First, fair trade certi
fi
cation standards require that producer groups uphold a
set of general environmental criteria that address key ecological concerns in Africa. 6 Soil
and water management standards prevent soil degradation and erosion, reducing the risk
of deserti
fi
cation. Restrictions on wild species collection minimize natural resource deple-
tion. Prohibitions against cutting virgin forests reduce deforestation, while bu
fi
er zone
requirements serve to protect natural areas. In addition, fair trade encourages producer
organizations to engage in environmental regeneration projects. Agrochemical restric-
tions and GMO prohibitions reduce the risk of chemical pollution and the entry of inva-
sive GMO crops into local ecosystems (FLO-I, 2007b; 2007c; 2007d; World Bank, 2001).
For instance, in the African cut-
ff
ower export sector - an industry renowned for its inten-
sive agrochemical use and resulting detrimental impacts - the introduction of fair trade
has restricted the use of hazardous agrochemicals, established bu
fl
ff
er zone requirements
and enhanced worker safety regulations (FLO-I, 2007e). 7
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