Regional Logistics in need of renewal
By Mauricio López Dardaine
I was fortunate to have been invited to the
14th. Latin American Logistics
Meeting
held in Buenos Aires, organised by APLA1. Apart from having
learnt a great deal owing to the level of those who shared their views on a
series of inter-connected disciplines, there were the rewarding chats in both
lunches and coffee-breaks. From all these exchanges a new concern began
to take shape in my mind. And after two days of discussions it became
quite clear; not so much as to how it must be addressed, but yes regarding
the need of adaptation, owing to the phase were are living through.
The question is that our regional logistics, the way we know it today, is in
need of renewal. And I say this not because logistics have become out of
date
per se; far from it. But there are at least three converging factors that
are consistent with a new scenario and demand
adaptation.
First, there is the World crisis that has, to a certain extent, shifted the
international trade axis west of Latin America. The problems that the EU
countries (traditional clients of our Region) are facing, plus the rising in
parallel of the big Asian nations, are facts we are all well aware of.
Secondly, Latin America is still growing, albeit at a more moderate rate of
growth than hitherto. And here there appears, together with said growth, a
strong limitation of capacity as far as many of our ports and logistics areas
are concerned. One of the speakers, Octavio Doerr, mentioned average
figures regarding the use of present regional installed capacities of 90, 100
and even 110 percent.
The third element is not related to logistics, not originated in ports, nor is it
connected to trade flows. We are dealing with Climate Change. Without
going into the complex discussion on its causes, let us state that Climate
Change is already having serious adverse effects on both ports and their
adjoining zones.
1
APLA: Latin American Chemical and Petrochemical Association
Estudio López Dardaine
www.lopezdardaine.com.ar
2
It is a fact that Climate Change has by now resulted in an increase of the
average global temperature and has caused the melting of ice hitherto
considered “eternal”.
This in turn brings sea level rise, an increase that results in:
multiple drivers at risk
2.
From another perspective, excessive use of the installed capacity
3 requires
planned re-dimensioning looking ten to twenty years ahead. An additional
factor referred to within the Ports Panel al
APLA, is that privatising of port
facilities, indeed welcome in connection with a series of aspects, does not
lead to having today a global view from neither the country nor the regional
perspective (company strategy does not necessarily coincide with state
requirements).
When we add the need for Adaptation vis-à-vis Climate Change, plus the
fact that Adaptation is multi-faceted, meaning: protection, land use
planning, building codes, warning and disaster response
4, the need for an
encompassing view becomes quite evident.
Thus Climate Change demands:
of port infrastructure level
2
From the Conclusions by Prof. Roberts J. Nicholls at the Climate Change Impacts and
Adaptation: A Challenge for Global Ports Meeting
, held by UNCTAD in Geneva, September
2011, which the author of these lines also attended.
3
Commented by O. Doerr.
4
Work already quoted, by Prof. Nicholls.
Estudio López Dardaine
www.lopezdardaine.com.ar
3
Plus:
zones
now subjected to flooding, by means of economic [dis]
incentives
of climate emergencies
climate impacts.
TO RECAP:
These three factors we have mentioned: shifting of the international trade
axis west of our Region, the excess use of port present installed capacities
owing to regional trade growth and the need to adapt to Climate Change
threats, demand we recreate logistics as a whole in our Latin American
Region.
And this is a collective undertaking we cannot evade.* * *
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