Ecoimperialism

After producing countries' initial resentment of what was perceived as "developed countries' ecoimperialism" and/or an attempt to restrict timber market access, several timber producing countries have recognized that certification is a market reality and might even offer competitive advantages to those that pursue it.

The South charges the North with 'ecoimperialism', arguing that Northern colonial attitudes are nowadays expressed in ecotourist visits to human zoos and (perhaps worse still) to wildlife reserves that exclude those people who previously made their livings there.

However, since the mandarins have articulated whaling as an issue involving preservation of cultural diversity and a nationalistic rebuff to US ecoimperialism, the prospects for reconciliation and compromise are remote.

In practical terms, too, the fact that such suggestions often come from developed countries that have previously all but destroyed their own forests in the course of their development can quickly be interpreted as 'ecoimperialism'.

Fundamentally, ecoimperialism undermines the capacity of people to escape poverty.