Sammanfattning

In democracies around the world, societies have demonstrated that elections can have major consequences for the environment. In Colombia, the 2022 presidential elections will take place at a time when progress towards peace has stalled and socioeconomic, security, and environmental conditions have deteriorated. The recent declines in these conditions largely coincide with the change of government after the 2018 elections, and the associated rise to power of a party that boycotted the peace negotiations from the beginning. These indicators suggest that 2018 marked the end of a decade of improvements in safety, wealth, and equality-societal factors that can interact with the environment in multiple ways. A spike in assassinations of land and environmental defenders in 2019 and 2020 made Colombia one of the most dangerous places in the world for environmentalists. With the 2022 presidential election, Colombians will once again decide who will govern the country and what new social, economic, and environmental policies will be implemented. In preparation for elections like this, we believe that it is important for scientists with relevant backgrounds to highlight relationships between political events and the environment, to enrich the political debate, help prioritize public resources, and inform policymaking. Here, we provide a multidisciplinary analysis of different socioeconomic and environmental trends that can help inform the public and decision-makers. We intend for this analysis to be useful not only in Colombia, but also to other societies under similar situations, managing biodiversity-rich ecosystems in sociopolitical environments of increasing violence, poverty, and inequality.

Nyckelord

Colombia; Peace; Poverty; Inequality; Elections; Climate change

Publicerad i

Environmental Science and Policy
2022, Volym: 135, sidor: 77-85
Utgivare: ELSEVIER SCI LTD

SLU författare

• Sierra, Carlos

  • Institutionen för ekologi, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet
    
  • Max Planck Society

Globala målen

SDG15 Skydda, återställa och främja ett hållbart nyttjande av landbaserade ekosystem, hållbart bruka skogar, bekämpa ökenspridning, hejda och vrida tillbaka markförstöringen samt hejda förlusten av biologisk mångfald
SDG16 Främja fredliga och inkluderande samhällen för hållbar utveckling, tillhandahålla tillgång till rättvisa för alla samt bygga upp effektiva, och inkluderande institutioner med ansvarsutkrävande på alla nivåer
SDG17 Stärka genomförandemedlen och återvitalisera det globala partnerskapet för hållbar utveckling


UKÄ forskningsämne

Statsvetenskap (exklusive studier av offentlig förvaltning och globaliseringsstudier)
Tvärvetenskapliga studier
Miljövetenskap


Publikationens identifierare

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2022.04.013

Permanent länk till denna sida (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/117548