Globalization and its Environmental Dimensions:
angladesh Perspectives
http://www.meghbarta.net/globalization/reza.html
Mohammad Reazuddin
Department of the Environment, Government of Bangladesh
Dhaka, Bangladesh
Introduction
The term "globalization" is a new word that has entered our vocabulary primarily
by way of the business press. It has taken on a number of different meanings
depending on who is using it and the context in which it is being used. In the popular
business press, it is often used to refer to the increased pressure on manufacturers
to sell and build in more than one country. They are encouraged to think of their
market and their producers in global terms rather than national terms. From this
point of view, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is both a political
response to globalization and an invitation to globalize. In the cultural world,
globalization is used to refer to the spread of Western style movies, clothing styles,
and soft drinks around the world.
What is Globalization?
There is no accepted standard definition, but it is characterized by reduction or
elimination of barriers among nations in trade, investment, finance, transportation
and communication. It leads to freer movement of goods, services, money, people,
and ideas across national boundaries. Over the past decade, trade has increased
twice as fast as output; foreign direct investment, three times as fast; and, cross
border trade in company shares ten times as fast (the Economist).
The Present Trend of Globalization
Globalization focuses on the free market trading of goods and services and the
movement of capital. For both focuses, the developed countries hold the preeminent
positions. However, free movement of labour, which the developing countries can
export in large numbers, is not allowed.
Generally, poor countries have been forced, through the threat of assistance cut-off,
to adopt free market reforms and globalization. In fact, the changes wrought in the
functions and functioning of the global systems are so fundamental that perhaps
there is no chance for any country to avoid its impact and refrain from joining it.
Indeed, globalization is multifaceted. It has to do with the worldwide spread of high
technologies of unprecedented sophistication that are altering such different fields of
human endeavor as production, distribution, communication, and the movement of
funds. For example, it requires just the pressing of a computer button to effect an
instantaneous transfer of billions of dollars from one corner of the world to another,
with huge impacts on all parties affected in one way or another. Production is being
relocated based on opportunities for cost reductions. The industrial age in the
western countries is being overtaken by the knowledge age, with knowledge workers
replacing industrial workers on a wide-scale.
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Opportunities and Constraints
Over the past 50 years, humanity has achieved phenomenal, revolutionary progress
in all fields of human endeavour. But that progress has not touched a large majority
of the global population. What might be the future scenario? It is argued that, by
integrating into the Western-led, world, capitalist system, poor countries will gain
access to the benefits of global progress and will thereby be abled to achieve rapid
economic and human development. Are these realistic prospects for the poor
countries in the present, unipolar, highly iniquitous, global system?
If globalization is to work for the developing countries, then the advanced countries
should be more forthcoming in establishing an equitable world system. Indeed, if all
nations of the world were to move towards an integrated global society in an orderly
fashion, an appropriate solution to the problem of the persisting, glaring, inequities
among nations and among groups within nations is needed.
Following the establishment of the WTO, every member country is committed to
liberalize their economies so that there will be no artificial barrier to the free
movement of goods and serviced between nations. For developing countries, this
has, on the one hand, created the challenge of severe competition, and, on the other
hand, provided opportunities to expand trade.
The freer flow of goods and services across national boundaries has permitted
greater specialization in production, which in turn encourages larger scale production
and wider transport of goods. This in turn leads to greater processing and packaging.
Economies of scale bring down unit costs. However, the downside is that this
happens at the expense of small producers, destroying the livelihood of small, ruralbased producers and workers, who often have no ready alternative employment and
livelihood.
Organizing inter-government processes provided globalization’s impetus. More
recently, the increasingly globalized orientation of peoples has facilitated networking
and better coordination and alliances among civil society groups from different
countries. Thus, inter-civil society processes at the international level are equally
strong, with most major international conferences having a parallel civil society
gathering. The consequence of this recent emergence has yet to be fully identified.
