Eco-imperialism

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Eco-imperialism refers the forceful imposition of western environmental views on developing countries. The degree to which this imposition actually occurs is a topic of debate, as is whether such imposition (if it occurs) would be ethically justifiable.

The term eco-imperialism was used by environmental skeptic and free-market advocate Paul Driessen in his book Eco-Imperialism — Green Power, Black Death. Like the European imperialists of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Driessen claims, today's eco-imperialists keep developing countries destitute for the benefit of the developed world. By advocating for the precautionary principle, corporate social responsibility and sustainable development, Driessen claims, environmental groups legitimize their demands on government but often engender poverty and death in the process. Driessen also asserts that environmentalists' demands can sometimes cause environmental degradation. Driessen's arguments are similar to those of environmental skeptic Bjørn Lomborg.

Eco-imperialism is said to occur when environmentalists place the well-being of the environment over the well-being of humans, particularly those living in developing countries. Examples of eco-imperialism might include the banning of genetically modified foods in a starving nation, barring the use of DDT in countries with high rates of malaria and introducing pollution regulations that restrict economic growth in developing economies. Roy Innis chairman of the Congress of Racial Equality has argued that European Union restrictions on the use of the pesticide DDT to combat malaria are ‘killing black babies’. Environmental historian Ramachandra Guha has accused 'authoritarian biologists' of valuing the protection of endangered species over the well-being of local people in India and other developing nations.

Environmentalists have responded to such critiques by arguing that a healthy environment--and the regulations needed to sustain it--is a necessary part of raising global standards of living. The concept of "sustainable development" was developed in the 1970s to honor developing nations' desire for economic growth while also protecting the environment. Environmentalists have also argued that many of the problems facing developed countries, such as climate change, also pose significant or even greater threats to developing countries and thus warrant a global response. They also point out that the supposed solutions to problems of global hunger, such as the growing of genetically modified crops, fail to address (and in some cases actually exacerbate) the more fundamental problems of poverty and environmental degradation that created hunger in the first place.

See environmental justice and environmental racism.

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