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Participatory processes in the soy conflicts in Paraguay and Argentina

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  • García-López, Gustavo A.
  • Arizpe, Nancy

Abstract

Within emerging environmental conflicts, different participatory processes have developed as alternatives to the top-down models that have dominated policy-making. In this paper, we focus on conflicts over the expansion of soy production. We analyze three issues related to top-down vs. bottom-up participatory processes and how they affect the proposals coming out of these processes: who counts as stakeholder (the role of social movements), what counts as participation (the role of mobilization), and who has power to select stakeholders and issues, make decisions, and influence preferences. To explore these issues, we present a case study of two parallel participatory processes in rural areas of Paraguay and Argentina. One of these, the Roundtable on Responsible Soy, is top-down, created by large agri-business multinationals and international conservation NGOs with the support of the governments in the region, and has focused on establishing criteria for "responsible soy". The other is bottom-up, self-organized by peasant and civil society organizations, and focused on stopping soy expansion and promoting food sovereignty. The findings highlight the potential of bottom-up processes to promote true agricultural sustainability while at the same time emphasizing the need for more research on grassroots participatory processes and their potential and limitations in different contexts.

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  • García-López, Gustavo A. & Arizpe, Nancy, 2010. "Participatory processes in the soy conflicts in Paraguay and Argentina," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(2), pages 196-206, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:70:y:2010:i:2:p:196-206
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    2. Jimena Gonzalez-Ramirez & Poonam Arora & Guillermo Podesta, 2018. "Using Insights from Prospect Theory to Enhance Sustainable Decision Making by Agribusinesses in Argentina," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-15, August.
    3. Nancy Arizpe & Jesús Ramos-Martín & Mario Giampietro, 2014. "An assessment of the metabolic profile implied by agricultural change in two rural communities in the North of Argentina," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 16(4), pages 903-924, August.
    4. Schouten, Greetje & Leroy, Pieter & Glasbergen, Pieter, 2012. "On the deliberative capacity of private multi-stakeholder governance: The Roundtables on Responsible Soy and Sustainable Palm Oil," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 42-50.
    5. Sonia Delphin & Katherine A. Snyder & Sophia Tanner & Karim Musálem & Stuart E. Marsh & José R. Soto, 2022. "Obstacles to the Development of Integrated Land-Use Planning in Developing Countries: The Case of Paraguay," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-21, August.
    6. Nancy Arizpe & Jesus Ramos-Martin & Mario Giampietro, 2012. "An analysis of the metabolic patterns of two rural communities affected by soy expansion in the North of Argentina," UHE Working papers 2012_06, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Departament d'Economia i Història Econòmica, Unitat d'Història Econòmica.
    7. Brisbois, Marie Claire & Morris, Michelle & de Loë, Rob, 2019. "Augmenting the IAD framework to reveal power in collaborative governance – An illustrative application to resource industry dominated processes," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 159-168.
    8. Marin-Burgos, Victoria & Clancy, Joy S. & Lovett, Jon C., 2015. "Contesting legitimacy of voluntary sustainability certification schemes: Valuation languages and power asymmetries in the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil in Colombia," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 303-313.
    9. Andrea Vaona, 2013. "Countervailing inequality effects of globalization and renewable energy generation in Argentina," Working Papers 12/2013, University of Verona, Department of Economics.
    10. Speer, Johanna, 2012. "Participatory Governance Reform: A Good Strategy for Increasing Government Responsiveness and Improving Public Services?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(12), pages 2379-2398.
    11. Efe Can Gürcan, 2018. "Theorizing Food Sovereignty from a Class-Analytical Lens: The Case of Agrarian Mobilization in Argentina," Agrarian South: Journal of Political Economy, Centre for Agrarian Research and Education for South, vol. 7(3), pages 320-350, December.
    12. Kashwan, Prakash & MacLean, Lauren M. & García-López, Gustavo A., 2019. "Rethinking power and institutions in the shadows of neoliberalism," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 133-146.
    13. Alejandro Milcíades Peña, 2018. "The politics of resonance: Transnational sustainability governance in Argentina," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 12(1), pages 150-170, March.

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