Conflicts of Global Ecology: Environmental Activism in a Period of Global Reach
Author(s)
Shiva, Vandana
Abstract
The origins of the environmental movement were in local efforts to resist ecological degradation and toxic pollution, but there is now a recognition that many environmental threats are caused by multinational corporations (MNC’s) and multilateral development banks (MDB’s). These institutions have a “global reach” that touches every city, village, field, and forest through their worldwide operations. The emphasis has shifted from local to global environmental problems, and it is widely assumed that the solutions must also be global. Using the Global Environment Facility (GEF) as a case in point, this paper suggests that the interpretation is false. Indeed, it argues that defining these issues as “global” is a veiled attempt to conserve economic and political power rather than to conserve the environment.
