Draft:Popular ecology

POPULAR ECOLOGY

Popular ecology is a movement that focuses on reclaiming nature, demanding social justice, and achieving greater equality for impoverished populations affected by the growing demand for energy and materials. These groups are particularly vulnerable to the consequences of climate change. Traditionally, popular ecology has been associated with struggles led mainly by Indigenous peoples and rural communities for the use, access, and defense of natural resources.

The term can be used interchangeably with the concept of “environmentalism of the poor”. The concept challenges the stereotype that environmentalism is a luxury concern of the affluent. Instead, it highlights how the vulnerable communities often struggle to protect their lands and livelihoods, not for abstract conservation ideals but for survival and justice. The concept of the "environmentalism of the poor" and popular ecology is widely attributed to the work of Ramachandra Guda, Indian historian in social, political, and environmental economics, and Joan Martínez-Alier, a Catalan ecological economist, and emerged prominently in the late 20th century. It first gained significant attention with the publication of his book, "The Environmentalism of the Poor: A Study of Ecological Conflicts and Valuation"

CONCEPTUALIZATION

From the first ecological debates, the critique to the society of waste and pollution, of consumerism and productivism, has been considered from a perspective of concern for people living under poverty and hunger, unable to consume the minimum necessary to sustain their existence. The debate over nature was mobilized by authors like Josue de Castro with his seminal lecture on “Underdevelopment: the primal cause of pollution” (original: “Subdesenvolvimento: causa primeira da poluição”), presented at the Conference on Human Environment held in Stockholm in 1972, underlining the social causes of environmental unsustainability.

The popular ecology differentiates their goals by putting the people and specially the most vulnerable populations at the core of the ecologic discussion on sustainability, development or environmental damage. Academics within the popular ecology movement highly criticize other forms of ecology like radical environmentalism or deep ecology that puts nature at the centre of the debate. From the popular ecology perspective, the exclusive defense of nature without taking into account the vulnerable communities is a result of political exclusion and privileged position from societies able to fulfil all basic human needs, ignoring the deficiencies in other latitudes such as in the Global South. The indiscriminate and increasing exploitation of natural resources caused by the Extractivist Model not only leads to a long list of environmental problems, as it also generates, increasingly, numerous and very serious social conflicts.

SOCIAL METABOLISM AND ECOLOGICAL ECONOMICS IN THE CONTEXT OF POPULAR ECOLOGY

The concept of popular ecology finds strong theoretical support in the frameworks of social metabolism and ecological economics, which emphasize the relationship between economic growth, resource use, and environmental justice. As economies grow, they demand increasing amounts of materials and energy, often at the expense of environmental sustainability and social equity. Reports have shown that in countries like Spain, material and energy use have risen in tandem with economic growth over the last fifty years . This dynamic reflects the metabolism of societies, which begins when human groups appropriate materials and energy from nature (inputs) and ends when they deposit waste, emissions, or residues back into natural spaces (outputs). By examining these processes, social metabolism reveals how economic activities extract resources and generate waste as means for indiscriminate economic expansion, often exacerbating ecological degradation and social inequalities.

Conventional economic science tends to overlook these impacts, as it fails to account for environmental liabilities in macroeconomic or corporate accounting. These liabilities include the degradation of rivers, deforestation, pollution, and the broader impacts on public health. By contrast, ecological economics critiques mainstream economic thought for neglecting the interconnectedness of economic activity and ecological systems. It advocates for integrating biological, physical, and chemical factors alongside social dimensions in economic evaluations.

In this context, popular ecology positions itself as a movement that challenges the traditional narratives of extractivist economy and environmental policy. By putting the most affected communities at the center of discussions about sustainability and justice, popular ecology aligns with the principles of ecological economics, advocating for policies that recognize the metabolic flows of society and seek equitable, ecologically sound solutions to global environmental challenges. This foundation strengthens the critique of exploitative economic models and reinforces the call for a shift towards sustainability that prioritizes both social and environmental justice, offering an essential framework for understanding the struggles inherent in the environmentalism of the poor.

Underdevelopment: The Primary Cause of Pollution

Josue de Castro highlights the social roots of environmental degradation, linking poverty and inequality to unsustainable practices. De Castro (1973) argues that underdevelopment amplifies pollution by driving the overexploitation of natural resources in regions lacking the infrastructure for sustainable management. Furthermore, the global economic model often shifts environmental burdens, such as waste and emissions, from the North to the South, exacerbating inequalities and environmental injustices. The insights about the relation between underdevelopment and a more damaged environment align with popular ecology, emphasizing the interconnected struggles for social and environmental justice in underdeveloped regions.

From the perspective of popular ecology, incorporating social considerations into the environmental agenda ensures that the fight for environmental protection also secures the access of vulnerable communities to essential resources. This approach could help prevent the indiscriminate consumption of materials with high pollution potential. According to Ariel (2002), the lack of access to resources to meet basic human needs leads to two outcomes: first, hunger; and second, the exploitation of combustible materials like coal or manure, which significantly increase methane levels and other atmospheric pollutants.

Relevant activist groups

The concept of popular ecology has special relevance in the context of the Global South economies. Historically but not exclusively these countries have been part of an unbalanced agenda of exploitation and disposal of materials. There is a shift of environmental costs, particularly in the form of waste, from the North to the South. Therefore, the greatest examples of resistance and fight for environmental justice come from these peripheries. The following represent some examples of popular ecology activism:

• Movimento dos Atingidos por Barragens is an example of a popular ecology movement, it was founded in Brazil during the 70 decade to protest against the construction of dams and hydroelectric power plants that directly affected vulnerable populations.

• Movimiento Ríos Vivos Antioquia (MRVA) is a human rights movement composed by 14 associations and families in the department of Antioquia (Colombia), affected by the negative environmental and human rights impact of Hidroituango, one of the largest embankment dam in Latin America. MRVA is part of a wider Colombian environmental movement, Movimiento Rios Vivos, which also operates in the departments of Santander, Huila, and Caldas.

• The Green Belt Movement (GBM) is an environmental organization that empowers communities, particularly women, to conserve the environment and improve livelihoods. GBM was founded by Professor Wangari Maathai in 1977 under the auspices of the National Council of Women of Kenya (NCWK) to respond to the needs of rural Kenyan women who reported that their streams were drying up, their food supply was less secure, and they had to walk further and further to get firewood for fuel and fencing. GBM encouraged the women to work together to grow seedlings and plant trees to bind the soil, store rainwater, provide food and firewood, and receive a small monetary token for their work.