Globalization is not something to be reversed, but needs to be "guided" and
managed to ensure its sustainability. Certainly, the South can learn from the North's
mistakes. But leapfrogging requires foresight, political will, as well as, financial and
technological resources. Most countries lack this combination of attributes. And,
while transnational corporations engaged in foreign direct investment can have
higher environmental standards than can domestic producers in developing
countries, they are by no means the carriers of a sustainable lifestyle. According to
the Third World Network "these institutions are responsible for most of the world's
resource extraction, pollution and generation of consumer culture.”
Impacts of Globalization on Consumption Patterns and the Environment.
Greater mobility of people, both as tourists and as workers, has led to cross
influences in consumption behavior (e.g. dietary habits). Western/Northern
consumption habits are rapidly spreading to the East/South, while Eastern/Southern
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consumption habits and goods are also becoming popular in the West (e.g. Chinese,
Japanese, Mexican food; vegetarianism). Unfortunately however, environmentally
unfriendly consumption patterns are also moving from developed to developing
countries (e.g. fast, processed foods with additives; plastic packaging vs. traditional
biodegradable containers/ packaging materials; etc.).
The processing of certain raw materials, for example pulp and paper, oil, and
aluminum, can have substantial environmental side effects. Industrial countries have
generally been more successful than developing ones both in ensuring that export
product prices reflect the costs of environmental damage, and in controlling that
damage. Thus, for exports from industrial countries, consumers in the importing
nations, including those in the Third World, pay these costs. But, in the case of
exports from developing countries, such costs continue to be borne entirely
domestically, largely in the form of damage to human health, property, and
ecosystems.
International economic relationships also pose a particular problem for
environmental management by the poor countries, since the export of natural
resources remains a large factor in their economies. Faced with instability and
adverse price trends, most poor countries find it impossible to manage their natural
resources for sustained production. The rising burden of debt servicing and the
decline in new capital flows intensify those forces that lead to environmental
deterioration and resource depletion rather than those leading to long-term
development.
What needs to be done?
Two conditions must be satisfied before international economic exchanges can
become beneficial for all involved in the globalization process. These are:
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The sustainability of ecosystems on which the global economy depends must
be guaranteed, and,
T he agreement of economic partners that the basis of their exchange is
equitable.
Relationships that are unequal and based on dominance of one kind or another, are
not a sound basis for interdependence. For many developing counties, neither
condition is met.
To achieve these conditions, the following actions need to be considered.
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Systematic environmental audits should be adopted. The concept of
environmental audit is becoming popular and some pioneering businesses
have already adopted it. For example, in Malaysia, a system of environmental
audit has been drawn up by the Ministry of Science, Technology and
Environment, whereby the effectiveness of environmental protection
measures are relayed to the authorities. In India, a voluntary audit scheme
has been introduced for all polluting industries. Control measures are also
promoted widely to enhance sustainable production and consumption through
environmental impact assessments. In addition, technologies are being
promoted to enhance natural resource conservation, particularly the
conservation of energy and water.
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Transnational corporations can have a substantial impact on the environment,
on resources of other countries, and on the global commons. Both the home
and host countries of TNCs share responsibilities and should work together to
strengthen policies in this sphere. For example, information on policies and
standards applied to and followed by corporations when investing in their own
home country, especially concerning hazardous technologies, should be
provided to host countries. Moreover, the policies of some industrialized
counties requiring environmental assessments for all major projects should be
applied to all projects and investments made elsewhere and should be
broadened to include sustainability criteria. The information and
recommendations thus arrived at should be shared with the host countries,
which of course would retain the final responsibility for decision-making on
the matter.
There is a need to promote active exchanges of green technologies. Here,
developing countries have as much to share as the developed countries do.
The media and the advertising industry should be harnessed towards
promoting sustainable and simpler lifestyles and consumption patterns.
A development ethic of sharing must replace the traditional ethic of growth.
Multi-stakeholder partnerships are a necessary condition for this to happen.
Multi-stakeholder national councils for sustainable development (NCSDs) in
which government, civil society and private business are well represented, or
which have similar multi-stakeholder mechanisms, are extremely important in
effecting a "paradigm shift" in the pursuit of sustainable human development.
