Current environmental challenges such as water management, biodiversity management, and climate change are subjects of social debate, as they often oppose divergent interests. This situation manifests as tensions or conflicts between territorial stakeholders, which in turn can influence environmental management.
So far, the response to environmental challenges has been sought through technical, scientific, or legal tools, which, although important, have not been sufficient to ensure the resolution of tensions and full environmental protection. For these reasons, at INSTA, we have sought to complement our technical and legal actions with a new focus on environmental dialogue.
To develop this, we have created the project: “Environmental Dialogue for the Future of All,” (Project financed within the framework of Singular Projects for the promotion of cooperativism, creation of cooperatives, and support projects for cooperatives and entities of the social and solidarity economy, regulated by Order EMT/167/2021, of August 2, financed by the Department of Business and Labor of the Government of Catalonia) in which we propose the concept of environmental dialogue based on restorative practices: the restorative approach focuses on caring for human relationships, repairing bonds broken by conflicts, improving cooperation and understanding, and therefore contributing to the joint creation of sustainable environmental policies.
This project has been built around three main pillars:
a) Reflection: We have organized various informative actions and reflection spaces, such as workshops on environmental dialogue and restorative justice, bringing together key stakeholders to generate debate and create spaces for joint construction.
b) Training: We have proposed to train the stakeholders involved in environmental protection to equip them with the necessary tools to help transform conflicts into opportunities to create new connections.
c) Action: We have created a “toolbox” in the form of guides, which we have applied to a specific case where the stakeholders have been able to experience the benefits of this methodology.
Promoting dialogue is a complex path, and our proposal is not to avoid conflicts, but to embrace them as an opportunity for transformation, both environmentally and personally.
(Image from freepik)
Coordinator of the Dialogue and Participation Area at INSTA Environmental Legal Services.