Page 63 - Ecuador's Banana Sector under Climate Change

chapter 2: economic and policy analysis of the banana sector in ecuador and implications for social and environmental sustainability
implementation and the compliance with labour rights and regulations that relate to social impact. It is necessary to develop the capacity to negotiate, within
a multistakeholder framework, the preferred social outcomes that should be implemented and enforced. In terms of the environment, current laws will need
to be enhanced and their enforcement should be strengthened. Critical to the implementation of environmental policy is research and the technical capacity to undertake the evidence-based environmental assessments that are necessary for regulation and its implementation.
With regard to climate change, sound governance is only now starting to
take place, although the structures and mechanisms that are necessary to address the priorities required to tackle the impact of climate change are not yet sufficiently adequate. Since further evidence is essential regarding the potential implications of climate change on diseases, it is necessary to strengthen a country’s agricultural research. The development and testing of pest-resistant clones against current and emerging threats is crucial - especially in the light of their close links to the impacts of climate change. This requires a strengthening
of global research networks and institutions that specialize in the banana and
in climate change. The need to develop more robust weather information, monitoring and recording is also critical to the adaptation and mitigation of climate change.
On the global level, much can be done to ensure a speedier transition towards the sustainable management of banana value chains. Existing governance structures along the global banana value chain need impetus to achieve
more sustainable practices, including strong and enforceable safeguards to minimize the environmental damage caused by the substantial application of agrochemicals. Improved governance can be achieved through information and raising consumer awareness that inexpensive bananas are not sustainable and that the true environmental and social cost of their production requires serious alternatives. New ways should be sought to internalize the full cost of banana production, including the cost to the environment, which is currently externalized and is a missing component in the economics of production, distribution and consumption. Such outcomes - to the extent that they can translate to higher prices - would lower overall demand, paving the way for substitutions with other food products. This must be the price to pay if it is agreed, on a global basis, that a sustainable environmental and socially equitable banana system is a goal worth achieving.
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