The Environmental Protection in South-American Integration Process

BY: ISABELA ESPÍNDOLA, PHD. STUDENT AT USP -
BRAZIL
A UNION OF SOUTH AMERICAN
NATIONS (UNASUR) PERSPECTIVE
THE ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION IN
SOUTH-AMERICAN
INTEGRATION
PROCESS
OCTOBER 2017

For the theoretical development of this research, a bibliography review process was made,
acquiring the bibliographical references and applicable legislations to the subject to compare the
similarities and differences between the member countries of UNASUR.
The analysis begins with the Constitutive Treaty of UNASUR, the principal legal system within the
Union, to see how the environment is considered in this re-gional integration process.
Then, it is studied the environmental legislation of each country that are part of UNASUR.
MAIN OBJECTIVE
To analyze how the environment (and its protection) is
treated in UNASUR, one of the latest regional integration
projects in South America.
THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION IN SOUTH-AMERICAN INTEGRATION PROCESS: A
UNION OF SOUTH AMERICAN NATIONS (UNASUR) PERSPECTIVE

KEY QUESTIONS
W h y s t u d y U N A S U R ?
W h y s t u d y e n v i r o n m e n t a l p r o t e c t i o n ?
W h y s t u d y e n v i r o n m e n t a l p r o t e c t i o n a t
U N A S U R ?

Is integrated by Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Surinam,
Uruguay, Chile and Venezuela.
The combined population of the bloc was estimated at 412.3 million in 2015, which is 65% of Latin
America's population and 5.6% of the world's population.
UNASUR is one of the world's most urbanized regions and in it are six of Latin America's and the
Caribbean's city with more than 4 million inhabitants.
WHY STUDY UNASUR?
UNASUR presents itself as an important space for the
resolution of regional conflicts and establishment as a
supranational institution to integrate the countries of the
region.

WHY STUDY UNASUR?
According to Simões (2011), besides
being a privileged space for the
concerns of its members, the Union is a
reference to political discussions,
economic, social, cultural and even
environmental, representing a new
phase of regional integration in the
South American region.

This is based on the recognition that environmental damages have increased mainly due to the
intensification of technological development, agricultural expansion, industrialization and
population increase, putting the protection of the human being at risk.
This growing concern has enabled the development of mechanisms to regulate the environment,
resulting in the signing of agreements, protocols and other documents that also affirm that the
environment is linked to all aspects of life, impacting on all sectors of society.
WHY STUDY ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION?
This issue has become more present in most international
discussions forums, especially after the decade of 1970-
1980 with the Stockholm Conference in 1972 and the
release of Brundtland report in 1987 (Lorenzetti; Carrion,
2012).

WHY STUDY
ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION AT
UNASUR?

WHY STUDY
ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION AT
UNASUR?
The region "has significant
hydrocarbon reserves, 30% of
freshwater resources in the world
and 8 million km2 of forests"
(UNASUR, 2015).

The conflicts over natural resources in the South American region are mainly related to the
exploitation of these resources, being largely related to those classified as non-renewable.
This directly affects the development of the countries of South America, affecting the quality of
life of the communities and directly affecting the environment, which is increasingly suffering
from the spread of these conflicts. .
WHY STUDY ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AT UNASUR?
Senhoras et al. (2009) points out that the South American
region, focus of this study, strategically places itself in the
international geopolitics of natural resources, and can
become true arenas of wars due to its richness of
biodiversity and natural resources.

It is true that there is a great debate about
the environment, especially regarding to the
natural resources available in UNASUR, given
that these are considered indispensable tools
for the successful realization of the
development of the region, as well as their
access is an indispensable mean to guarantee
all the fundamental rights of the South
American population.

The discussion about natural resources should
be a priority in the public policy agenda of
UNASUR countries, since the region has a
large part of the world reserve (Simões, 2011)
and that the simple absence of policies that
regulate the sustainability of resource
exploitation might entail a communal tragedy
for the population of the Member States of
the Union.

UNASUR faces a lot of difficulties and
problems related to the environment.
According to the European Commission for
Development and Cooperation (EuropeAid,
2011) and the Economic Commission for Latin
America and the Caribbean (ECLAC, 2014)
UNASUR member countries face serious
environmental problems such as biodiversity
loss, soil degradation, conflicts, among
others.

