Ecuador’s Environmental Revolutions
Origins, 1978 to 1987
The Origins era is marked by the ending of a military dictatorship in Ecuador, into the “fragile” democracy that is was slowly becoming. Although Ecuador was riddled with debt and trying to solve economic and social problems on the basis of an economic synthesis, the beginning of this period also saw the birth of very prominent and important environmental agencies in Ecuador that would eventually bring a lot of change and a bigger picture of “sustainable development” to Ecuador. The two most important beginners were Fundación Natura and Accion Ecologica. With these two very different, but both equally as environmentally conscious groups on the scene, Ecuador would begin to see the start of an environmental movement amidst the chaos.
A small group of university-educated environmentalists truly set the scene for an environmental movement when they founded the organization Fundación Natura in Quito in 1978. They focused primarily on the conservation of species and ecosystems, but also the very important aspect of education. They wanted, more than anything, to raise consciousness about their environment throughout their country (Lewis, 2016. Pg.56). Fundación Natura would be considered an ecodependent, as over time they would begin to receive funding from a variety of ecoimperialist organizations; as they sought not only to conserve and educate, but also to receive corporate sponsorship and compromise with the largescale leaders and the state to negotiate and work together for a broader goal of sustainable development. Shortly after their founding, they entered a contract with the United States Agency for Sustainable Development (USAID) to create an “Environmental Profile for Ecuador” and received many grants in the process (Pg.57). For a short time, Natura was the only environmental NGO in Ecuador. Eventually, SODENA (Society for the Defense of Nature) in Ecuador was founded, also in Quito, where they supported a subgroup called Accion Ecologica, who would come to play a huge role in Ecuador’s emerging environmental revolution along with Fundación Natura.
Accion Ecologica would be considered an ecoresistant group rather an ecodependent one. They were always known as a very “radical green” group in Ecuador and have focused on conflicts around mining, oil extraction, and mangrove and forest destruction. Little by little they have been transformed into “social ecologists” as they fight against the government and industry’s extractive development paradigm (Pg.58). USAID has never funded Accion Ecologica which is also a very important difference from Fundación Natura to note. AE is considerably more concerned with social and economic aspects of environmentalism as well, rather than Natura focusing mostly on better policies and enforcement in environmentalism. Accion Ecologica being more “ecologist” centered and Fundación Natura being more “environmentalist” centered.
Another key aspect of the Origins era that really speaks volumes is the first debt-for-nature swap, which would come to bring a lot of “wins” for Ecuador’s environmentalism and economy. In a swap, an organization from the Global North purchases a portion of Ecuador’s (or any indebted nation’s) debt at a discount on the secondary debt market in exchange for a commitment by that indebted nation (Ecuador, in this instance) to establish what would be a Conservation Trust Fund. They must use this trust fund to carry out environmental projects (Pg.65). This is wonderful for countries like Ecuador, who’s debts may be relieved, at least slightly, in exchange for greater capabilities for protection and conservation of their biodiversity and natural resources. This was extremely popular in Ecuador, after the first few debt-for-nature swaps came about in 1987, when the World Wildlife Fund bought one million dollars’ worth of Ecuador’s debt. This influx of funds set the country for growth economically, and in conservation and sustainable development efforts.
The Origins era ends in 1987 due partially because of debt-for-nature swaps, and the way these swaps could help Ecuador pay off the immense debt they were in after being relieved from military control. This changed the way the state’s debt repayment policies would work, and in turn, led Ecuador into a completely new and booming era. Additionally, a national environmental congress was held, and an environmental umbrella group was formed, CEDENMA (Ecuadorian Committee for the Defense of Nature and the Environment), which could be the middle-ground between Fundación Natura and Accion Ecologica. They had multiple goals which would include defending nature and the environment, taking legal action to do what was necessary for sustainable development, raising awareness, ensuring democratic representation regarding environmental decisions, and demanding public discussion when it came time to make serious environmental decisions (Pg.64). In this way, they could help fulfill the agendas of both the Fundación Natura and the Accion Ecologica environmental groups.
From a personal perspective, although I know that both of the environmental groups that I’ve been discussing here, Natura and AE, are working, in part, for similar causes and agendas, and both groups have done plenty good by Ecuador and its environmental revolution, I do believe that if I were Ecuadorian and had to choose which one I would participate in, that would most likely be Fundación Natura. I do not believe that there is anything wrong with fighting for what works—getting on the “good side” of corporations and working through areas of extreme interest that may be able to benefit your agenda. I think Natura is very smart in the way they operate. There are no doubts in my mind as to why they were truly the organization that began the entire environmental movement at the beginning of the Origin era. They fight not only for whats right by nature but also what will work economically, and in my eyes, that makes they a realistic and workable contribution to the economy, the environment, and the people. “Fundación Natura promotes policies and actions targeted to meet human needs and to guarantee the continuance of ecological processes primarily in the areas of environmental education, communications, conservation of biodiversity and environmental law” (Fundación Natura, n.d.). This is what sustainable development exemplifies.
References
Fundacion Natura. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.global500.org/index.php/thelaureates/online-directory/item/707-fundacion- natura.