Bangladesh’s Perspectives
The Bangladesh society is characterized by the predominance of economic, political,
social and cultural exclusion. Half the people are poor, lacking access to the daily
minimum required calorie intake. The number of poor goes up by millions, if other
basic needs, including a measure of freedom of choice, are taken into consideration.
The majority of the population is illiterate; underemployment is widespread; the vast
majority of those employed in most sectors, but particularly in the agriculture, small
enterprise, and informal sectors, suffer from low productivity; and, the decisionmaking processes (national and local) bypass the overwhelming majority of citizens.
In tune with the prevailing world trend, the government is committed to a liberal
trade policy in a free market economy. Bangladesh has embarked on an export-led
industrialization strategy to take advantage of free trade in order to achieve faster
economic growth. To create the desired level of export growth, a significant shift of
emphasis from a regulated economy to a market economy is occurring. The major
policy reforms introduced to adjust to a free trade regime include, among others:
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liberalization of import regulation including a simplification of the required
procedures,
rationalization of the tariff structure,
reduction in both tariff rates and quantitative restrictions,
pursuit of flexible exchange rate policy,
introduction of an IMF-consistent counter trade, and
provision of specific and transparent export promotion measures.
To provide continuity and long-term direction to the trade sector, the government
has decided to formulate a Five-Year Trade Policy (Import and Export Policy) instead
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of the hitherto followed annual/biannual ones. The trade policy announced eventually
is subject to annual review to adjust them with emerging requirements.
Bangladesh, with a growing population of almost 125 million, has been experiencing
the effects of globalization since the late 1970s. Through economic liberalization and
structural adjustment programs, Bangladesh has sought to obtain the economic
benefits of globalization. A significant array of reforms, deregulation, and
liberalization has been undertaken. Several unprecedented incentives are being
offered to global investors. Some of these include:
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5-10 year tax holiday,
duty-free import and export of machinery and goods in the EPZ,
unrestricted foreign ownership in investment,
full repatriation of profits and capital gains,
multiple-entry visas and liberal work permits,
prompt registration of investment at the one-stop Board of Investment, and
reform of the legal system, including legal protection to foreign investments
against nationalization and expropriation.
As a consequence of seeking globalization and environmental control, Bangladesh
appears to be one of the few South Asian countries where massive social change
created by the interacting and interdependent forces of globalization, resource
mobilization, industrialization and environmental degradation are most easily
discernible. A few examples are cited below.
Shrimp Culture
One of the economic riches Bangladesh is pursuing is the development of an
international seafood industry. The export of seafood has become the third highest
foreign exchange earner in Bangladesh. International donor agencies and NGOs
(e.g., The World Bank, UNDP, and The CARITAS) made massive investment in this
Asian "Blue Revolution." The industry now employs a huge labour force, composed
mostly of women who are poorly paid. Within the last decade, more than 350,000
acres of agricultural land in coastal districts of Bangladesh have been turned into
prawn farms. Many of these farms now suffer serious soil degradation owing to the
salinization that occurs from salt water flooding. The land has been turned into a
saline desert, unfit even for grazing cattle. It appears that aquaculture in any given
location is temporary, but its environmental impacts are enduring.
Jute and Polythene
Wide spread use of polythene and synthetics seems to have ended the golden age of
jute. People now generally carry their food and other necessities in plastic bags and
containers. But environmentalists caution that polythene causes health hazards and
pollutes the environment.
Jute has played a vital role in transforming the self-sufficient economy of the Bengal
villages to a market oriented one for it is a crop entirely produced for the industry.
When Bangladesh became independent in 1971, eighty jute mills worked full time
producing jute products. Now, most of the mills have ceased operations because of
the decline of jute's importance in the international market. Even in Bangladesh,
synthetic substitutes have occupied the place of jute, though synthetics are not
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environment friendly. The policies used by industrialized countries to save their
entrenched industries also influence the international jute market for Bangladesh.
