Dimensions of sustainable development: a proposal of systematization of sustainable approaches

The spreading of the concept of sustainable development asks for a the definition of a sound common ground of the growing number of implementations. Here I propose a synopsis of the criticisms of the major methodological approaches to sustainability and point out the need, according to the ecocentric approaches, of a paradigm shift, from a linear to a systemic perspective, generally utilized in the thermodynamic and biological sciences. Starting from the systematization suggested by Turner, Pearce and Bateman (1996), which divide ustainability in technocentric and ecocentric, this paper shows that not all approaches consider growth always as the best solution to society problems. This implies that sustainability may be viewed as an intersection among the so-called economic, social and environmental pilasters of sustainable development. This work offers instead a concentric representation of it, whereby the environmental system contains the economic and social dimensions, since it represents the set of resources that allows dimensions' functionality. A fourth institutional dimension, participatory democracy, should be added to obtain a complete visualization of sustainable development.Sustainable approaches; Sustainable development; Economic growth; Technocentric approach; Ecocentric approaches; Entropy; Sustainability dimensions.

Political ecology of health in the Land of Fires: a hotspot of environmental crimes in the south of Italy

Environmental crimes, if they are perceived as victimless, have not received the appropriate governmental response and have been frequently ranked low on the law enforcement priority list, punished with lenient or no administrative sanctions. This has contributed to an underestimation of the immediate consequences of environmental crimes, which can go undetected for lengthy periods. On the contrary, the mismanagement and illegal trafficking of waste in the Land of Fires, an area in the Campania region in the South of Italy, has been experienced as a 'victimful' crime. Using a political ecology of health approach, and integrating qualitative and quantitative methods, we investigate how the perception of being a victim of waste-related environmental crimes has been magnified by evidence of serious disease outcomes . Health concerns have become a central issue in the resurgence of grassroots movements against waste mismanagement in Campania

The role of working-class communities and the slow violence of toxic pollution in environmental health conflicts : A global perspective

Acord transformatiu CRUE-CSICUnidad de excelencia María de Maeztu CEX2019-000940-MAnalysing a sample of 3,033 environmental conflicts around the globe, we compared conflicts reporting no human health impacts to those reporting health impacts linked to toxic pollution. Our study suggests four main findings. First, health impacts are a key concern for working-class communities. Second, the long-term effects of toxic pollution undermine communities' ability to act preventively. Third, industrial activities, waste management and nuclear energy conflicts are more likely to report health impacts than other economic activities. Last, mobilising groups are reluctant to consider the closure of a polluting project a successful outcome because of the persistence of toxic pollution across time. Our results contribute to a better understanding of the dynamics of what we have termed 'environmental health conflicts' (EHCs)

Tracing narratives and perceptions in the political ecologies of health and disease

Political ecology has, in the past decade, emerged as an increasingly accepted framework for studying issues of health and disease and has thus given rise to a distinct sub-field: the political ecologies of health and disease (PEHD). More recently, scholars have suggested more specific avenues through which the sub-field can be further developed and focused. Building on recent work, we suggest that the role of health perceptions and health discourses is one area that could benefit from examination through the lens of political ecology. The papers in this special section thus intend to further contribute to the empirical richness of this area of study, through an emphasis on anthropological and cultural aspects of health injustices. We emphasize the role of health perceptions, in particular, as a way of exploring how people's experiences of the local environment often differ from dominant discourses related to un/healthy environments, and the effects stemming from this disjuncture

Autobiografía de un conflicto ambiental

El presente trabajo como autobiografía de un conflicto propone un posible método para representar las cualidades relevantes sobre la experiencia vivida como activista en una coordinadora contra la privatización del sistema hídrico integrado en Nápoles, Caserta y sus provincias. Esta contribución, alberga la esperanza de poner en práctica un proceso organizado de reflexión a través del cual es posible producir información útil para compartir experiencias. El conflicto sobre la gestión pública del agua surge de la oposición de un grupo de sujetos sociales al esquema político de privatización del sistema de agua potable en la región Campania en el sur de Italia. La movilización social se enmarca en el movimiento más amplio llamado ecologismo popular. Su reclamación, la de un reconocimiento del agua como bien común, está unida a aquel ecologismo mundial que nace de las necesidades materiales de la vida. En esta clase de conflictos ambientales los acontecimientos son inciertos, los valores están en disputa, los intereses son elevados, y las decisiones son urgentes. Lo anterior es el objeto de estudio de la ciencia posnormal. El enfoque sistémico del presente trabajo se desarrolla a través de una identificación de las diferentes escalas de gobierno y de las decisiones asumidas por los diferentes actores mediante la descripción de la dinámica interna y externa del actor principal del conflicto: la Coordinadora de los Comités para el Agua Pública en Nápoles, Caserta y sus provincias. La autobiografía concluye subrayando el carácter problemático de la reproducción de la comunidad estética dentro de las movilizaciones e identificando lo que entiendo como la demanda política más interesante de la Coordinadora: la necesidad de construir un "experto comité", más que un "comité de expertos"

Italy's urban waste metabolism

The problem of waste management is causing growing concern due to increasing generation rates, the emissions into soil, water and air, the social conflicts derived from the election of disposal sites and the loss of resources and energy among others. In this work, an innovative methodology is used to enable a better understanding of the waste generation and management system in Italy. Two new waste indicators are built to complement the conventional indicators used by official statistics. Then a multi-scale analysis of the Density of Waste Disposed (DWD) is carried out to highlight the territorial diversity of waste performances and test its contribution to detect plausible risky areas. Starting from Italian regions, the scale down goes on to the provincial level and, only for the region of Campania, the municipal one. First, the analysis shows that the DWD is able to complement the information provided by the conventional waste indicators. Second, the analysis shows the limitations of using a unique institutional solution to waste management problems. In this sense the multi-scale analysis provides with a more realistic picture of Italian waste system than using a single scale

Alteri L. and Raffini L. (Eds.), La Nuova politica. Mobilitazioni, movimenti e conflitti in Italia, Edises, Napoli, 2014

Abstracts are not required for Book Review

Autobiografía de un conflicto ambiental

El presente trabajo como autobiografía de un conflicto propone un posible método para representar las cualidades relevantes sobre la experiencia vivida como activista en una coordinadora contra la privatización del sistema hídrico integrado en Nápoles, Caserta y sus provincias. Esta contribución, alberga la esperanza de poner en práctica un proceso organizado de reflexión a través del cual es posible producir información útil para compartir experiencias. El conflicto sobre la gestión pública del agua surge de la oposición de un grupo de sujetos sociales al esquema político de privatización del sistema de agua potable en la región Campania en el sur de Italia. La movilización social se enmarca en el movimiento más amplio llamado ecologismo popular. Su reclamación, la de un reconocimiento del agua como bien común, está unida a aquel ecologismo mundial que nace de las necesidades materiales de la vida. En esta clase de conflictos ambientales los acontecimientos son inciertos, los valores están en disputa, los intereses son elevados, y las decisiones son urgentes. Lo anterior es el objeto de estudio de la ciencia posnormal. El enfoque sistémico del presente trabajo se desarrolla a través de una identificación de las diferentes escalas de gobierno y de las decisiones asumidas por los diferentes actores mediante la descripción de la dinámica interna y externa del actor principal del conflicto: la Coordinadora de los Comités para el Agua Pública en Nápoles, Caserta y sus provincias. La autobiografía concluye subrayando el carácter problemático de la reproducción de la comunidad estética dentro de las movilizaciones e identificando lo que entiendo como la demanda política más interesante de la Coordinadora: la necesidad de construir un “experto comité”, más que un “comité de expertos”