Ecuador’s Environmental Revolutions
Ideal Types of Environmentalism
According to Tammy L. Lewis, author of “Ecuador’s Environmental Revolutions,” there are four ‘ideal’ types of environmentalism. The types, ecoimperialists, ecodependents, ecoresisters, and ecoentrepreneurs focus on environmental organizations and how they function inside of Ecuador and beyond. Lewis categorizes these groups accordingly to try to better understand and answer questions like, “Which environmentalisms are most influential at which times in history and why?” and “How have relationships with transnational environmental funders altered environmentalism in Ecuador?” These are important questions to ask as we look through the four main and most recent periods in Ecuadorian history and environmentalism. The four groups listed above are not equal in any sense. The environmental sector in Ecuador is extremely diverse, containing international, national, and local groups; as well as groups that must dance at the beat of another’s drum. To quickly classify, ecoimperialists are the groups that fund most of Ecuador’s smaller environmental organizations. They are International (INGOs) and work with the ecodependents, typically sharing a common goal and helping support that goal. Ecodependents work within Ecuador’s borders but cannot fund their projects locally. Ecoresisters are very different from both of those categories as they typically are not funded but instead play more of the ‘activist’ role. Ecoentrepreneurs offer “green” and “brown” services to the people for a fee. They work nationally or locally within Ecuador.
Ecoimperialists and ecodependents have a very close-knit relationship. They are tied to each other by funding relationships. Through this, the agendas of the two groups become very similar. The difficulty is, that ecoimperialists are international funders, from abroad, that usually have their own agendas and ideas for how to make Ecuador a more sustainably developed place. Some examples of an ecoimperialist group are The Nature Conservancy, the Wildlife Conservation Society, and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Some Ecuadorian environmentalists and ecodependent groups feel as though ecoimperialists impose their agendas and bypass Ecuadorian organizations. Additionally, they have skepticism over INGOs that may be working with their country to try and purchase land as a means of controlling their water resources and creating private reserves; and they see INGOs’ practices within their home nations of cooperating with polluting multinational corporations (Lewis, 2016. Pg.49). Although there is reason for skepticism over ecoimperialist groups, ecodependent organizations in Ecuador typically have no choice but to revolve their projects around other organizations who will fund them, with more than 50% of their budget.
Ecoresisters are different than ecodependents, like Fundación Natura, EcoCiencia, and Jatun Sacha in that they do not typically receive funding from ecoimperialist organizations. Ecoresisters create their own agenda. An example of an ecoresistant organization is DECOIN (Defense and Ecological Conservation of Intag). They are activists and volunteers who work and fight in response to specific grievances like the threat of mining or the destruction of mangroves due to overfishing. Their primary goal is to resist the forces of “development,” particularly resource extraction. Often, ecoresisters stand in the way of the treadmill of production as they attempt to block the country’s efforts at economic growth (Pg.52). Many people see them as ‘radical’ and maybe even a nuisance for this reason, but the real truth is that they shine light onto the problems that certainly need fixing, and although they cannot typically fix the problems themselves or with their own funding, they pressure the state and the citizen-workers to help them fight for these changes to be made.
Lastly, ecoentrepreneur organizations, which are funded locally through service fees, focus not only on environmental issues but also on human health and wellness. So, they may have less of a “green” agenda and more of a “brown” one, but either way, they are working towards conservation in most everything they do and support. A group that exemplifies this work is FONAG (Fondo para la Proteccion del Agua). They were founded in cooperation between The Nature Conservancy and the capital city of Quito, and their goal is in protecting watersheds. FONAG collects money from people in Ecuador who use this water and provides the money to organizations who are willing to keep it safe and clean for them (Pg.53). Everyone in relation to these organizations have a very positive response to them, although ecoresisters have questioned their practice of valuing the cost of ecosystem services.
The way in which Lewis classified these different types of organizations that work within Ecuador was a very good fit, as typically all NGOs, INGOs, and other environmental groups within the country can fit into one of these categories perfectly. I don’t believe that it is necessarily “fair” that Ecuador’s own NGOs, typically the ecodependents, must be so dependent on international ecoimperialists, but, when it comes to such a country as Ecuador, with a very weak state and economy, help from other nations is usually critical and of utmost importance. Lewis contends that whether Ecuador is a strong or weak state plays a large role in these factors and I completely agree with that. The environmental sector in Ecuador is heavily influenced by outsiders and this is not necessarily a bad thing for Ecuador. They are able to get the funding that is necessary, to achieve more sustainable development within the country and increase monetarily and socially. Ecuador receives a lot of help in the form of debt-for-nature swaps as well, always funded initially by international organizations that would like to see progression and change in Ecuador. “Debt-for-nature swaps (DNS) can mobilize resources for protecting nature while reducing the debt burden of developing countries” (2019). This is important for fixing Ecuador’s debt problems as well as keeping their natural resources safe and protected at all costs.
References
Debt for Nature Swaps. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.sdfinance.undp.org/content/sdfinance/en/home/solutions/debt-for-nature- swaps.html#mst-1.