For example, in Britain, the jute and plastic industries are considered entrenched
industries. To protect and save those industries, Britain has imposed tariffs on
imported jute goods.
Export Processing Zones
To promote globalization, the Government of Bangladesh has created exportprocessing zones and is giving unprecedented incentives to global investors. These
include: a tax holiday, duty free import and export, and unrestricted foreign
ownership of industries established in its export processing zones. In recent years,
pollution-intensive industries, such as integrated textile mills and chemical plants,
have found their places in the export processing zones. Taking advantage of the
liberal polices of the host government, the foreign investors have not always
complied with Bangladesh’s environmental policies and standards, although TNCs
take adequate care to comply with the environmental requirements and standards
when establishing similar industries in their own countries. Industries in the exportprocessing zone will have a substantial impact on the environment in the near future
if environmental issues remain unattended in the name of liberalization.
Mono-Cropping
In Bangladesh, the green revolution strategy focused on producing only higher
yielding rice varieties. The strategy resulted in an increasing shift of land use from
non-rice to rice crops. The consequence is that Bangladesh is becoming a mono-crop
economy. Thus, the market-based economy has created a situation which goes
against the diversities of nature and which are also important for the protection of
the environment.
With the decrease in the diversity of crops planted, the supply of non-cereal crops
has also decreased considerably. Particularly noteworthy is the decline in the supply
of various kinds of pulses. With decreasing supplies, prices have risen rapidly. Since
pulses were the main sources of protein for the poor, significant price increases have
adversely affected the nutritional status of the poor.
The Growing Ship Dismantling Industry
All ships that are being junked are now sent to the coasts of developing countries
like Bangladesh. Every ship dismantled adds enormous quantities of pollutants to the
waters along the coast. Oil, bilge water, and grease released from the ships already
has affected the natural mangroves and plantations around Chittagong where the
ship dismantling occurs. Environmentalists further indicate that large quantities of
heavy metals are being released to the detriment of the aquatic ecosystem and the
food chain. Moreover, the ship dismantling industry is becoming a threat to the
tourism industry because the released pollutants so soil the beaches that people do
not like to revisit them.
Concluding Remarks
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In Bangladesh, globalization is producing a new polarization of power and resources.
Development policies and strategies, funded by bilateral and multilateral aid agencies
and by the international and local NGO communities, aid the polarization. Evidence
shows that the rush to intensified globalization can result in higher displacement
rates of peasant farmers from their livelihood bases. There is a rapid encroachment
on vital, common, property resources and on ecological reserves, often through the
coercive actions of new business interests. On the other hand, export-oriented
production of agricultural commodities (e.g., seafood cultured on arable land;
vegetables for international markets) is giving quick rise to new entrepreneurs
(producers and distributors) and middlemen.
Therefore, in the era of globalization, the promotion of sustainable development in
Bangladesh will require an organized effort to develop and diffuse new technologies
for agricultural production, renewable energy systems, and pollution control. Much of
this effort will be based on the international exchange of technology: through trade
in improved equipment, technology-transfer agreements, provision of experts,
research collaboration, and so on. Hence the procedures and policies that influence
these exchanges must stimulate innovation and ensure ready and widespread access
to environmentally sound technologies.
References
Ahmead, Q.K. (1999). Globalization: The south's perspective. Published in the Daily
Star dated 16th January 1999.
Bangladesh Centre of Advanced Studies (1998). Bangladesh by 2020 . BCAS: Dhaka.
Gain, P. (Ed.), (1998). Bangladesh Environment: Facing the 21st century. SEHD:
Dhaka.
Proceedings of the International Expert Meeting on Sustainable Consumption
Patterns. Trends and tradition in East Asia, Chejn Island, Republic of Korea, 27-29
January 1999.
Rahman, Matiur. (1998). Globalization, Environmental Crisis and Social Change: A
case study of Bangladesh, Disaster Research Institute, University of Manitoba:
Winnipeg, MB
World Commission on Environment and Development (1988). Our Common Future.
Oxford: New York.
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