The racket at Rio

ENVIRONMENT is a class issue. The attempt to obfuscate this fact is also motivated by class interests. Lenin and Rosa Luxemburg drew attention to what had emerged as the outstanding global reality: predatory capitalism carved out colonies and empires as much for obtaining raw material at low prices as for dumping the products of its industries.

A watered-down capitulation

RIO ESTABLISHED that the fight over biodiversity is intensely commercial. Worried about its billion-dollar biotechnology industry, the US refused to sign the biodiversity convention which, by the end of the conference, had been signed by over 150 countries. And it rejected the southern demand for a legally-binding code of conduct to regulate the safety of the biotechnology industry worldwide.

Responsibility in a unified world

BIG PROBLEMS cannot be solved without a big vision. And big visions do not come without big dreams. The Rio conference, which will bring together more heads of state and government than any conference ever before, could have made it big if it was born out of a big dream. But, as things stand, the Rio conference will get to be called a success or a failure simply on the basis of whether these world leaders sign the two conventions on global warming and biodiversity or not.

More questions than answers

THE BIODIVERSITY treaty which was finalised last fortnight has been hailed as a major victory for the South. As the US and France have both pulled out of the treaty, calling it fundamentally flawed, this belief has grown further. But is the treaty really so desirable?

Project stalled

THE SUBANSIRI hydel project in Arunachal Pradesh may not take off as the ministry of environment and forests feels it will cause irreparable damage to the biodiversity of the region. This contrasts with the support the project has got from both the Planning Commission and the water resources ministry. These two allege that the Rs 5,000 crore project, supposed to generate 4,800 MW, has fallen prey to the MEF's idiosyncrasies.

South gains words but loses its genes

THE biodiversity convention is ready for signature at the Earth Summit. But from the negotiations just concluded in Nairobi, it is clear that the South is in for a bad bargain. It stands to lose access over its biodiversity - plant and animal genetic resources - while it gains only loosely worded promises that it will get access to the North's biotechnology - based on the genes that come from its farms