Democratizing Environmental Components of Latin American Integration

About this grant

The Uruguayan Study Center of Appropriate Technologies conducts research and promotes alternative technology, policy and sustainable development models that protect the environment. The Latin American Center of Social Ecology, a project of the center, encourages citizen participation in the debate about economic integration and trade in Latin America and advocates for environmentally sustainable alternatives.During the next several years, a number of trade negotiations will have implications for the environment and sustainability. Funding will support activities that include monitoring the impacts of key trade negotiations on environmental management and sustainability options; determining the effects of the new conditions and regulations imposed by the trade agreements; and developing new alternatives in the context of current political and economic dynamics in the region. This includes a grant increase to determine potential impacts of trade on local environments throughout Latin America for upcoming meetings of the World Trade Organization in Cancun, Mexico and the Free Trade Area of the Americas in the United States. Recent accomplishments included conducting 43 meetings and seminars in eight countries; developing an informal network of non-governmental organizations and academics interested in alternative models for integration; and monitoring trade negotiations and their sustainability implications.