Lewis, T. L. (2016). Ecuador's Environmental Revolutions: Ecoimperialists, Ecodependents, and Ecoresisters. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
Ideal Types of Environmentalism
According to Tammy L. Lewis, author of “Ecuador’s Environmental Revolutions,” there are four ‘ideal’ types of environmentalism. The types, ecoimperialists, ecodependents, ecoresisters, and ecoentrepreneurs focus on environmental organizations and how they function inside of Ecuador and beyond. Lewis categorizes these groups accordingly to try to better understand and answer questions like, “Which environmentalisms are most influential at which times in history and why?” and “How have relationships with transnational environmental funders altered environmentalism in Ecuador?” These are important questions to ask as we look through the four main and most recent periods in Ecuadorian history and environmentalism. The four groups listed above are not equal in any sense. The environmental sector in Ecuador is extremely diverse, containing international, national, and local groups; as well as groups that must dance at the beat of another’s drum. To quickly classify, ecoimperialists are the groups that fund most of Ecuador’s smaller environmental organizations. They are International (INGOs) and work with the ecodependents, typically sharing a common goal and helping support that goal. Ecodependents work within Ecuador’s borders but cannot fund their projects locally. Ecoresisters are very different from both of those categories as they typically are not funded but instead play more of the ‘activist’ role. Ecoentrepreneurs offer “green” and “brown” services to the people for a fee. They work nationally or locally within Ecuador.
Ecoimperialists and ecodependents have a very close-knit relationship. They are tied to each other by funding relationships. Through this, the agendas of the two groups become very similar. The difficulty is, that ecoimperialists are international funders, from abroad, that usually have their own agendas and ideas for how to make Ecuador a more sustainably developed place. Some examples of an ecoimperialist group are The Nature Conservancy, the Wildlife Conservation Society, and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Some Ecuadorian environmentalists and ecodependent groups feel as though ecoimperialists impose their agendas and bypass Ecuadorian organizations. Additionally, they have skepticism over INGOs that may be working with their country to try and purchase land as a means of controlling their water resources and creating private reserves; and they see INGOs’ practices within their home nations of cooperating with polluting multinational corporations (Lewis, 2016. Pg.49). Although there is reason for skepticism over ecoimperialist groups, ecodependent organizations in Ecuador typically have no choice but to revolve their projects around other organizations who will fund them, with more than 50% of their budget.
Ecoresisters are different than ecodependents, like Fundación Natura, EcoCiencia, and Jatun Sacha in that they do not typically receive funding from ecoimperialist organizations. Ecoresisters create their own agenda. An example of an ecoresistant organization is DECOIN (Defense and Ecological Conservation of Intag). They are activists and volunteers who work and fight in response to specific grievances like the threat of mining or the destruction of mangroves due to overfishing. Their primary goal is to resist the forces of “development,” particularly resource extraction. Often, ecoresisters stand in the way of the treadmill of production as they attempt to block the country’s efforts at economic growth (Pg.52). Many people see them as ‘radical’ and maybe even a nuisance for this reason, but the real truth is that they shine light onto the problems that certainly need fixing, and although they cannot typically fix the problems themselves or with their own funding, they pressure the state and the citizen-workers to help them fight for these changes to be made.
Lastly, ecoentrepreneur organizations, which are funded locally through service fees, focus not only on environmental issues but also on human health and wellness. So, they may have less of a “green” agenda and more of a “brown” one, but either way, they are working towards conservation in most everything they do and support. A group that exemplifies this work is FONAG (Fondo para la Proteccion del Agua). They were founded in cooperation between The Nature Conservancy and the capital city of Quito, and their goal is in protecting watersheds. FONAG collects money from people in Ecuador who use this water and provides the money to organizations who are willing to keep it safe and clean for them (Pg.53). Everyone in relation to these organizations have a very positive response to them, although ecoresisters have questioned their practice of valuing the cost of ecosystem services.
The way in which Lewis classified these different types of organizations that work within Ecuador was a very good fit, as typically all NGOs, INGOs, and other environmental groups within the country can fit into one of these categories perfectly. I don’t believe that it is necessarily “fair” that Ecuador’s own NGOs, typically the ecodependents, must be so dependent on international ecoimperialists, but, when it comes to such a country as Ecuador, with a very weak state and economy, help from other nations is usually critical and of utmost importance. Lewis contends that whether Ecuador is a strong or weak state plays a large role in these factors and I completely agree with that. The environmental sector in Ecuador is heavily influenced by outsiders and this is not necessarily a bad thing for Ecuador. They are able to get the funding that is necessary, to achieve more sustainable development within the country and increase monetarily and socially. Ecuador receives a lot of help in the form of debt-for-nature swaps as well, always funded initially by international organizations that would like to see progression and change in Ecuador. “Debt-for-nature swaps (DNS) can mobilize resources for protecting nature while reducing the debt burden of developing countries” (2019). This is important for fixing Ecuador’s debt problems as well as keeping their natural resources safe and protected at all costs.
References
Debt for Nature Swaps. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.sdfinance.undp.org/content/sdfinance/en/home/solutions/debt-for-nature- swaps.html#mst-1.
Lewis, T. L. (2016). Ecuador's Environmental Revolutions: Ecoimperialists, Ecodependents, and Ecoresisters. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.