Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
among nations in transnational interactions, and it is distributed unevenly
in terms of types of organizations (Lewis 2003, 2005). In previous
research, I analyzed which nations were the targets of environmental aid.
I found that U.S. donors (foundations and United States Agency for
International Development) were more likely to fund nations with envi-
ronmental richness (biodiversity) than those with environmental poverty
(polluted water), even when controlling for political, economic, and
security interests (Lewis 2003). In a study focused on which types of
organizations received environmental aid to work in Ecuador, I found
that the majority of grants and grant dollars went to U.S.-based organi-
zations working in Ecuador rather than Ecuadorian organizations. Envi-
ronmental goods went to U.S. organizations more often than Ecuadorian
ones (Lewis 2005).
These North-South debates and the literatures in social movements,
environmental sociology, and development frame the Ecuadorian case.
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In Ecuador, the distribution of environmental goods—funding for
projects—has shaped the choices of Ecuadorian environmental NGOs
and has largely ignored environmental justice advocates. By way of
funding, the global North has played a strong hand in directing the
environmental agenda of this small nation. What this has meant is that
projects have tended to focus on issues of importance to a “global” com-
munity, such as biodiversity protection. Environmental justice concerns
have not been the focus. This makes sense since the effects of environ-
mental injustice are most acutely felt locally. This social process is written
on the land of Ecuador.
Environmental Problems in Ecuador
Ecuador is a useful country to study in relation to social-environmental
issues because it is representative of other Latin American countries and
thus provides a glimpse into the region in general. Socioeconomically, it
is a “typical” Latin American nation: it is 25 percent Amerindian; in
2006, its GDP was $4,500; 41 percent of its citizens live below poverty;
it has a large external debt; and it is resource dependent, with 40 percent
of the country's revenue coming from petroleum extraction (World
Bank 2006).
Ecuador also suffers from many of the same environmental problems
that are pervasive in Latin American and the Caribbean: deforestation,
soil erosion, and industrial pollution, to name a few. As in the rest of
Latin America, Ecuador's major cities (Guayaquil, Quito, and Cuenca)
