Reading 4: Part 1

Question 1

International Monetary Fund (IMF) loans and

policies have caused

Answer 1

extensive deforestation in
each of the 15 countries of Africa, Latin
America, and Asia studied in this report.

Question 2

The IMFís primary economic

liberalization mechanisms have included:

Answer 2

reducing export taxes; relaxing mining and
forestry codes; removing bans on raw log
exports; offering tax holidays to foreign firms;
lifting prohibitions on foreign investment,
including land ownership; and otherwise
eliminating barriers to trade.

Question 3

The institutionís
focus on promoting export-led growth and
foreign investment in the natural resources
sectors through these strategies has heavily
impacted

Answer 3

the worldís forests.

Question 4

as a result of the IMF’s policies, what do rural residents face

Answer 4

rural residents in many
countries have been forced to exploit forest
resources to fulfill their basic needs.

Question 5

The IMF plays a pivotal role in ensuring

Answer 5

the
participation of developing countries in this
process, by preconditioning loans on the adoption
of a series of policy changes, under the name
ìstructural adjustment programsî or SAPs.

Question 6

what is the current role of SAPs

Answer 6

The role of SAPs, however, is much broader.
They have become the vehicle of global economic
policy by which international financial institutions
have forged a relatively uniform set of reforms to
create an integrated global economic system
favorable to the investments of transnational
corporations.

Question 7

The results of the IMFís carefully structured

economic architecture include: (in the ecological standpoint)

Answer 7

Among the 41 most heavily indebted poor
countries of the world, deforestation between
1990 and 1995 greatly exceeded the worldís
average rate of forest loss. At this time, about
75 percent of these countries were under a
loan agreement with the IMF. In two of these
countriesóNicaragua and Hondurasóalmost
12 percent of the forests were lost, seven times
the world average.2
• In the last decade, over forty African nations
have modified investment codes for the
mining sector to attract foreign investment.3
• The population of chimpanzees is down to
250,000 from 2 million in 1900, due to
logging, firewood, and poaching for
ìbushmeat.î 4

Elephant, orangutan, lemur, and

gorilla numbers are also collapsing.

Question 8

There are several ways in which International
Monetary Fund policies are harmful to forests.
Broadly speaking, the IMF causes deforestation
through four different mechanisms:

Answer 8

Pressuring countries to reduce government
spending on environmental programs
• Promoting export-led growth
• Increasing foreign investment
• Worsening of poverty conditions

Question 9

1. Reduce environmental spending

Answer 9

Through structural adjustment programs, the
IMF imposes upon loan recipient nations a
substantial reduction in government spending.

Question 10

Mining, oil and gas development, and logging
activities made possible due to investment
liberalization have had a

Answer 10

devastating impact on
forests, wildlife and forest-dependent
communities.

Question 11

Many of the impacts of structural adjustment

programs have been shouldered by

Answer 11

subsistence

farmers and landless rural dwellers.

Question 12

what has poverty indirectly led to

Answer 12

environmental problems (can see page 5 if u want for more details)

Question 13

what was the IMF doing in cameroon

Answer 13

In the mid-1990s, the IMF prevailed upon Cameroon
to devalue its currency and cut export taxes on forest
products.7

Question 14

after logging take place, how is additional damage done

Answer 14

Once logging activities have been concluded,
additional damage is done as settlers and poachers (of
ìbushmeatî and ivory) gain access to new areas via
the logging roads.

Question 15

under the influence of IMF’s structural programs, what has happened to the Ivory Coast (positives)

Answer 15

The Ivory Coast became the
worldís leading producer of cocoa, with 40 percent of
the global market. The country also ranks third in
coffee production, behind only Brazil and Columbia.48

Question 16

what bad impacts has the ivory coast faced as a result of joining with the IMF

Answer 16

decrease in forest cover by 67% due to land use changing because of the flourishing of the agricultural sector

Question 17

In 1996, the Malagasy government accepted a three-
year, $118 million loan57 and bowed to IMF pressure

in their agreement to further liberalize trade policies
and open its economy to foreign investment. Among
the measures adopted were

Answer 17

allowing foreigners to own

land58 and eliminating export taxes.59

Question 18

what is rio tinto and why are they bad

Answer 18

they are a london-based mining company. Rio Tinto has an abysmal
track record of environmental and human rights
violations, stretching from Indonesia to South Africa (under apartheid) to Brazil.

Question 19

give some details about indonesia’s biodiversity

Answer 19

Ten percent of the worldís remaining tropical forests
are found in Indonesia. The countryís forests harbor
some of the worldís richest biological diversity,
including rhinoceros, Sumatran tiger, orangutan, the
sun bear, and high numbers of bird, reptile,
amphibian, butterfly, and tree species.

Question 20

why and how did indonesia become involved with the imf

Answer 20

In 1997, Indonesia was consumed by the Asian
financial crisis that originated in Thailand. Indonesia
was granted a $43 billion emergency loan deal that
the IMF coordinated with a consortium of
international financial donors.

Question 21

what did the imf ask of indonesia and what were the results

Answer 21

The package included
a mandate for the removal of major restrictions on
foreign investment and export markets. The IMF
also insisted upon reform of Indonesiaís banking
sector; unfortunately, their strategy has essentially
created a massive subsidy for the forestry sector and
poorly managed forests, accelerating deforestation.

Question 22

why is the damage to the environment in indonesia not of national concern

Answer 22

Unfortunately,
spending cuts in Indonesiaís environmental
programs have been driven by IMF-imposed
austerity measures, and management of protected
areas has suffered from a dwindling budget in real
terms every year since 1996.89 Funding has been
insufficient to maintain enforcement mechanisms or
promote sound forest management.

Question 23

what country has the most forests worldwide

Answer 23

russia, home of helga :)

Question 24

talk about the mines in papua new guinea

Answer 24

The mines have caused
degradation to soil and water quality, forest loss, and
pollution from lead, cyanide, and mercury. However,
in its March, 2000 Letter of Intent to the IMF, Papua
New Guinea pledged to initiate new projects in the
mining sector.112

Question 25

what is the pilot program

Answer 25

The Pilot Program had been approved at the 1992
Earth Summit, and focused on surveying the
rainforest, demarcating indigenous lands, promoting
sustainable development, controlling deforestation,
and setting aside ten percent of the land under a
protected status.

Question 26

give an example of another company that has made a deal that destroyed the env in some way

Answer 26

in june 01, ecuador approved the bid by a multinational consortium, led by Occidental
Petroleum, Chase Manhattan Bank, and Alberta
Energy, to construct a crude oil pipeline through 11
protected areas, including the pristine cloud forests
of the Mindo Valley in the northwest part of the
country.

Question 27

Studies by both the World Bank and
the World Resources Institute have found that the
prices paid by
foreign companies
for Guyanaís
timber are

Answer 27

extremely low,
providing not only
little revenue for
development, but
creating unfair
competition for
local producers.
The World Bank
study warns, ìThis
kind of forest
mining entails a
boom-and-bust pattern of development that can be
highly disruptive to employment levels, trade
balances, and other factors of macro-economic
stability.î

Question 28

Short of closing the
IMF, the following steps could effectively prevent
the ecological tragedies identified in this report:

Answer 28

on page 19 of article, sorry its a lot to type LOL