"Whilst a certain degree of international trade may be inevitable and even desirable, healthy and sustainable local economies and communities are the key to meeting people's basic needs. However, they are being undermined by the current trade liberalisation process in many ways. Serious social and environmental impacts include:

· a failure to account for environmental and social degradation;

· a potential reduction in environmental and social standards;

· specialisation which increases monocultures and decreases diversity;

· environmental damage caused by long-distance transport;

· export-oriented growth which exacerbates all of the above;

· incompatibility with some environmental protection measures;

· increasing inequality between rich and poor countries, rich and poor people, and women and men, all of which also exacerbate poverty and environmental degradation.

The current world trade system is characterised by a range of activities/phenomena that make it environmentally and socially damaging."

- Friends of the Earth [source]

For more information on this and other issues, visit Friends of the Earth on the Internet.

Friends of the Earth International (FOEI)

Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL)

FOEI - Citizens' Guide to Trade, Environment and Sustainability - Environmental and Social Impacts of Free Trade

FOEI - Trade, Environment and Sustainability Programme

Project Underground - World Bank: Chad-Cameroon Oil Pipeline