Compensation for Conservation Demand

by kenneth blackman

santo domingo, feb 28 1992 (ips) -- the issue of compensation for conservation may be the rock on which june's u.n. conference on environment and development (unced) founders, parliamentarians from both industrialised and developing countries fear.

over the years, the industrialised north and the developing south have been divided over the question of the utilisation of resources such as forests and wildlife.

developed countries are asking nations which still have abundant natural resources to limit their use of these resources for the good of humanity. most of these countries are poor developing states.

but developing countries say the industrialised ones are the main culprits in environmental degradation and have had their chance to develop. they say that if the north wants them to make an effort for the environment, they should get compensation.

asked if he thought this year's earth summit risked ending in failure, hemmo muntingh, member of the european parliament's commission on the environment, said he hoped not but did ''not have the impression that that will not be the case''. ''the signs at this moment look extremely unfavourable,'' he told ips.

while the european parliament believes developing countries are right in feeling they should get compensation for environmental conservation efforts, the ec council of ministers does not agree and says there is no money for that, he said.

the participation of some world leaders in the meeting is not certain, which adds another question mark to its chances of success, he said.

the compensation issue is all the more important since some countries, while recognising the need to conserve the environment globally, feel there has been a tendency to take blanket approaches without giving due consideration to local conditions and interests.

botswana has between 54,000 and 67,000 elephants, but can accommodate no more than 50,000, according to that country's ambassador to the european community, ernest mpofu.

the ban on the trade in elephant products hits botswana, an exporter of these products, not only economically but also environmentally, since an excessively high elephant population puts pressure on the rangelands where they graze, mpofu said.

''it is absolutely necessary to understand local conditions, for failing to do so may result in impositions that may thwart the efforts of some developing countries to achieve progress,'' said guyanese minister of agriculture vibart parvattan.

a ban on tropical woods, one of the recommendations that came out of the meeting here feb. 17-21 between the european community and the african, caribbean and pacific (acp) states, would hurt guyana, an exporter of hardwoods and wood products.

''our system of harvesting trees, selective cutting, allows for regrowth,'' parvattan told ips.

there is a need for an authoritative definition of the concept of ''environmentally sound development'', the acp and ec parliamentarians point out in a resolution on the implications of unced for the acp and ec states.

drawing attention to the ''fundamental link between underdevelopment, exploitation, poverty and environmental pollution'', they call for debt remission for third world countries.

the parliamentarians see the lifting of ec export subsidies for agricultural products and the implementation of land reforms in developing countries as ''highly advisable for the protection of the environment throughout the world''.

they also advocate a worldwide reform of energy, transport, and farm and waste management policies so that ''in a social and ecological market economy, external costs and benefits can be incorporated into price structures on the basis of the 'polluter pays' principle''.

one factor likely to influence the rio debates is the fact that third world countries feel that the north has double standards.

''how come there has not been a ban on the export of cars, which are among the greatest polluters of the atmosphere, with the carbon dioxide which they emit?'' one exasperated caribbean official told ips. and there is sometimes mistrust of the real motives of those who press for limits to the export of third world products.

a representative of a pacific country said australia, for example, which has been the loudest critic in the pacific of the export of hardwoods, also trades in wood and wood products.

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