Closing Remarks for the Second TED Virtual
Conference
The Many Faces of Trade, Environment and Culture
The panels and the papers in them show the immense diversity of issues that await researchers and policy makers in the area of trade environment and culture. The scope of issues in the three panels also point towards three differing areas of professional and public concern.The first panel examined a seemingly simple subject: food. The cases, however, show that food can be an extremely complicated trade issue in terms of environment and culture.The BASMATI Case looked at rice in the context of intellectual property. This has the potential as a WTO case, insofar as it might be argued on the basis of provisions related to Trade Related Intellectual Property (TRIPS).The TORTILLA Case illuminated a link
between culture and politics in a simple foodstuff. Corn, the tortilla, cultivation cycles, have dominated Mexican culture and politics for at least a millenia.The OLESTRA Case shows the paradoxical world of today. At the same time that perhaps one billion people are hungry every day and lacking in calories, others are ingesting food that adds no calories.The second panel examined a more complicated subject: globalization. Globalization changes the mix between trade, culture and the environment. Often the result is products which contain high elements of each.The RUSSOIL Case focuses global markets on peoples whose life styles more resemble those of people
living in the Stone Age. The end of the Cold War may change their culture more than any other historical event in the last millenia. The CHARCOAL Case exemplifies the low-level impacts of people on global problem such as climate change. Charcoal use in the Congo not only contributes to
greenhouse gas emissions, it also removes trees which recycle carbon in the atmosphere.The PACIFICO Case resonates the issue of developmental dissonance. Development in Colombia is now focusing on its Pacific side, after 500 years of focus on the Atlantic side. Cultural and biological diversity are highest in these relatively untouched areas.
The third panel examined a theoretical subject: symbols. Here, culture is at the forefront of the trade issue and environment is wrapped up in the cultural context. Cultural is an extremely powerful phenomenon that can create trade and environemtnal change of significant magnitudes.
The PAEKTU Case examined the role of Mount Paektu in Korean culture and how it is used in the context of trade products. The mountain, home to the Korea people, lies on the North Korea and Chinese border, and is now the focus of tourism. It is also the source for bottled water.The JAQUAR Case focuses on this animal and how it is a bellwhether of development in northern South America. The symbolic lore of the animal and pre-Columbian cultures persists today and it's declining status reflects a decline in local cultures and environments.The MAMMOTH Case takes the issue of trade, culture and environment back 20,000 years (at least) and brings it forward to today. We want these products for the same reasons today as then.We intend to continue this conversation in fall, 1998 in conjunction with other classes. This conference was an initial focus on this complicated subject and sets the stage for a larger and more intensive round of discussions.
The Culture and Trade Conference will actually and virtually occur in November, 1998
To order the conference proceedings contact the TED projects. Indicate whether you want a color or black and white version and how many copies.
I want to thank the participants in this effort especially the students who posted these case studies in a matter of three weeks. In itself, the effort has generated other discussions and I think will have reverberations of discussions for some time.