Environmental Impacts of Transnational Corporations in the Global South (Research in Political Economy Book 33)

This volume explores the impact of Transnational Corporations (TNCs) on the environment of the Global South during this period of neoliberal globalization. Since the end of the 1970s, the role of TNCs in the global economy has developed significantly, and the subsequent changes to international institutions and the establishment of free trade zones have limited the effectiveness of environmental protections. Drawing together contributions from several continents, this important book examines the environmental consequences and crises resulting from these changes. It highlights the negative impact on the environment, ecosystems and ways of living for many people across the globe and shows how this is reflected in the struggle between corporate interests, social movements and human rights. Developing key themes around transnational extractive activity, especially mining and oil corporations; the impact of transnational capital on indigenous or traditional populations, and the role played by international institutions, Environmental Impacts of Transnational Corporations in the Global South is essential reading for all researchers and practitioners within the field. Front Cover 1 Environmental Impacts of Transnational Corporations in the Global South 6 Copyright Page 7 Contents 8 About the Authors 10 Introduction 12 Part I Extractive Industries, Social Conflict and Dispossession in the Global South 13 Part II Environmental Conflicts and Transnational Value Chains in the Global South 17 Final Considerations 19 Part I Extractive Industries, Social Conflict and Dispossession in the Global South 20 Chapter 1 Transnational Mining and Accumulation by Dispossession 22 Introduction 23 Accumulation by Dispossession1 23 Marx’s Analysis of Original (Primitive3) Accumulation 24 Luxemburg’s Contribution 25 The Concept of Accumulation by Dispossession in Harvey 26 Mega-Mining: Accumulation, Dispossession and the Environment 28 “Mega-Mining”: Putting a Name on the Modern Large-scale Mining Model 29 Mega-Mining and Its (Large-scale) Impacts 31 Mega-mining and Expropriation 32 Mega-mining and Social Conflict 34 Dismantle, Repress and Criminalize Resistance Movements 36 The State as a Promoter of “Accumulation by Dispossession” and Reprimarization 37 The Tendency Toward (Re) primarization and Its Consequences for the Environment 38 Reprimarization and the Environment3o 40 Conclusions 40 Notes 41 References 42 Chapter 2 Mining Giants, Indigenous Peoples and Art: Challenging Settler Colonialism in Northern Australia Through Story Pa... 46 Introduction 47 Contested Values in the Gulf of Carpentaria Region 48 Glencore’s McArthur River Mine 49 A Record of Environmental Problems 50 Indigenous Life Projects in the Gulf Region 52 Situating the McARTHUR River Mine in Its Institutional Context 54 The First Wave of Colonization 55 Contested Land Rights 55 The Facilitative State and Environmental Legislation 57 Transnational Mining Companies, McARTHUR River Mine and the State 61 Australian Settler Colonialism 61 Accumulation by Dispossession 62 MRM and the Myth of Corporate Social Responsibility 63 Fighting Back and Reaching Out Through Art 67 Art and Social Change 67 Art and Resistance in the Gulf Country 69 Can Garawa, Gudanji, Yanyuwa, and Marra Art Inspire Change? 75 Conclusion 76 Notes 77 Acknowledgments 78 References 78 Chapter 3 Ecological-Economic Narratives for Resisting Extractive Industries in Africa 84 Introduction: Conflicting Narratives Against African Resource Extraction 85 The World Bank’s Partial Environmental Accounting 86 Africa’s Natural Capital Depleted 91 Zambia’s Natural Capital Depletion by Washington Bankers and An Indian TNC 92 Africa’s Renewed Economic Crisis: Unbalanced Trade, Disinvestment, Debt 94 Africa as Both Victim and Fossil-Extraction Villain in the Climate Catastrophe 100 Africans Assess Unequal Ecological Exchange – With Incomplete Narratives 104 Conclusion: Natural Capital and Resistance to Unequal Ecological Exchange 110 Notes 114 References 117 Chapter 4 Petroleum Accidents in the Global South 122 Introduction 123 Researching Oil Accidents 124 The Oil Industry in Ghana 128 History 128 Structure 130 The Environmental Costs of Accumulation 136 Underlying Causes and Impacts 138 Policies 141 Alternatives 143 Conclusion 147 Notes 148 Acknowledgments 148 References 148 Part II Environmental Conflicts and Transnational Value Chains in the Global South 154 Chapter 5 Transnational Corporations, Violence and Suffering: The Environmental, Public Health and Social Impacts From Comp... 156 Introduction 157 Conceptual Framework to Address Violence and Social Suffering 158 Conceptualizing Violence 158 Conceptualizing Social Suffering 159 Development, Violence and Suffering 160 Research Methods 162 Case Study 1: Zimbabwe: Structural Adjustment and Development During the 1990s 163 Structural Adjustment and Violence 165 Structural Adjustment and the Making of Suffering 168 Mid-Zambesi Valley Rural Development Project (MZP): Design 169 Case Study Two: Industrial Plantation Forestry in Uganda 172 The Entry of Transnational Capital Into Industrial Plantation Forestry 172 Industrial Plantation Forestry, Slow Violence and Social Suffering 174 Privatization of Land Delivers Social Suffering 175 Discussion and Conclusions 176 Notes 178 Acknowledgments 178 References 178 Chapter 6 Environmental Injustice in Northeast Brazil: The Pecém Industrial and Shipping Complex 182 Introduction 183 Environmental Justice and the Distribution of Socioenvironmental Damage 183 A Brief Presentation of the CIPP 186 The Sociospatial Context of the Environmental Conflict 188 Environmental Injustice and Environmental Racism in the CIPP 189 Threats and “Recapture” of the Anacé Territory 193 Conclusions 195 Notes 196 References 196 Chapter 7 Family Farming, the Environment and the Global Food Chain 200 Introduction 201 History of the Global Food Chain: From the Twentieth Into the Twenty-first Century 202 The Evolution of the Agricultural Industry 202 A “Global Food Chain” 203 Family Farming in the Twenty-first Century 204 Family Farming in the Community of Countries of Portuguese Language 206 Neoliberalism and the Domination of TNCs and Their Effect on the Global Farming Model 207 International Trade and Investment Agreements as Facilitators of the Global Food Chain 207 The Case of the Economic Partnership Agreement and the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement 209 Private Food Certification Systems and its Relation With Regulatory Cooperation Mechanisms 211 International Alliances for the Promotion of the Industrial Agriculture as Facilitators of the Global Food Chain 211 Environmental Impacts of the Agricultural Activity 213 Carbon Footprint 213 Legal Frameworks for the Transition to a Sustainable Food System: The Case of the CCPL 216 Conclusion 218 Notes 220 References 222 Index 226