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Green imperialism (also called eco-imperialism, eco-colonialism, or environmental imperialism) is a derogatory epithet alluding to what is perceived as a Western strategy to influence the internal affairs of mostly developing nations in the name of environmentalism.
The sceptical perception of the Brundtland report by the Third World elites was summarized as green imperialism by Helge Ole Bergesen in 1988. [1] In 1999, Deepak Lal used the term with the same meaning in his book Green Imperialism: A Prescription for Misery and War in the World's Poorest Countries. [2] Nonetheless, the same term is used differently in Richard Grove's 1995 book Green Imperialism: Colonial Expansion, Tropical Island Edens and the Origins of Environmentalism 1600–1860. [3] In Grove's book, it means the impact of utopian tropical islands on European data-driven scientists resulting in early environmentalism. [4]
The first mentions of the term environmental colonialism or eco-colonialism appeared in connection with debt-for-nature swaps since 1989. [5] [6] It was feared that the however well-intentioned environmental protection programs could be perceived as meddlesome and imperialistic. [6] The establishment of national parks in Africa has in some cases led to the impoverishment and displacement of local populations. [7]
Eco-imperialism (or ecoimperialism [8] ) was originally an abbreviation for ecological imperialism, a concept laid out by Alfred Crosby in his book of the same name, but changed its meaning after the publication of Paul Driessen's Eco-Imperialism: Green Power Black Death in 2003. [9] Crosby's eco-imperialism is interference with a degrading effect on the environment of targeted countries, while Driessen's eco-imperialism is interference with a degrading effect on the economy in the name of environmental improvement. [9]
During the Battle of Seattle in 1999, media presented environmentalism as a new form of imperialism. [10] The rich, developed countries impose their environmental preferences and priorities on the developing countries. [11]
Several European governments announced boycotts of Malaysian timber due to unsustainable deforestation in Malaysia as in a publication by Mahathir Mohamad in 1999. [12] Malaysia's Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamed, opposed the boycotts, arguing that "we are not exploiting the forests for no good reason. We need money. We have to export wood because we need the foreign exchange without which we cannot buy what we want". [13] Federal Land Development Authority (FELDA) accused the European Union of "economic colonisation" for banning palm oil in biofuels by 2020, in order to halt deforestation. [14] A representative of FELDA said: "It’s the same colonial attitudes, the white man imposing their rule on us from afar." In 2022, Malaysia threatened to stop the export of palm oil to EU as response to new regulations on deforestation. [15] [16]
In 2009, Germany called French proposal of carbon tariffs as eco-imperialism. [17] Back then, greenhouse tariffs met strong opposition from developing countries such as India and China, since these tariffs would impact their exports. [17]
The biofuel transnational meta-standard regulation of the European Union promotes certain sustainable fuels. [18] [19] However, this regulation extends beyond EU's jurisdistion and raises the issue of eco-imperialism. [18]
In 2014, Joji Morishita, a Japanese commissioner, expressed his concerns about calls of sustainable whaling from the International Whaling Commission by the words "The whaling issue is seen as a symbol of a larger issue sometimes in Japan... You might have heard the word 'eco-imperialism'". [20]
The approval of the World Bank loan of $3.05bn (£2.4bn loan) for 4,764 MW Medupi Power Station drew criticism for supporting increased global emissions of greenhouse gases. [21] [22] If the coal plant was not built, there would have been significant limitations placed on industrial development in the country. [22]
US president's Joe Biden's "Executive Order on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad" is described by Asian Times as green imperialism and a hidden protectionist policy, which should protect American jobs from competition by "cheap carbon-dirty goods". [23]
Eco-imperialism is sometimes described as a combination of global environmental and broad neoliberal agendas. [24] Eco-imperialism is perceived to result in a policy of commodification of all resources of earth. [25] This tendency of commodification of nature for environmental goals is also known as "selling nature to save it" or green grabbing. [26] [27] [28] Committee for the Abolition of Illegitimate Debt mentions Ouarzazate Solar Power Station as an example of such green grabbing, which was built without informing surrounding communities on pasture land and will export some of the energy to Europe. [28] [29]
Critical voices depreciate environmentalism as an excuse for hindering economic development of developing countries. [22] Critics see alternative energy sources as far from realistic, and fossil fuels as the key to lifting entire populations out of poverty. [30] Developing nations, led by Brazil, India and Singapore, opposed entangling global trade with pollution controls in 1994, calling them hidden protectionism, which will keep jobs in the developed countries and deprive poor nations of their competitive advantages. [31] The agenda of environmentalist NGOs is called neo-colonialism and eco-imperialism in 2022 by Japan, Peru, South Africa, Kenya and Bolivia. [32] Eco-imperialism functions as a derogatory epithet. [33] [24]
According to Anil Agarwal, a 1990 study [34] by the World Resources Institute allocated responsibility for global warming to developing countries. [35] Agarwal considered this study to be flawed, politically motivated, and unjust, and saw it more as exacerbating the North–south divide. [35] In his 1991 paper, he called this an example of environmental colonialism and blamed U.S. overconsumption for global warming. [36] However, a 1990s worldwide survey "Bicycles, Yes — Cheap Shoes, No" by WorldPaper showed that 66% of the participants did not agree to perceive debt-for-nature swaps as eco-colonialism. [6]
Environmental colonialism became a subject in the book "Apocalypse Never: Why Environmental Alarmism Hurts Us All" by Michael Shellenberger. In The Wall Street Journal , John Tierney, a long-standing critic of environmentalism, wrote that "Shellenberger makes a persuasive case, lucidly blending research data and policy analysis with a history of the green movement and vignettes of people in poor countries suffering the consequences of “environmental colonialism.”" [37]
Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated deforestation occurs in tropical rainforests. About 31% of Earth's land surface is covered by forests at present. This is one-third less than the forest cover before the expansion of agriculture, with half of that loss occurring in the last century. Between 15 million to 18 million hectares of forest, an area the size of Bangladesh, are destroyed every year. On average 2,400 trees are cut down each minute.
Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp of the fruit of the oil palms. The oil is used in food manufacturing, in beauty products, and as biofuel. Palm oil accounted for about 36% of global oils produced from oil crops in 2014. Palm oils are easier to stabilize and maintain quality of flavor and consistency in ultra-processed foods, so are frequently favored by food manufacturers. On average globally, humans consumed 7.7 kg (17 lb) of palm oil per person in 2015. Demand has also increased for other uses, such as cosmetics and biofuels, creating more demand on the supply encouraging the growth of palm oil plantations in tropical countries.
Nature conservation is the moral philosophy and conservation movement focused on protecting species from extinction, maintaining and restoring habitats, enhancing ecosystem services, and protecting biological diversity. A range of values underlie conservation, which can be guided by biocentrism, anthropocentrism, ecocentrism, and sentientism, environmental ideologies that inform ecocultural practices and identities. There has recently been a movement towards evidence-based conservation which calls for greater use of scientific evidence to improve the effectiveness of conservation efforts. As of 2018 15% of land and 7.3% of the oceans were protected. Many environmentalists set a target of protecting 30% of land and marine territory by 2030. In 2021, 16.64% of land and 7.9% of the oceans were protected. The 2022 IPCC report on climate impacts and adaptation, underlines the need to conserve 30% to 50% of the Earth's land, freshwater and ocean areas – echoing the 30% goal of the U.N.'s Convention on Biodiversity. Ultimately, these movements should be further promoted to encourage biodiversity and to conserve a functional ecosystem.
Neocolonialism is the continuation or reimposition of imperialist rule by a state over another nominally independent state. This is the continuation of colonial representations and realities which remain after formal colonisation has come to an end.Neocolonialism is the control of less-developed countries by developed countries through indirect means. The term neocolonialism was first used after World War II to refer to the continuing dependence of former colonies on foreign countries, but its meaning soon broadened to apply, more generally, to places where the power of developed countries was used to produce a colonial-like exploitation.Neocolonialism takes the form of economic imperialism, globalization, cultural imperialism and conditional aid to influence or control a developing country instead of the previous colonial methods of direct military control or indirect political control (hegemony).
The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), also known as the RioConference or the Earth Summit, was a major United Nations conference held in Rio de Janeiro from 3 to 14 June 1992.
Trade justice is a campaign by non-governmental organisations, plus efforts by other actors, to change the rules and practices of world trade in order to promote fairness. These organizations include consumer groups, trade unions, faith groups, aid agencies and environmental groups.
Ecological debt refers to the accumulated debt seen by some campaigners as owed by the Global North to Global South countries, due to the net sum of historical environmental injustice, especially through resource exploitation, habitat degradation, and pollution by waste discharge. The concept was coined by Global Southerner non-governmental organizations in the 1990s and its definition has varied over the years, in several attempts of greater specification.
Debt-for-nature swaps are financial transactions in which a portion of a developing nation's foreign debt is forgiven in exchange for local investments in environmental conservation measures.
Sustainable consumption is the use of products and services in ways that minimizes impacts on the environment. Sustainable consumption is done in a way that needs are met for present humans but also for future generations. Sustainable consumption is often paralleled with sustainable production; consumption refers to use and disposal not just by individuals and households, but also by governments, businesses, and other organizations. Sustainable consumption is closely related to sustainable production and sustainable lifestyles. "A sustainable lifestyle minimizes ecological impacts while enabling a flourishing life for individuals, households, communities, and beyond. It is the product of individual and collective decisions about aspirations and about satisfying needs and adopting practices, which are in turn conditioned, facilitated, and constrained by societal norms, political institutions, public policies, infrastructures, markets, and culture."
