Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
contributes to themes related to environmental justice, and Ecuadorian
views of each type of group.
Type 1: Ecoimperialist Organizations
These are transnational environmental groups (also called international
nongovernmental organizations or INGOs) that bring environmental
goods (i.e., foreign funds) with them to Ecuador to focus primarily on
biodiversity protection, often with additional goals of supporting sus-
tainable economic development. They are viewed as ecoimperialist
because they set up shop in Ecuador with their own funds to do what
they want to do. Many view them as foreign intruders imposing their
will on the people, land, and policies of Ecuador. A national environ-
mental leader remarked, “They don't listen to nationals; they are top
down.” Of the groups working in Ecuador's environmental sector, these
have the largest budgets, often over $1 million.
An example of an INGO project is the Nature Conservancy's (TNC's)
project to create a tortoise conservation area in the Galápagos Islands.
Through this work, TNC is attempting to restore natural pools for giant
tortoises. The pools had been degraded due to invasive species and cattle
ranching. TNC works with a local organization, Fundar Galápagos, to
execute the program. A director of a similar organization remarked, “We
work at the species level and the site level. Protected areas are the
cornerstone of conservation. . . . Human well-being is important, but it
is not our expertise.” This project and others like it do not have envi-
ronmental justice as a goal. However, increasingly, economic (though not
social) concerns are included in biodiversity protection. Often these
organizations couple land conservation with ecotourism development.
The guiding principle behind adding economic aspects is to make con-
servation pay for itself.
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Though “ecoimperialist” is a strong term to use in describing these
groups, it refl ects the sentiment of some national and local organizations
in the environmental community, especially as recent INGO practices
have changed. Previously, these organizations have acted as intermediar-
ies—channeling funds from (often) U.S. offi ces to Ecuadorian NGOs,
which would implement project priorities of the foreign-based INGO. A
recent trend among INGOs, however, is to execute their projects them-
selves rather than by distributing funds to national and local groups. For
instance, the Wildlife Conservation Society implements projects directly,
with their own staff, without engaging Ecuadorian NGOs. This practice,
which essentially bypasses Ecuadorian institutions, has led to complaints