There is a need for the UNASUR countries to couple up environmental issues to other topics of
interest to UNASUR, such as security, telecommunications, intellectual property, among others.
There is an entire international context that asks for new positions of the States, one that
includes the environment in the institutional and legal framework of each coun-try.
Many of these problems are common, so this panorama of
increasing environmental impacts demonstrates that at a
time of building and consolidating the South American
integration, conserving natural environmental heritage
should be a guiding principle.

“Affirming their determination to build a South American identity and citizenship and to develop an
integrated regional space in the political, economic, social, cultural, environmental, energy and
infrastructure dimensions, for the strengthening of Latin America and Caribbean unity” (UNASUL,
2008, p.7).
“Convinced that the South American integration and South American unity are necessary to
promote the sustainable development and wellbeing of our peoples” (UNASUL, 2008, p.7).
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
UNASUR and its Constitutive Treaty

The next mention of the environment is presented in the second objective of the Treaty, which
elucidates that the Union is anxious to build an integration space that prioritizes the environment.
Another antecedent related to the environment, its pro-tection and development is exposed in the
specific objectives of the Constitutive Treaty.
Based on these mentions, it can be inferred that since the Constitutive Treaty of UNASUR, the
member states consider that the environment is a fundamental condition to accelerate and expand
the integration processes of the region, as well as the achievement of regional development.

However, it does not discipline the preservation of the environment in a specific way, since it does
not establish the necessary paths to follow in order to preserve the environment, nor the
environmental legal rules that ensure the conditions to safeguard the environmental domain.
Since it does not stablish common legal standards for environmental preservation, it can be
concluded that the Treaty does not prioritize the environment, but the Treaty considers the
preservation of the environment as fundamental to the integration process.
In this way, the environment is presented as a concern both related to its preservation and to a
more effective use of the environmental assets found in the region. Díaz (2015) also presents this
possibility, because for the author the inclusion of environmental issues within UNASUR may have
been influenced by commercial and economic requirements.

All countries that are part of UNASUR introduced the protection of the environment in their
respective Constitutions, demonstrating that it is an indispensable factor for the integration
processes that occur or may occur in the South American continent (Diaz, 2015).
They also have their respective laws and regulations regarding environmental protection.
The Brazilian environmental legislation, for example, is considered "one of the most advanced in
the world" (Junior, 2013, p. 155), while Ecuador was the first country to guarantee constitutional
rights to nature (Castro et al., 2011).
For Moraes and Júnior (2013), Ecuador and Bolivia serve as perfect examples of the recognition of
the environment as a common and unprotected patrimony.
UNASUR and its members

It is important to remember that in the last fifty years all UNASUR member countries have
promulgated new Constitutions or reformed existing ones, including specif-ic chapters for the
environment.
The existence of environmental laws and policies within each UNASUR member country reflects
that the countries environmental patrimony has been raised to a matter of national interest,
necessary for the protection of human dignity and a condition for guaranteeing socio-economic
development.
There is still a lack of common public policies for UNASUR countries that aims to protect, preserve
and use the resources in South America, as the one that exist to regulate and price products or
services from these shared environments (CAMPOS, 2005).
UNASUR and its members

Castro et al. (2011) defend that the absence of an integrated program between States, shows the
lack of multidisciplinary dialogue, as well as the difficulty to reduce the discrepancy between
knowledge and its application.
To Ventura e Baraldi (2008 apud COSTA, 2010) the Union commits a mistake for not clarifying how
its institutions will work according to what is planned, as well as for not explaining how all of the
objective listed in the Constitutive Treaty will be achieved.
For Castro et al. (2011) and Campos (2015), the South American region needs a multidisciplinary,
inclusive and adaptive environmental program, aimed at the development of true environmental
governance between countries.
Some consequences regarding the lack of common laws

The Constitutive Treaty consider the environmental preservation as central to the integration
process.
Therefore, the environment is presented as a concern connected to its preservation and related to
a more efficient use of the natural resources found in the region.
It is really hard to know for sure the reasons behind the inclusion of the environmental as
something essential to achieve the integration and development objectives of the member states.
Regardless of the reasons, UNASUR was responsible for changes regarding the environmental in its
members, specially with the increase of projects related to cross-border resources.
Though, it is still imperative that the States begin to exercise their obligation to guar-antee the
best living conditions for their population, involving all the necessary actors to reach consensus
and to establish the necessary agreements.
CONCLUSION

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Participation in this event fostered with Proex/Capes resources.
FFLCH/USP
ACKNOWLEDGMENT

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