Lewis, T. L. (2016). Ecuador's Environmental Revolutions: Ecoimperialists, Ecodependents, and Ecoresisters. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
Origins, 1978 to 1987
The Origins era is marked by the ending of a military dictatorship in Ecuador, into the “fragile” democracy that is was slowly becoming. Although Ecuador was riddled with debt and trying to solve economic and social problems on the basis of an economic synthesis, the beginning of this period also saw the birth of very prominent and important environmental agencies in Ecuador that would eventually bring a lot of change and a bigger picture of “sustainable development” to Ecuador. The two most important beginners were Fundación Natura and Accion Ecologica. With these two very different, but both equally as environmentally conscious groups on the scene, Ecuador would begin to see the start of an environmental movement amidst the chaos.
A small group of university-educated environmentalists truly set the scene for an environmental movement when they founded the organization Fundación Natura in Quito in 1978. They focused primarily on the conservation of species and ecosystems, but also the very important aspect of education. They wanted, more than anything, to raise consciousness about their environment throughout their country (Lewis, 2016. Pg.56). Fundación Natura would be considered an ecodependent, as over time they would begin to receive funding from a variety of ecoimperialist organizations; as they sought not only to conserve and educate, but also to receive corporate sponsorship and compromise with the largescale leaders and the state to negotiate and work together for a broader goal of sustainable development. Shortly after their founding, they entered a contract with the United States Agency for Sustainable Development (USAID) to create an “Environmental Profile for Ecuador” and received many grants in the process (Pg.57). For a short time, Natura was the only environmental NGO in Ecuador. Eventually, SODENA (Society for the Defense of Nature) in Ecuador was founded, also in Quito, where they supported a subgroup called Accion Ecologica, who would come to play a huge role in Ecuador’s emerging environmental revolution along with Fundación Natura.
Accion Ecologica would be considered an ecoresistant group rather an ecodependent one. They were always known as a very “radical green” group in Ecuador and have focused on conflicts around mining, oil extraction, and mangrove and forest destruction. Little by little they have been transformed into “social ecologists” as they fight against the government and industry’s extractive development paradigm (Pg.58). USAID has never funded Accion Ecologica which is also a very important difference from Fundación Natura to note. AE is considerably more concerned with social and economic aspects of environmentalism as well, rather than Natura focusing mostly on better policies and enforcement in environmentalism. Accion Ecologica being more “ecologist” centered and Fundación Natura being more “environmentalist” centered.
Another key aspect of the Origins era that really speaks volumes is the first debt-for-nature swap, which would come to bring a lot of “wins” for Ecuador’s environmentalism and economy. In a swap, an organization from the Global North purchases a portion of Ecuador’s (or any indebted nation’s) debt at a discount on the secondary debt market in exchange for a commitment by that indebted nation (Ecuador, in this instance) to establish what would be a Conservation Trust Fund. They must use this trust fund to carry out environmental projects (Pg.65). This is wonderful for countries like Ecuador, who’s debts may be relieved, at least slightly, in exchange for greater capabilities for protection and conservation of their biodiversity and natural resources. This was extremely popular in Ecuador, after the first few debt-for-nature swaps came about in 1987, when the World Wildlife Fund bought one million dollars’ worth of Ecuador’s debt. This influx of funds set the country for growth economically, and in conservation and sustainable development efforts.
The Origins era ends in 1987 due partially because of debt-for-nature swaps, and the way these swaps could help Ecuador pay off the immense debt they were in after being relieved from military control. This changed the way the state’s debt repayment policies would work, and in turn, led Ecuador into a completely new and booming era. Additionally, a national environmental congress was held, and an environmental umbrella group was formed, CEDENMA (Ecuadorian Committee for the Defense of Nature and the Environment), which could be the middle-ground between Fundación Natura and Accion Ecologica. They had multiple goals which would include defending nature and the environment, taking legal action to do what was necessary for sustainable development, raising awareness, ensuring democratic representation regarding environmental decisions, and demanding public discussion when it came time to make serious environmental decisions (Pg.64). In this way, they could help fulfill the agendas of both the Fundación Natura and the Accion Ecologica environmental groups.
From a personal perspective, although I know that both of the environmental groups that I’ve been discussing here, Natura and AE, are working, in part, for similar causes and agendas, and both groups have done plenty good by Ecuador and its environmental revolution, I do believe that if I were Ecuadorian and had to choose which one I would participate in, that would most likely be Fundación Natura. I do not believe that there is anything wrong with fighting for what works—getting on the “good side” of corporations and working through areas of extreme interest that may be able to benefit your agenda. I think Natura is very smart in the way they operate. There are no doubts in my mind as to why they were truly the organization that began the entire environmental movement at the beginning of the Origin era. They fight not only for whats right by nature but also what will work economically, and in my eyes, that makes they a realistic and workable contribution to the economy, the environment, and the people. “Fundación Natura promotes policies and actions targeted to meet human needs and to guarantee the continuance of ecological processes primarily in the areas of environmental education, communications, conservation of biodiversity and environmental law” (Fundación Natura, n.d.). This is what sustainable development exemplifies.
References
Fundacion Natura. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.global500.org/index.php/thelaureates/online-directory/item/707-fundacion- natura.
Lewis, T. L. (2016). Ecuador's Environmental Revolutions: Ecoimperialists, Ecodependents, and Ecoresisters. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.