Environmental imperatives in a globalised world: the ecological impact of liberalising trade

As the new economic order takes hold under the recent phenomenon referred to as ââ"šÂ¬Ã‹Å“globalisationââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢, spreading its rapacious tentacles into the social, economic and cultural fabrics of every nation, signs of impending disaster are becoming increasingly apparent, particularly in the context of globalisationââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s impact on the ecological well-being of the planet and its inhabitants. Like many other universally recognised paradigms such as sustainable development or even free trade, the term globalisation cannot be reduced to a single, readily understood and accepted concept. Instead, it is constantly changing shape, depending on how, where and against whom or what the impacts of globalisation apply. There is now little doubt amongst leading economists, ecologists, conservationists and indeed large segments of the citizenry of both developed and developing countries that the insidious nature of globalisation is causing horrendous and, in many cases, irreversible damage to many of its potential beneficiaries, the most important of which are the natural environment and its human inhabitants. Such concerns have belied the promises of the major economic powers, including the most powerful players on the world stage ââ"šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å“ the transnational corporations. One must surely pause to consider that our coincidental inabilities to alleviate effectively our most pressing global concernsââ"šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Âsuch as climate change, the eradication of poverty, disease, the plight of indigenous peoples in both the North and the South, and the worsening scarcity of food, water, clean air and sustainable energy resources needed to fuel the worldââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s insatiable demand for economic expansion, to name a fewââ"šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Âmay be directly attributable to the impact of globalisation.This paper will discuss the role that trade liberalisation, technological innovation, development pressures and the move away from local economies to a world dominated by transnational corporations, including those of the media, have played in undermining the relative stability or balance in ecological terms that had previously existed. It will provide some suggestions as to how we might begin to bridge the widening chasm between trade liberalisation and the protection of the environment.