The term eco-warrior is a self-description for an
environmental
A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scale f ...
activist
Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...
that adopts a "hands-on" effort to save a plot of land. In the UK it coined the term in the 1990s, a label that many people actively taking ecological direct action resisted, for philosophical reasons.
A common symbol of an eco-warrior is the
Eco Warriors Flag.
Another use of the term refers to an environmental activist who engages in illegal activities, also known as
eco-terrorism
Eco-terrorism is an act of violence which is committed in support of environmental causes, against people or property.
The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) defines eco-terrorism as "...the use or threatened use of violence o ...
. However, an eco-warrior is also someone who utilizes the
court
A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance ...
s to halt, suspend, or otherwise derail a human activity that the activist believes adversely impacts the environment.
Types
An eco-warrior can be someone who engages in an
environmental organisation
An environmental organization is an organization coming out of the conservation or environmental movements
that seeks to protect, analyse or monitor the environment against misuse or degradation from human forces.
In this sense the environment ...
(e.g.
Greenpeace
Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by Irving Stowe and Dorothy Stowe, immigrant environmental activists from the United States. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth t ...
) or an environmental company that delivers safekeeping or improvements for the environment (e.g. directly by selling environmental products).
Notable eco-warriors and warrior actions
* In 2006, an eco-warrior group who sabotaged heavily polluting terrain vehicles became known in Paris (France), calling themselves "
Les Dégonflés".
* Another well-known British "eco-warrior" is Daniel Hooper, who is also known as
Swampy.
*
Chico Mendes
Francisco Alves Mendes Filho, better known as Chico Mendes (; 15 December 1944 – 22 December 1988), was a Brazilian rubber tapper, trade union leader and environmentalist. He fought to preserve the Amazon rainforest, and advocated for the h ...
and
Ken Saro-Wiwa
Kenule Beeson "Ken" Saro-Wiwa (10 October 1941 – 10 November 1995) was a Nigerian writer, television producer, and environmental activist. Ken Saro-Wiwa was a member of the Ogoni people, an ethnic minority in Nigeria whose homeland, Ogonilan ...
are the most famous green activists in Brazil and Nigeria, respectively.
* Made famous in the US for a hurling a brick through the window of a McDonald's during the so-called "Battle in Seattle", French activist and small-scale cheese farmer
José Bové
Joseph "José" Bové (born 11 June 1953) is a French farmer, politician and Syndicalism, syndicalist, member of the alter-globalization movement, and spokesman for Via Campesina. He was one of the twelve official candidates in the 2007 French pres ...
has been fighting neo-liberalism on his home turf for decades.
*
Paul Watson
Paul Franklin Watson (born December 2, 1950) is a Canadian-American conservation and environmental movement, environmental activist, who founded the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, an anti-poaching and direct action group focused on marine c ...
and the direct-action conservation group known as the ''
Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS) is a non-profit, marine conservation activism organization based in Friday Harbor, Washington, Friday Harbor on San Juan Island, Washington, in the United States. Sea Shepherd employs direct action t ...
'', which he founded, can be called eco-warriors for their direct engagements of ships engaging in overfishing and commercial whaling.
*
Penti Baihua is an internationally known
Huaorani
The Huaorani, Waorani, or Waodani, also known as the Waos, are an Indigenous people from the Amazonian Region of Ecuador ( Napo, Orellana, and Pastaza Provinces) who have marked differences from other ethnic groups from Ecuador. The alternate ...
. The Huaorani, like many other
indigenous people
Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...
s, are very much interested in putting a stop to
illegal logging
Illegal logging is the harvest, transportation, purchase or sale of timber in violation of laws. The harvesting procedure itself may be illegal, including using corrupt means to gain access to forests; extraction without permission, or from a pro ...
on their homeland, and also embrace the concept of
ecotourism
Ecotourism is a form of tourism involving responsible travel (using sustainable transport) to natural areas, conserving the environment, and improving the well-being of the local people. Its purpose may be to educate the traveler, to provide funds ...
to supply in funds to help in the protection of their local biodiversity.
*
Timothy Treadwell
Timothy Treadwell (born Timothy William Dexter; April 29, 1957 – October 5, 2003) was an American bear enthusiast, environmentalist, documentary filmmaker, and founder of the bear-protection organization Grizzly People. He lived among coast ...
was an activist for the protection of grizzly bears in Alaska.
* The direct action of
William Bunting
William Bunting (1874–1947) was a rugby union international who represented England from 1897 to 1901. He also captained his country.
Early life
William Bunting was born on 9 August 1874 in Daventry.
Rugby union career
Bunting made his in ...
saved the wildlife habitat of
Thorne Moors
Thorne and Hatfield Moors form the largest area of lowland raised peat bog in the United Kingdom. They are situated in South Yorkshire, to the north-east and east of Doncaster near the town of Thorne, and are part of Hatfield Chase. They had ...
from the planned dumping of 32 million tons of fuel-ash, peat-cutting and drainage, and caused the reinstatement of public footpaths on maps of the same Moors.
See also
*
Eco Warriors Flag
References
{{reflist
Environmentalism