In this chapter, the author discusses the different approaches that the eco-imperialists had when it came to addressing different issues and how this impacted other groups. The eco-imperialist organizations had used finances to their advantage to grow eco-dependent organizations. This would create a sort of partnership between the two organizations to make them allies. The outcome of this strategy had both positive and negative impacts. On one hand, the structure of the eco-dependent organizations to be more professional which was good for the majority of the organizations. Alternatively, the competition for funds made it difficult for the eco-dependent organizations to stand in solidarity with the national movement.
Due to the fact that the eco-imperialist organizations had a considerable amount of funds, they were able to get more support on different ideas. Since they were giving money to certain eco-dependent organizations, they would only support the organizations who would do the most for their cause or supported what the eco-imperialists believed in the most. For example, not much, if any, transnational funds were given to urban areas for their improvement of the local environment. The eco-imperialist organizations became the puppeteer to the eco-dependent organizations once the eco-dependent organizations had difficulty maintaining structure when introduced with the possibility of financial supplements.
The behaviors of these allies had shifted from working in tandem towards the same goals to the eco-dependent organizations carrying out the goals that the eco-imperialists had. The transnational funding that occurred from the eco-imperialist organizations to the eco-dependent organizations drove the different movements of the era by focusing on green issues. This is proven when an individual looks into the different projects that were able to be funded throughout this period of time. The author uses the Global Environment Facility and its Biodiversity Protection Project as an example of this occurrence. Another project that is discussed in this chapter is the Sustainable Uses of Biological Resources project. This project focused primarily on policy analysis, organizational development, natural area management, ecotourism, improved land use, and minority participation. With these focuses, it would ensure that the project would promote different factions in order to achieve the goal of sustainable development.
After conducting some research, I found the website for the Global Environment Facility (GEF). It was initially started in order to assist in the battle to combat the pressing environmental problems. Since its establishment in 1992, they have provided monetary supplements totalling $18.1 billion in grants as well as $94.2 billion in co-financing for projects in various countries. Currently, the GEF has partnerships with a total of 183 countries, financial institutions, civil society organizations, as well as the private sector in order to address global environmental issues.
With the current systems going on, some of the citizens of Ecuador noticed some gaps in the beliefs that were being supported. Different groups emerged that did not fit into the already established green issues groups or the eco-dependent groups, which meant that there would be more of a variety to the issues that were being addressed. For example, the author discusses a group that were recognized as Frente de Defense de la Amazoniá. This group worked to gain $1.5 billion in damages in order to fix the mess that Texaco left behind in a lawsuit.
The article, “Frente de Defensa de la Amazonía,” describes what this organization is and stands for. In english, this organization means “Amazon Defense Coalition.” This group is a grassroots organization located in Ecuador’s rainforest who focuses on indigenous and environmental rights. Their legal team had worked on what is considered to be one of the most notable cases for indigenous rights and environmental litigation, Aguinda v. Chevron. At the end of this case, the indigenous and farmer communities in Ecuador had won a $12 billion pollution judgement due to the contamination and destruction of their ancestral lands and waterways. In the year 2011, the judgement was imposed by an Ecuadorian court after an eight year trial and then was later affirmed unanimously by two appellate courts. Instead of paying, Chevron had threatened the communities with a “lifetime of litigation” if they continue with their legal pursuits.
Eventually, the neoliberal-economic and political forces were pushing to shift the responsibilities from the public to the private sector. This would then cause for an increase in the NGOs due to the fact that they would be taking on much more daunting and time consuming tasks than they had before. The NGOs were being utilized in a way that they would address the public's concerns which could be viewed as problematic considering that they do not have elected officials that represent some given population. For example, Lewis brings up the point that an eco-dependent NGO which focused on green agendas would appear to be green imperialism.
This current model of operation was denounced by Polít, an individual representing CEDENMA. He had argued that the state’s neoliberal model was ineffective as well as brought up the four most important changes that had taken place since the first Congresso. These changes are increased petroleum exploration and extraction that threatened indigenous territories and protected areas, investment in shrimping for export that put the mangrove ecosystem at risk of extinction, the high rate of deforestation that was occurring primarily from the tropical forest and changes in mining legislation that favors foreign investment. He had argued that these changes did not support the goal of developing sustainability as well as the stark difference between sustainable development and developing sustainability. He had brought up the point that sustainable development is a quantitative concept that could be measured by economic growth, whereas developing sustainability is improves the quality of life within the carrying capacity of ecosystems and interpermanance, making it qualitative. This is important because many individuals had harbored the thought that the label of “sustainable development” was just a way to justify the exploitation of natural resources and justify the majority of proposals that favored economic growth.
The author takes time in this chapter to mention different conferences that held much importance. Lewis brings up the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development and how crucial it was to Ecuador. In this conference in Rio, representatives from 172 countries met to sign an agreement to work towards sustainable development. At a different summit, called the “Global Forum”, approximately 150 nations signed two bonding agreements. The first agreement was the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Climate Convention. This agreement was designed with the goal of preventing the destruction of biological species, habitats, and ecosystems. The next agreement was the Climate Convention. This agreement was put into place with the intent to prevent human interference to put the climate system in danger. To achieve this goal, countries were to try to stabilize their greenhouse gases as well as provide financial supplements from the more developed countries to the lesser developed countries.
