This chapter describes the four "ideal types" of environmentalists, which are ecoimperialists, ecodependents, ecoresisters, and ecoentrepreneurs. These are categorized based on the types of project, how much funding, and so much more
The first category of environmentalist is ecoemperialists. Ecoemperialists usually consist of international nongovernmental organizations(INGOs) or foundations that are outside of the country but have offices in Ecuador. They focus mainly on the conservation of biodiversity as well as support sustainable economic development. It was said that some Ecuadorians view these ecoemperialists as "forcing their will." They believe that these organizations are buying their land from them and in some cases doing projects that are not the goals of some Ecuadorians. In some cases I believe that these ecoemperialists are a good thing for Ecuador because they are trying to conserve the biodiversity of Ecuador. But if there are native people in Ecuador and their land is being controlled, I can see why this would upset them. I believe that before any areas are put under protection they should give native Ecuadorians a chance to say why they believe this a good or bad idea.
The second category of environmentalists is ecodependents. Ecodependent organizations are funded by the ecoimperialists and over fifty percent of their funding comes from other countries. Their budgets can vary quite a bit depending on the projects they are doing because their funding comes from organizations abroad. The book stated three problems with codependent environmentalism. One of the main problems I saw and read about that I agree with is that they can struggle to get funding as well as they may have to compete for this funding. I can see how this would be a problem, because if there is a project that is needed to be done but someone or people are not willing to fund it, that can be a serious problem. Another concern that was stated was that the ecoimperialists, "have plenty of money for their own projects, but not for ours." I feel as though the income of money is a lot less because the ecoimperialists are funding the ecodependents, which may lead to giving them less money than if they were being funded by outside organizations.
The third category of environmentalists is ecoresisters. Ecoresisters are not funded by ecoimperialists and are usually funded buy a foreign country for a specific project. They mostly work at a local or regional scale, like dealing with mining and its effects on habitat destruction. Ecoresisters seem to work more for the people in keeping the environment around them a safe place. I feel that ecoresisters are a very important type of environmentalists especially for a small country like Ecuador. I feel like Ecuador is a place that has so many resources to give and without ecoresisters trying to "stop" or find a better way then a lot more of their resources would be gone by now.
The fourth category that the author believes is one of the "ideal types" is ecoentrepreneur. Ecoentrepreneurs are funded through service fees. They protect something that people need/rely on in exchange fees. It was said that these organizations focus more on the quality of life for people like clean water and green spaces. I think that this is a very important of environmentalists for Ecuador. There are many different kinds of drilling and such that goes on in Ecuador to get its resources that having an organization that focuses on clean water in clean air is a super important type for Ecuador.