This page is an index of sustainability articles.
There are various social, economic, environmental and technical issues with biofuel production and use, which have been discussed in the popular media and scientific journals. These include: the effect of moderating oil prices, the "food vs fuel" debate, poverty reduction potential, carbon emissions levels, sustainable biofuel production, deforestation and soil erosion, loss of biodiversity, effect on water resources, the possible modifications necessary to run the engine on biofuel, as well as energy balance and efficiency. The International Resource Panel, which provides independent scientific assessments and expert advice on a variety of resource-related themes, assessed the issues relating to biofuel use in its first report Towards sustainable production and use of resources: Assessing Biofuels. In it, it outlined the wider and interrelated factors that need to be considered when deciding on the relative merits of pursuing one biofuel over another. It concluded that not all biofuels perform equally in terms of their effect on climate, energy security and ecosystems, and suggested that environmental and social effects need to be assessed throughout the entire life-cycle.
An eco-tariff, also known as an environmental tariff or carbon tariff, is a trade barrier erected for the purpose of reducing pollution and improving the environment. These trade barriers may take the form of import or export taxes on products that have a large carbon footprint or are imported from countries with lax environmental regulations. The EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism is a carbon tariff.
Malaysia faces several environmental issues. Malaysia's environment possesses megadiverse biological diversity, with globally significant endemism and biodiversity, but is threatened by several issues. Deforestation is a major issue in the country that has led to many species becoming threatened with extinction. As a major economic sector, palm oil production has had a substantial environmental impact. Air pollution is also a major issue, with the country one of the most affected countries by seasonal Southeast Asian haze. The country is also affected by climate change.
Palm oil, produced from the oil palm, is a basic source of income for many farmers in South East Asia, Central and West Africa, and Central America. It is locally used as cooking oil, exported for use in much commercial food and personal care products and is converted into biofuel. It produces up to 10 times more oil per unit area than soybeans, rapeseed or sunflowers.
Palm oil production is important to the economy of Indonesia as the country is the world's biggest producer and consumer of the commodity, providing about half of the world's supply. In 2016, Indonesia produced over 34.6 million metric tons of palm oil, and exported 25.1 million metric tons of it. Oil palm plantations stretch across at least 12 million hectares. There are several different types of plantations, including small, privately owned plantations, and larger, state-owned plantations. There are a variety of health, environmental, and societal impacts that result from the production of palm oil in Indonesia. A recent publication by the NGO Rainforest Action Network (RAN) indicates that the use of palm oil by some of the biggest chocolate and snacks' producers is increasing this problem.
Palm oil production is vital for the economy of Malaysia, which is the world's second- largest producer of the commodity after Indonesia. The Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) is a government agency responsible for the promotion and development of the palm oil sector in the country. The country's palm oil industry produces about 90 million tonnes of lignocellulosic biomass, including empty fruit bunches, oil palm trunks, and oil palm fronds, as well as palm oil mill effluent (POME). In 2010, in response to concerns about social and environmental impact of palm oil, the Malaysian Government pledged to limit palm oil plantation expansion by retaining at least half of the nation's land as forest cover.
The World Resources Institute (WRI) is a global research non-profit organization established in 1982 with funding from the MacArthur Foundation under the leadership of James Gustave Speth. Subsequent presidents include Jonathan Lash, Andrew D. Steer and current president Ani Dasgupta (2021-).
The theory of imperialism refers to a range of theoretical approaches to understanding the expansion of capitalism into new areas, the unequal development of different countries, and economic systems that may lead to the dominance of some countries over others. These theories are considered distinct from other uses of the word imperialism which refer to the general tendency for empires throughout history to seek power and territorial expansion. The theory of imperialism is often associated with Marxist economics, but many theories were developed by non-Marxists. Most theories of imperialism, with the notable exception of ultra-imperialism, hold that imperialist exploitation leads to warfare, colonization, and international inequality.
Green grabbing or green colonialism is the foreign land grabbing and appropriation of resources for environmental purposes, resulting in a pattern of unjust development. The purposes of green grabbing are varied; it can be done for ecotourism, conservation of biodiversity or ecosystem services, for carbon emission trading, or for biofuel production. It involves governments, NGOs, and corporations, often working in alliances. Green grabs can result in local residents' displacement from land where they live or make their livelihoods. It is considered to be a subtype of green imperialism.
Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's political views have shifted during his lengthy career. Support for "Asian values," liberal Islam and Malay nationalism have long been part of Mahathir's political ideals. He has long been a critic of the foreign policy of the United States and other Western nations. Mahathirism has had an influence over subsequent Malaysian administrations.
