TRADE, ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

The developing world supplies practically all the world's exports of cocoa, coffee, goundnuts, sisal and a substantial proportion of several minerals and other commodities. Since the 1980s, developing countries which are highly dependent on primary commodities have witnessed declines in export revenues because of unstable commodity markets. Attempts to maintain incomes from these exports have plunged these countries into a "low-income commodity trade trap." This has forced poor peasants in these countries to continually undercut the ecological basis of their welfare, as they continue to struggle desperately for survival. Over a quarter of the world's physical trade involves primary commodities which constitute a substantial proportion of exports from developing countries. This means that these countries could be in a more precarious position in terms of land degradation compared to the developing countries. This paper explores the trends in world trade, the commodity dependency of developing countries and the linkages between trade, environment and development. Examples are cited from Papua New Guinea, Botswana and Somalia to show that commodity dependency degrades. The paper also shows that Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs) and protectionism in the North can be major obstacles to the achievement of sustainable development in developing countries. The contribution which trade liberalization and cost internalization can make to sustainable development is highlighted.