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Integración y Democratización en América Latina y El Caribe: Cuestiones de la Ecología Política
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This article is an updated version of material already published elsewhere, for circulation in Bolivia
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... Un efecto de dicho modelo es la expansión de áreas sembradas en cultivos como caña de azúcar, palma africana, trigo, cacao, maíz, entre otros, a nivel mundial (Mintz 1996). Su materialidad evidencia conflictos ambientales (Martínez-Alier 2004), a partir de los cuales es posible demostrar relaciones asimétricas de poder (Castro 2013) a través de los modos de agenciamiento humano que se disputan, espacial y temporalmente, lugares, localizaciones, agua, suelo, entre otros elementos. ...
Se analizan los conflictos espaciales de dos humedales del departamento del Valle del Cauca entre mediados del siglo XX y principios del siglo XXI, bajo un contexto de transformación producido por: 1) agentes sociales vinculados al agronegocio de la caña de azúcar, 2) el Estado y sus políticas neoliberales y, por último, 3) las comunidades locales que soportan el poder ejercido por los dos primeros. Se parte de la teoría de la producción social del espacio de Lefebvre para descubrir asimetrías en las relaciones de poder entre estos tres agentes. Los resultados muestran injusticias espaciales producto de ellas. De este modo, se aportan argumentos teóricos y empíricos como base de reflexión para las comunidades locales y la comunidad científica respecto a los estudios ambientales y conservación de humedales.
Palabras clave: conflictos espaciales, relaciones de poder, producción social del espacio, humedales y agronegocio de la caña de azúcar
We analyze spatial conflicts in two wetlands in the Department of Valle del Cauca between the mid-20th century and the beginning of the 21st century. These conflicts developed within a context of transformation produced by: 1) social agents linked to sugarcane agribusiness; 2) the State and its neoliberal policies and 3) the local communities that resist the power exercised by the first two. We use Lefebvre's theory of social production of space to reveal asymmetries in the power relations between these three agents, and show spatial injustices produced by these asymmetries. Theoretical and empirical arguments are provided as a basis for critical reflection by local communities and the scientific community regarding environmental studies and wetland conservation.
Keywords: social production of space, power, spatial conflicts, wetlands, sugar.
Revisión de las principales ideas en discusión sobre el Buen Vivir. No se pretende defender una única definición del Buen Vivir y como se verá en la revisión, no es posible ofrecer una que sea aplicable a todos los casos. El Buen Vivir en este momento está germinando en
diversas posturas en distintos países y desde diferentes actores sociales, que es un concepto en
construcción, y que necesariamente debe ajustarse a cada circunstancia social y ambiental.
Las nuevas tecnologías y la pugna por establecer cárteles que controlen la economía mundial representan complejos cuestionamientos al Estado-nación liberal y a la economía capitalista oligopólica que les dio origen. En este marco, las innovaciones que introduce la biotecnología en los procesos de producción plantean un desafío al viejo orden capitalista industrial; de no legislarse y canalizarse adecuadamente su potencial, pueden alterar el entorno y el sistema mundial de comercialización. /// New technologies and the fierce attempts to establish controlling cartels of the world economy pose complex questionings to the liberal nation-State and to the oligopolistic and capitalist economy that gave birth to it. In these circumstances, the old industrial capitalist order has to face the challenge of the improvements introduced by biotechnology to the production process. If their possible impacts are not properly legislated and handled, they could upset both the environment and the world trade system.
