FTAA Poses Danger to Indigenous People
Indigenous people often live in environmentally sensitive areas, and the FTAA will require governments to allow foreign companies access to these resources.
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| Economist Mamerto Perez of the Center for the Study of Development, Labor, and Agriculture in Bolivia: "We have to think of other ways of integrating economies that go beyond free trade." By: Chris Hufstader/Oxfam |
The Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), the giant free-trade zone proposed for the entire hemisphere, will have a devastating effect on indigenous peoples, says economist Mamerto Perez of the Center for the Study of Development, Labor, and Agriculture (CEDLA) in Bolivia, a research organization partly supported by Oxfam for the last 10 years.
Perez is in Miami to speak on the problems of international trade for indigenous peoples in South America. Many native communities have worked for years to get legal title to their ancestral territories, and rely on raising livestock and crops, hunting and fishing to make their living. Indigenous people often live in environmentally sensitive areas, and have proven to be the best stewards of such fragile places as rainforests and highland plateaus. Yet many of these beautiful places also contain desirable resources for export, a priority for many cash-strapped governments in the region.
Trade rules proposed in the FTAA will require governments to allow foreign companies access to these resources, despite international laws requiring consultation with indigenous peoples. "We know that under the FTAA, companies will have easier access to natural resources, including water, which is important for livelihoods in the highlands, and hydrocarbon resources like oil and gas," Perez explained. Indigenous communities rarely see significant benefits from oil, gas, and mining projects in their territories. Instead, corporations often leave a trail of environmental destruction in their wake.
A related concern in South America is the preservation of biodiversity. "In indigenous territories there is very rich biodiversity," Perez said. "So if the government expropriates these lands, then companies can exploit the plants. This is of great interest to pharmaceutical companies, because without new knowledge they will not prosper."
Perez had a clear proposal to address these concerns about the FTAA: "The FTAA should be stopped... We have to think of other ways of integrating economies that go beyond free trade and address trade on equal terms so we can talk about how natural resources can be wisely used."