This book sets out to bring together accounts of areas of study and research that, over the last 20 years, have examined the interactions between international trade and the environment. There are 27 chapters and 37 authors from a range of academic backgrounds. The chapters divide in to three groups: Trade and Environmental Quality, Trade and Environmental Politics and Trade and Environmental Policy. The editor provides an introduction that summarises the arguments and pulls out the key points from the various chapters. Anyone reviewing this book for an economic or environmental journal would probably try and write something on similar lines; however, for Reference Reviews an overview of the subject matter might be better.
The first section examines the situation as it is and what in the short term it might become. Several articles look at the proposition that by exporting manufacturing to developing countries one exports the pollution, creating pollution havens. The situation is more complex than the historical example of moving noxious industries out of London in the late nineteenth century. Foreign investors and foreign consumers may impose standards on the manufacturing nation. New industries may lead to technological leapfrogging; and the case of China is discussed. The specific problem of water shortage is discussed, and it is shown that water deficient areas already import water consuming products like food. Non‐indigenous species, particularly those that are invasive, are often the unintended consequence of international trade. A couple of British examples are mitten crab and Japanese knotweed. The first most likely arrived from ballast water in shipping, and the second as a poor choice of a possible ornamental plant. Another problem with biodiversity is illustrated by the effect the North American Free Trade Agreement on the genetic resource of the traditional varieties and land races of maize in Mexico.
The second section looks at the way governments, and other organizations can affect the impact of trade on the environment. Pressures to green transnational corporations and the efforts of grassroots activism to encourage and promote environmentally responsible activity are discussed. The European Union's internal activities in this area are described. The specific issue of trade in genetically modified organisms, an area of disagreement between the EU and the USA, is also covered. The, almost as controversial, trade in waste is further discussed. A very encouraging chapter on fair trade and female empowerment in Africa shows the problems and solutions at almost a personal level.
The last section looks at the policies in place at the moment, or in current discussion. This section begins with an introduction to the topic, whereas the other sections to not have individual introductions. The role of the World Trade Organization is key too much of the policy and is central to chapters on its general role and its specific role in Intellectual Property Rights. The interaction of policy and trade is discussed in particular relation to EU policy on the Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals, which like GMOs, is a source of disagreement between the EU and others. The policies of Arab regions are discussed. These areas have a cultural unity and some obvious trade constraints – they are generally rich in fuel and poor in water. Mechanisms to protect the rights of non‐national investors are discussed. A chapter on trade nd environmental institutions gives an overview of the many players in the area. The final chapter warns that things are not going well and that a rethink of the way global trade operates is urgency required. I found reading the book during a major world recession, in part cause by failures in national and international regulation and a short term approach to risk, added to or brought a particular focus to the problems discussed in this book. Maybe some of the changes needed to protect the environment and the people of developing and newly rich countries can be part of the recovery
The editor begins his introduction by saying that the book will be guide to undergraduate and graduate students, to academics wanting to enter the field and to policy makers. I believe that is has succeeded in this. Many of the chapters would be of interest to the general public, for example the one on fair trade gives a much better view than the rather simplistic notion of simply paying the original producer more. I originally intended to pick a few chapters, but in the end I read the whole book. I admit to have some difficulty with the policy chapters when they went into details of agreements and conventions that I was reading about for the first time. (One problem for the non‐expert is the vast number of acronyms – they are all explained in the text, and there is a three and a half page list of them to which I made frequent reference) But, the chapters in the first two sections I found easy to follow and very interesting. I would recommend the book to anyone concerned with the interaction of trade and the environment. I hope that at least some public libraries buy it and that the copies pass around on inter‐library loan.
