Ans Kolk, FORESTS IN INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLITICS. INTERNATIONAL
ORGANISATIONS, NGOS AND THE BRAZILIAN AMAZON, Utrecht: International
Books (i-books@antenna.nl) ISBN 90-5727-002-1, 336 pp, $29.95
Increasing concern over the environment in the past decade has incited
new attempts at policy-making, in which international organisations and
environmental NGOs have played a large role. As the environmental issue
becomes more important in international politics, vested political and
economic interests are threatened. Ans Kolk, lecturer in international
relations at the University of Amsterdam, systematically explores the
dynamics of international environmental politics, looking specifically
at the Brazilian Amazon.The author deals with the following questions:
* How did deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon become a source of
international concern, and what does this mean for national Brazilian
politics?
* Which national and international approaches have been adopted to
address the environmental problems?
* What has the influence of a decade of environmental mobilisation been
on NGOs and the World Bank?
* What are the repercussions for the study of international relations
and for international environmental politics?
One of the conclusions of this book is that environmental organisations,
while waging an effective campaign against the World Bank, have in fact
also strengthened the World Bank. The alliance of environmental organi-
sations and conservative critics in the United States forced the World
Bank to pay more attention to the environment and build up expertise in
this field. Nowadays it is the World Bank which underlines the importance
of good environmental planning in the projects it supports. Environmental
organisations, as a result, are in a quandry: should they co-operate with
World Bank policies, or should they press for more change - with the risk
that donors will cut back their funding to the World Bank.
In her book, Ans Kolk concludes that pressure from environmental organi-
sations to save the Amazon rainforests not only changed the World Bank
but also Brazilian environmental policy. Although nationalist forces did
everything they could to obstruct supposed attempts to "internationalise"
the Amazon, the Brazilian government saw the acceptance of international
assistance to combat deforestation as the best answer to mounting concern.
Thanks to their lobbying activities in the US and Europe, Indians have
achieved more influence. The Pilot Programme for the Brazilian Amazon,
coordinated by the World Bank, has enlarged international leverage for
the protection of Indian rights. The World Bank now also uses its power
to improve the enforcement of environmental rules. But this is done is a
careful way as foreign intervention in Brazilian matters continues to be
a sensitive political issue.
CHAPTER TITLES
Introduction
1. A political economy perspective on international environmental politics
2. The international context of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon
3. Brazilian responses to international interest in the Amazon
4. The forest issue in the international arena
5. The environmental relevance of the World Bank
6. The dynamics of NGO mobilisation on rainforests
7. Conclusions
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