Reflections on Democracy and the Participation of Society in Biodiversity Conservation

Abstract

Discontent concerning the functioning of democracy has become a global phenomenon, as many governments have not responded to the demands of society due to the monopolization of power by private economic interests and specific groups. Considering Brazil as a case study, I will attempt to demonstrate the relationship between the global crisis of democracy and the decline of biocultural diversity. Numerous situations could be presented, but perhaps the most emblematic example of that deteriorating relationship can be seen in the recent extinction, by presidential decree, of more than 700 councils, commissions, forums, and other means of dialogue between the government and the Brazilian population. Many of those communication spaces had consultative and/or deliberative characters, were related to environmental questions, and involved policies and programs designed to address social questions as well as those of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLC). That measure, together with a series of additional decrees and constitutional amendments, has largely eliminated the possibility of active societal participation in biodiversity conservation and in questions related to IPLC and the administration of their territories—with disastrous consequences for both. This chapter also presents descriptions of diverse forms of resistance and opposition to that new political reality. The second part of the chapter introduces the concepts related to participative conservation of biodiversity within the context of this book.