Vulnerable Places, Vulnerable People Trade Liberalization, Rural Poverty and the Environment

by Elgar, Edward; Cook, Jonathan; Cylke, Owen; Larson, Donald F.; Nash, John D.; Stedman-Edwards, Pamela

• ISBN13: 9780821380994
• ISBN10: 0821380990
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-04-22
• Publisher: World Bank Publications

Summary

While some argue that trade liberalization has raised incomes and led to environmental protection in developing countries, others claim that it generates neither poverty reduction nor sustainability. The detailed case studies in this book demonstrate that neither interpretation is universally correct, given how much depends on specific policies and institutions that determine rs"on-the-ground' outcomes. Drawing on research from six countries around the developing world, The book also presents the unique perspectives of researchers at both the world's largest development organisation (The World Bank) And The world's largest conservation organisation (World Wildlife Fund) on the debate over trade liberalisation and its effects on poverty And The environment. The authors trace international trade rules and events down through national development contexts to investigate on-the-ground outcomes for real people and places. The studies underscore the importance of evaluating trade from a perspective that pays attention to environmental and social vulnerability and understands the linkages between poverty reduction and environmental protection. The lessons drawn provide a critical first step in developing the appropriate response options needed to ensure that trade plays a positive role in promoting truly sustainable development.

Author Biography

Jonathan A. Cook is Senior Program Officer for Climate Change Adaptation at WWF-US.
Owen Cylke is Director of WWF's Macroeconomics Programme Office.
Donald F. Larson is a Senior Economist at the World Bank's Development Research Group.
John D. Nash is Lead Economist at the World Bank's Latin American and Caribbean Sustainable Development Department.
Pamela Stedman-Edwards is Senior Adviser at WWF's Macroeconomics Programme Office.

Table of Contents

List of figures	p. vii
List of tables	p. viii
List of contributors	p. ix
Preface: Warren Evans and David Reed	p. xi
Acknowledgments	p. xv
Trade liberalization, rural poverty and the environment	p. 1
Trade liberalization, rural poverty and the environment: a case study of the forest and salmon sectors in Chile	p. 14
The impacts of trade liberalization in Pingbian, China	p. 42
Shrimp exports, environment and human well-being in the Sundarbans, West Bengal	p. 63
Trade liberalization, rural poverty and the environment: two studies of agricultural exports in Madagascar	p. 78
Trade liberalization, rural poverty and the environment: a case study of sugarcane production in the Incomati River Basin in Mpumalanga, South Africa	p. 98
Expansion of shrimp farming in Ca Mau, Vietnam	p. 126
Lessons from the case studies: 1	p. 145
Lessons from the case studies: 2	p. 174
Beyond trade: economic transition in the globalization era and prospects for poverty and environment	p. 198
Index	p. 211
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