Gary Snyder is not a philosopher, nor does he "consider himself particularly a 'Beat.'"1 Snyder is a poet, an essayist, an outdoorsman, and a practitioner of Buddhism. But despite his reluctance to identify with the Beat title, he has been an undeniable influence on the Beat generation and its writers. He was fictionalized as the character Japhy Ryder in Jack Kerouac's The Dharma Bums,2 and helped initiate the San Francisco Renaissance by organizing poetry readings with his close friend Allen Ginsberg, among others, thus ushering in the Beats as a recognized social force. Although not a philosopher in the traditional or academic sense, his writings contain a very complex treatment of modern society's relationship to the natural world. Snyder's chief concerns are protecting nature from the ravages of civilization, putting humans back in touch with our "wild" selves, and returning us to a sense of self-contemplation, community, and embeddedness in nature. Snyder puts his philosophical views into practice in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, where he has made his home since 1970. Eschewing publicity, he sits za zen every day, and is a lifelong proponent of ecological thinking. Snyder also draws from Mahayana Buddhism, bioregionalism, and social anarchism in developing his perspective and philosophical orientation. Snyder most clearly spells out the beliefs he conveys through his poetry and practices in his essay work and interviews. Because Snyder's views are so nuanced, it's possible for various schools of thought to adopt him as their own. Despite being claimed by proponents of deep ecology, and finding his place within this school of thought, Snyder's background, his reading of Marx and anarchism, and his philosophical and political concerns align him also with social ecology, making him an appropriate bridge between these two polarized nature philosophies. The debates between social ecology and deep ecology characterized the emergent Green movement in the 1980s and 1990s and had a tremendous influence within the Earth First movement. They reverberate today as we face an increasingly dire ecological future. Social ecology is primarily concerned with the dialectic between forms of domination in the human world, and how this leads to the domination of nature. It is a view that emphasizes that the solution to humans' destruction of nonhuman nature is a social one. Deep ecology is more concerned with changing human consciousness, drawing from religious and philosophical perspectives. Snyder acknowledges both, emphasizing the need to change consciousness, while advocating for social changes to reharmonize humanity's relationship to nonhuman nature. Copyright © 2012 by The University Press of Kentucky. All rights reserved.
This book introduces historical and comparative perspectives into the study of environmentalism. It deals with perceptions and valuations of nature among subordinated social groups in four continents, and analyses the international ecological conflicts that have sharpened since the Rio Earth Summit five years ago, using a combination of archival and field data. Essays on the 'ecology of affluence' place in context uniquely western phenomena such as the 'cult of the wilderness' and the environmental justice movement. Exploring the origins, articulation and ideologies of conflicts over nature for different societies and historical periods, the authors present the nature of the history of environmental movements in a new light, which clarifies the issues and processes behind them. It includes reappraisals of three seminal figures - Ghandhi, Georgescu-Roegen and Kewis Mumford - whose legacy may yet contribute to a greater cross-cultural understanding within the environmental movement.
Greater integration into the world economy and important policy reforms have resulted in Brazil, China, India and South Africa becoming major actors in the globalisation process, with impressive results in terms of economic growth, social development and poverty reduction. But the benefits of stronger growth have not always been shared equally and income inequality has remained at very high levels.
Existing evidence suggests that the evolution of the distribution of income in these four countries is the result of many forces. These include demographic change, migration, unequal access to education, informal employment, existing regulations and their enforcement, social norms and cultural legacy. These forces are often interlinked and reinforce one another. However, as employment is the primary source of income for most households, understanding the impact of labour market outcomes is crucial.
This book focuses on the role of growth and employment/unemployment developments in explaining recent income inequality trends in Brazil, China, India and South Africa, and discusses the roles played by labour market and social policies in both shaping and addressing these inequalities. It includes the papers presented at the joint OECD and European Union High-Level Conference on Inequalities in Emerging Economies held in Paris in May 2010. This work is part of OECD’s ongoing dialogue and co-operation with non-member economies around the world.
Robert Thayer brings the concepts and promises of the growing bioregional movement to a wide audience in a book that passionately urges us to discover "where we are" as an antidote to our rootless, stressful modern lives. LifePlace is a provocative meditation on bioregionalism and what it means to live, work, eat, and play in relation to naturally, rather than politically, defined areas. In it, Thayer gives a richly textured portrait of his own home, the Putah-Cache watershed in California's Sacramento Valley, demonstrating how bioregionalism can be practiced in everyday life. Written in a lively anecdotal style and expressing a profound love of place, this book is a guide to the personal rewards and the social benefits of reinhabiting the natural world on a local scale. In LifePlace, Thayer shares what he has learned over the course of thirty years about the Sacramento Valley's geography, minerals, flora, and fauna; its relation to fire, agriculture, and water; and its indigenous peoples, farmers, and artists. He shows how the spirit of bioregionalism springs from learning the history of a place, from participating in its local economy, from living in housing designed in the context of the region. He asks: How can we instill a love of place and knowledge of the local into our education system? How can the economy become more responsive to the ecology of region? This valuable book is also a window onto current writing on bioregionalism, introducing the ideas of its most notable proponents in accessible and highly engaging prose. At the same time that it gives an entirely new appreciation of California's Central Valley, LifePlace shows how we can move toward a new way of being, thinking, and acting in the world that can lead to a sustainable, harmonious, and more satisfying future.