Due to the fact that the eco-imperialist organizations had a considerable amount of funds, they were able to get more support on different ideas. Since they were giving money to certain eco-dependent organizations, they would only support the organizations who would do the most for their cause or supported what the eco-imperialists believed in the most. For example, not much, if any, transnational funds were given to urban areas for their improvement of the local environment. The eco-imperialist organizations became the puppeteer to the eco-dependent organizations once the eco-dependent organizations had difficulty maintaining structure when introduced with the possibility of financial supplements.
The behaviors of these allies had shifted from working in tandem towards the same goals to the eco-dependent organizations carrying out the goals that the eco-imperialists had. The transnational funding that occurred from the eco-imperialist organizations to the eco-dependent organizations drove the different movements of the era by focusing on green issues. This is proven when an individual looks into the different projects that were able to be funded throughout this period of time. The author uses the Global Environment Facility and its Biodiversity Protection Project as an example of this occurrence. Another project that is discussed in this chapter is the Sustainable Uses of Biological Resources project. This project focused primarily on policy analysis, organizational development, natural area management, ecotourism, improved land use, and minority participation. With these focuses, it would ensure that the project would promote different factions in order to achieve the goal of sustainable development.
After conducting some research, I found the website for the Global Environment Facility (GEF). It was initially started in order to assist in the battle to combat the pressing environmental problems. Since its establishment in 1992, they have provided monetary supplements totalling $18.1 billion in grants as well as $94.2 billion in co-financing for projects in various countries. Currently, the GEF has partnerships with a total of 183 countries, financial institutions, civil society organizations, as well as the private sector in order to address global environmental issues.
With the current systems going on, some of the citizens of Ecuador noticed some gaps in the beliefs that were being supported. Different groups emerged that did not fit into the already established green issues groups or the eco-dependent groups, which meant that there would be more of a variety to the issues that were being addressed. For example, the author discusses a group that were recognized as Frente de Defense de la Amazoniá. This group worked to gain $1.5 billion in damages in order to fix the mess that Texaco left behind in a lawsuit.
The article, “Frente de Defensa de la Amazonía,” describes what this organization is and stands for. In english, this organization means “Amazon Defense Coalition.” This group is a grassroots organization located in Ecuador’s rainforest who focuses on indigenous and environmental rights. Their legal team had worked on what is considered to be one of the most notable cases for indigenous rights and environmental litigation, Aguinda v. Chevron. At the end of this case, the indigenous and farmer communities in Ecuador had won a $12 billion pollution judgement due to the contamination and destruction of their ancestral lands and waterways. In the year 2011, the judgement was imposed by an Ecuadorian court after an eight year trial and then was later affirmed unanimously by two appellate courts. Instead of paying, Chevron had threatened the communities with a “lifetime of litigation” if they continue with their legal pursuits.
Eventually, the neoliberal-economic and political forces were pushing to shift the responsibilities from the public to the private sector. This would then cause for an increase in the NGOs due to the fact that they would be taking on much more daunting and time consuming tasks than they had before. The NGOs were being utilized in a way that they would address the public's concerns which could be viewed as problematic considering that they do not have elected officials that represent some given population. For example, Lewis brings up the point that an eco-dependent NGO which focused on green agendas would appear to be green imperialism.
This current model of operation was denounced by Polít, an individual representing CEDENMA. He had argued that the state’s neoliberal model was ineffective as well as brought up the four most important changes that had taken place since the first Congresso. These changes are increased petroleum exploration and extraction that threatened indigenous territories and protected areas, investment in shrimping for export that put the mangrove ecosystem at risk of extinction, the high rate of deforestation that was occurring primarily from the tropical forest and changes in mining legislation that favors foreign investment. He had argued that these changes did not support the goal of developing sustainability as well as the stark difference between sustainable development and developing sustainability. He had brought up the point that sustainable development is a quantitative concept that could be measured by economic growth, whereas developing sustainability is improves the quality of life within the carrying capacity of ecosystems and interpermanance, making it qualitative. This is important because many individuals had harbored the thought that the label of “sustainable development” was just a way to justify the exploitation of natural resources and justify the majority of proposals that favored economic growth.
The author takes time in this chapter to mention different conferences that held much importance. Lewis brings up the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development and how crucial it was to Ecuador. In this conference in Rio, representatives from 172 countries met to sign an agreement to work towards sustainable development. At a different summit, called the “Global Forum”, approximately 150 nations signed two bonding agreements. The first agreement was the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Climate Convention. This agreement was designed with the goal of preventing the destruction of biological species, habitats, and ecosystems. The next agreement was the Climate Convention. This agreement was put into place with the intent to prevent human interference to put the climate system in danger. To achieve this goal, countries were to try to stabilize their greenhouse gases as well as provide financial supplements from the more developed countries to the lesser developed countries.
Figure 1: An image of the logo for the Earth Summit.
Resources
(n.d.) What is the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change? Retrieved
from https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-convention/what-is-the-united-nations-framework-convention-on-climate-change
About Us. (2019, May 10). Retrieved from https://www.thegef.org/about-us
(n.d) Frente de Defensa de la Amazonía. Retrieved from https://www.makechevroncleanup.com
from https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-convention/what-is-the-united-nations-framework-convention-on-climate-change
About Us. (2019, May 10). Retrieved from https://www.thegef.org/about-us
(n.d) Frente de Defensa de la Amazonía. Retrieved from https://www.makechevroncleanup.com
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