Trade and theEnvironment: Perspectives from the GlobalSouth

Abstract

of Paper As a concept, sustainable development has pervaded much of the international legal discourse regarding the world environment of the past thirty years. Sustainable development is meant to balance economic, social and environmental objectives against one another. This reflects the growing ecological and economic interdependence between nations. As stated in the Brundtland Report, the economy and ecology are increasingly intertwined into a ‘seamless net of causes and effects’. Concerted efforts on local, regional and global levels are necessary to tackle worsening pollution and climate change. This paper argues that it is vital to examine the nexus between international trade and environmental sustainability from a Southern perspective. In interpreting their obligations to sustainable development, the North and the World Trade Organization frequently overlook the concerns of the South, thereby perpetuating underdevelopment and global inequality. Consequently, this paper will examine how sustainable development can be achieved through trade, by utilising a case study of the fisheries and aquaculture sector in Bangladesh. This example allows detailed analysis of key issues for the trade-environment nexus from the perspective of a developing nation. Firstly, this paper will discuss the emergence of the trade-environment nexus in international law and the need for a mutually supportive approach towards economic growth and environmental protection. For Bangladesh, the fisheries and aquaculture industry helps to drive economic growth and development. Secondly, the paper will address how the WTO has approached sustainable development, with particular reference to the scope of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) Article XX exceptions and the application of Articles I and III. This analysis will include the Most Favoured Nation principle and other relevant considerations for trade with the South. As a concept, sustainable development has pervaded much of the international legal discourse regarding the world environment of the past thirty years. Sustainable development is meant to balance economic, social and environmental objectives against one another. This reflects the growing ecological and economic interdependence between nations. As stated in the Brundtland Report, the economy and ecology are increasingly intertwined into a ‘seamless net of causes and effects’. Concerted efforts on local, regional and global levels are necessary to tackle worsening pollution and climate change. This paper argues that it is vital to examine the nexus between international trade and environmental sustainability from a Southern perspective. In interpreting their obligations to sustainable development, the North and the World Trade Organization frequently overlook the concerns of the South, thereby perpetuating underdevelopment and global inequality. Consequently, this paper will examine how sustainable development can be achieved through trade, by utilising a case study of the fisheries and aquaculture sector in Bangladesh. This example allows detailed analysis of key issues for the trade-environment nexus from the perspective of a developing nation. Brief Biography of Author Shawkat Alam is an Associate Professor of Law and Director of the Centre for Environmental Law at Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia, where he teaches and researches in the areas of international and environmental law. Shawkat is currently the Acting Dean of Macquarie Law School. He has previously been an academic in the Department of Law at Dhaka University, and he has also taught at Rajshahi University, Bangladesh. Shawkat holds an LLB (Hons) from Rajshahi University, an LLM from Dhaka University and a PhD from Macquarie University. Shawkat’s teaching and research expertise are in the areas of international law, international environmental law, and the international trade and sustainable development interface. He is the author of the book, Sustainable Development and Free Trade (Routledge, 2008). He has published extensively in his area of research in scholarly and refereed journals. His recent co-edited books include International Environmental Law and the Global South (Cambridge University Press, 2015), International Trade Law and the WTO (Federation Press, 2013), Routledge Handbook of International Environmental Law (Routledge, 2012), Globalisation and the Quest for Social and Environmental Justice: The Relevance of International Law in an Evolving World Order (Routledge, 2011), and Issues in Human Rights (Atlantic Publishers, 2010). Shawkat has served as an International Expert for United Nations Industrial Development Organization’s Quality Support Programme in Bangladesh