The origin of the ecological negotiation is based on the observation that the evolution that society is experiencing implies the overcoming of certain achievements.
Traditional law implies that the state is the guardian of the general interest, but today the state no longer has the means to carry out this mission. Market rules and private actors therefore support this approach, but the rules of the market are not intended to preserve nature and indigenous peoples. The market does not preserve the general interest. It is therefore the actors of the territory, the peoples themselves who must act to protect their environment, but the law does not give them access to this public responsibility. In the current procedures, the weight of public speaking is only advisory and intervenes too late in the proceedings.
Parallel to these blockages inherent to the pyramidal structure of authority to which we used to answer, dynamic logics of integration of all the actors appear. Obviously, not without difficulty, because the institutions in place, administrative, still operate under heavy and locked traditional patterns. But gradually, innovative activities appear.
The law is gradually adapting to these emerging patterns. The Circular Economy Circular of 2015 attests to this. A new way of thinking and a new way of managing the territories must take place but it must also make it possible to unblock these situations of confrontation between the strong institutional logics and this new logic of fluidity of relations between humans and in their relations with the nature.
The actors themselves must succeed in asserting their place. Some must gain their independence, such as naturalistic consultancy firms or experts, others must succeed in making their voices heard as associations.
Moreover, the awareness that the human being is only one element of the whole is also necessary for the success of such a project of transition because cultural oppositions on the apprehension that everyone has of nature are strong. The West has developed by dominating nature and making it an instrument of its development by a permanent exploitation of resources, whereas in the majority of other cultures, nature is not a thing and can never be considered as such, so much respect for the Pacha Mama is inked in these cultures. Strong cultural and legal oppositions, too, mean that humans are allowed to destroy nature on one side, and will never allow themselves to do so without being aware of what they are doing with each other. side … International case law remind us of this to Western populations. The Constitution of Ecuador considers Pacha Mama as a person to respect, the New Zealand Court considered that the river had a Soul and that it should be respected for that. A decision of the Supreme Court of Bogotá of April 5, 2018 grants legal personality to the Colombian Amazon and also recognizes the new principles of climate justice and the transgenerational responsibility of the actors of the territory. It is clear that today, the human can not continue on the same legal and cultural bases that do not allow to respect the principle of reason and genealogy.
The raison d’être of ecological negotiation is to make this transition more fluid by having a broad awareness of the obstacles and locks that are present at all stages and at all scales of the transition process that must take place.
The human must realize that his current way of life has found its limits: the limits of the planet. The planet has limited natural and human resources. Each territory has strengths and constraints. Today we must anticipate the difficulties of tomorrow by implementing all available means to enable our future generations to ensure a sustainable and peaceful life.
To meet this peace, the transition must itself be put in place in this perspective of balance of human-human / human-nature relationships. It is the real needs that must be revealed and no longer the interests of the market or of certain actors.
The market is a means and not an actor. In the same way, money is a means. It must circulate, fuel the project, help the transition, it must serve the transition without being accumulated and fructified by some actors. Every penny counts and can help with the transition. For this, climate finance and financing innovation are also keys that must be called upon to support this transition. Bypass current difficulties to build strengths.
Many actions are already being implemented around the world. This dynamic carries meaning and hope because we all have our part to play in this transition. We all have our place to take. There will be no let-down, provided we listen to the real needs of the territories and resources they have.
In order to better meet the needs of this transition, the Ecological Negotiation Working Group’s mission is to define and respect a whole set of universal values that will be defined in a multidisciplinary and international way, & nbsp; and will ensure their consistent application around the world so that the balance of relationships between humans and with Nature is integrated from the local to the global level.