sustainable development 20 years on from the ... - José Eli da Veiga

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<strong>20</strong>09). In addition to environmental concerns, there is the fact that few countries have a scheme for the
<strong>development</strong> of <strong>sustainable</strong> mining operations that would integrate this industry’s potential into national
and community <strong>development</strong> objectives by ensuring the effective participation of the surrounding
communities, along with the State and mining companies, in decision-making.
Major inter-generational challenges for countries with large mining or drilling industries include
the creation of production linkages and the introduction of fiscal mechanisms that will channel the wealth
created by these industries (especially in the case of windfall profits) to society and use it to generate
sources of economic growth for future generations. Countries that are reaping huge oil profits also have to
devise policies for managing and distributing those profits efficiently if they are to avert inflationary
shocks and un<strong>sustainable</strong> increases in the value of their currencies, which could hurt their export sectors
(Altomonte, <strong>20</strong>08). The boom in mining and oil profits should enable these countries to fully cover the
environmental costs and contribute, via fiscal or other means, to national <strong>development</strong>.
In order to finance initiatives for expanding their capacity for innovation and technology, the
countries of the region have established charges or royalties on metal and non-metal mining, such as the
royalty charged in Chile since <strong>20</strong>06 (see chapter V), or to finance infrastructure, as in the case of the new
tax system promulgated in Peru in September <strong>20</strong>11. These charges fuel additional tax inflows, which will
be used to build facilities such as hospitals, schools and roads in the poorest areas of the country (Ministry
of Mining and Energy of Peru, <strong>20</strong>11).
Once the importance of preserving sound ecosystems is understood and the value of the services
they fulfil is appreciated , these systems may start to compete with natural resource exploration. 16 One
interesting case relating to extractive industries (in this instance, oil) and climate change is that of the
Yasuní National Park in Ecuador, where the Government has offered to refrain from tapping the oil fields
located there in exchange for financial compensation from the international community. 17
(b)
Agriculture
Agriculture makes a considerable contribution to GDP, export earnings, employment and rural
livelihoods throughout the region. The land area devoted to irrigated crop-farming, especially for export
commodities, has expanded in the last two decades, and livestock and aquaculture industries have grown
as well (ECLAC/FAO/ IICA, <strong>20</strong>10). This expansion has had a considerable impact on changes in land use
and on greenhouse gas emissions. The Latin American and Caribbean region is second only to East Asia
in terms of emissions generated by the agricultural sector. As in other regions, nitrous oxide emissions are
due mainly to the use of fertilizers in the soil and methane emissions are due mainly to enteric
fermentation in livestock. With increasingly vast tracts of land being used for agriculture and livestock
rearing, the use of nitrogen fertilizers has escalated and cattle herds have grown with an inevitable surge,
as already mentioned, in nitrous oxide and methane gas emissions (Smith and others, <strong>20</strong>07).
16
17
The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (<strong>20</strong>05) defines ecosystem services as the benefits that human beings
obtain from ecosystems: provisioning services such as food, water, timber, fibre and genetic resources;
regulating services such as climate, floods, diseases and water quality; cultural services, such as recreational,
aesthetic and spiritual benefits; supporting services, such as soil formation, pollination and nutrient cycling.
These services are not developed in this section since, although they are vital for ensuring other types of services,
they are not used directly by humans (see [online] http://www.greenfacts.org/en/ecosystems/millenniumassessment-2/2-ecosystem-services.htm#1).
See [online] http://yasuni-itt.gob.ec/.