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Participation and defense of nature’s rights in Azuay-Ecuador

Abstract:

This paper presents an analysis of the participation of communities in the province of Azuay in the defense of nature conceived as Pachamama and how it acquires, together with the communities, a political role. The objective was to analyze the defense of the rights of nature granted by the Ecuadorian constitution in the Andean cosmovision. A mixed methodology (quanti-quali) was applied in seven communities in the province of Azuay. A total of 303 semi-structured surveys were conducted with different ty-pes of organizations defending the rights of nature: Community Councils, Water Boards, and Decentralized Autonomous Governments (GADs). The main results were grouped into 4 categories: community perception of the meaning of Pachamama, community participation in the protection of nature and its rights, community organization in the defense of nature and its rights, and perception of the implementation of public policies by the state to protect nature and its rights. In general, the communities perceived Pa-chamama as “mother nature” and, from this conception, their relationship with the territory was one of mutual care, the defense and protection of which not only involves the fact that the constitution grants it rights but also the way in which the inhabitants participate and organize themselves in the face of the violation of Pachamama’s rights, since it constitutes a threat to the integrity of life.