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Ecologists criticize Lagos' environmental agenda April 2, 2002 Marcel Claude, Executive Director of the environmental NGO - Terram Foundation - and Greenpeace Director Gonzalo Villarino said Monday that President Ricardo Lagos' new environmental agenda is insufficient. Both men said the proposed agenda marks a step backward, rather than an advance for the Lagos administration's environmental policy. According to Claude and Villarino, the plan not only omitted a number of pressing ecological issues, but also demonstrates poor economic planning. "It's a partial agenda because it doesn't cover aspects related to sustainable development in an integral way. Conama (the national environmental commission) has analyzed some environmental problems, but it hasn't really integrated the issues into the plan. The government cannot possibly fulfill its promise of sustainable development with this agenda," Villarino said. Claude said the most worrying part of the new environmental agenda is that it prioritizes issues related to the Federation of Chilean Industry (Sofofa's) pro-growth agenda. Earlier this year, Sofofa asked Conama to speed up the review process of Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA.) EIAs are carried out for all proposed investment projects and aim to establish the environmental costs of the project. The business group said slow processing time has choked foreign investment in Chile. Environmentalists argue, however, that the detailed review process is needed to ensure that investments do not jeopardize the ecosystem. Nonetheless, Lagos' new environmental agenda requires that Conama reduce the EIA processing time by 20 percent before 2006. "This seriously compromises the standards and seriousness with which Conama will evaluate new EIAs. There are already problems with the current system and the time decrease will worsen the process by limiting control, seriousness and citizen participation," Claude said. Claude said the plan is not economically sustainable because there is no prevision for national resource preservation. The economist said over-exploitation of resources could create an economic crisis in the long-run. "The plan demonstrates a number of good intentions, which in the long run are not going to be upheld because there is no financial commitment. There is no program about how the projects will materialize," Claude said. Conama Director Gianni Lopez said the president's new agenda looks to promote citizen action and interest in environmental issues. To this end Conama will provide public access to information contained in the department's Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) via internet. Lopez said this will allow for increased transparency in environmental decision making. He said Conama will also publish follow up information about the EIAs on the Internet. Still, Claude and Villarino said the plan was formulated without citizen participation. "The agenda was made in a rather secret way. We believe that the government carries out policies in a way that marginalize civil society groups. All citizens have the right and duty to participate. These policies affect all of us," Villarino said. Lopez said the new agenda is an attempt to combine responsible environmental practices with economic growth. "We've constructed an agenda that will allow Chile to move into its second decade of environmental growth. It provides for environmental protection and more economic growth and development. The two issues are not in conflict," Lopez said. The Conama agenda is divided into sections. The first portion analyzes urban environmental problems. It focuses on improving water treatment plants and air quality. The second section is related to preservation and protection of natural patrimony and sets a policy for conserving Chile's bio- diversity. The plan establishes 18 projects that should be carried out before the year's end. Lopez said Conama will work to ensure that 50 percent of household waste is deposited in state-approved landfills before 2003. The organization will also re-organize the Santiago air pollution program, set norms for the quality of water and reduce EIA processing time. Claude said the entire plan caters to the country's business community. This he said is unfair. "Environmental policy must be formed in a democratic way, not only in agreement with business interests," he said. Source: SantiagoTimes Sources: EL AREA; EL MOSTRADOR Defensores del Bosque Chileno |
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