January 2, 2016
alternatives, Buen Vivir, climate change, development, energy, extractivism, nature rights, postdevelopment
Alternatives, Development, Environment
A review of some of the central ideas being discussed in a process of energy transitions towards Good Living for the Andean regions and the neighbouring Amazonian areas. It is an exercise in proposing post-carbon and post-extractivist societies based on sensibilities that seek to get out of the trap of conventional ideas of development, and […]
October 22, 2015
extractivism, human rights, nature rights, Peru, social conflicts
Development, Environment
by Eduardo Gudynas – It is slowly becoming evident that today’s extractivism [economy based upon the extraction and export of natural resources such as oil, gas and minerals] is advancing in a context of increasing violence. This is not an exaggeration: distinct forms of violence are being employed to impose and protect extractivism, a situation […]
March 26, 2015
alternatives, Buen Vivir, climate change, energy, extractivism, finance, Latin America, nature rights
Alternatives, Environment
Proponents of the South American philosophy of Buen Vivir have proposed an action plan for moving towards a more sustainable, more balanced economy – report by Oliver Balch, The Guardina, 11 February 2015. Business, as a rule, doesn’t do utopia. The reason is simple: as the French author and philosopher Albert Camus put it, “utopia […]
January 9, 2014
alternatives, Buen Vivir, extractivism, nature rights, postdevelopment
Alternatives, Development, Environment
Extractivisms are one of the main features in dominant development strategies in Latin America. Eduardo Gudynas (CLAES), presents the “post-extractivist” proposals that are being discussed in the region. Is an exploration in what is called “transitions” to another development, or “transitions to Buen Vivir.” Chapter in the book Beyond Development. Alternative visions from Latin America, […]
October 22, 2013
Bolivia, Buen Vivir, development, extractivism, nature rights, progressivism
Development, Politics
by Eduardo Gudynas – When Evo Morales’s Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) gained control of Bolivia’s government, it unleashed expectations of structural changes on several fronts, from the reform of the state to a new constitution, from new economic regulations to the direct political participation of indigenous and campesino organizations. The notable initial changes and the […]
September 26, 2013
Buen Vivir, Ecuador, extractivism, nature rights, oil
Development, Environment
by Eduardo Gudynas – One of the most original environmental initiatives in recent years, coming from Ecuador, sought to leave oil in the ground to preserve the Amazonia and its indigenous peoples. It was an idea emerging from civil society that took on concrete form in 2007, under the first government of Rafael Correa, and […]
October 9, 2009
Amazon, Ecuador, extractivism, nature rights, oil, political ecology, sustainability
Alternatives, Development, Politics
The government of Ecuador has presented a novel proposal to not exploit the oil reserves of the Yasuní National Park. The economic benefits of exporting crude oil are limited compared to the social, economic, and environmental costs of extracting oil from the Amazon, with its enormous ecological and cultural diversity. The report Leaving the Oil […]