Sustainable development is an integrated blend of energetic, economic, social, environmental, and governmental actors, making it one of the most challenging and subjective aims of the United Nations. A sustainability project that does not consider any of these parameters can generate resistance among different actors of society. In this work, we have demonstrated that the traditional definition of sustainability encompassing economic development, environmental protection, and social justice does not adequately cover large-scale renewable energy projects. We have presented an illuminating case study of solar development in the Yucatan state of Mexico to show that the traditional three-legged stool of sustainable development fails to accommodate local power relations and their role in energy decision-making. This point is made through a substantive and illuminating ethnography of a solar project in the community of San José Tipceh, which involves the importance of energy democracy and understanding power relations in any assessment of sustainable development. These power relations are an important component of sustainable development, and all megaprojects, especially renewable energy projects, require special attention in the governance processes. Through an analysis of an example of implementation of a mega solar project, we argue that the methodology through which the power is exercised is an exercise of great importance because it leads us to a scientific discussion that structures an international reflection on sustainability. The case study consists of mixed methods, including several techniques to deepen the analysis of sociocultural aspects, and tries to present the limits and show the weakness of the sustainability perspective in such megaprojects. It is concluded that environmental justice as a basic element of the new era of renewable energies is limited and can generate social injustices. In the same way, this work shows how power is exercised in the implementation of energy projects and in the absence of equitable comprehensive governance that does not consider the local sociocultural contexts of the communities, resulting in the generation of new powers and permanent conflicts. At the end of this work, a framework to empower local sociocultural contexts for an equitable energy transition is recommended.
Objetivo: ilustrar el ejercicio de poder y sus contrapesos entre los actores involucrados —la empresa promotora del proyecto, el gobierno federal y los miembros de la comunidad, en especial los ejidatarios— durante la implementación de un megaproyecto de energías renovables en la comunidad maya de San José Tipceh, Muna, Yucatán. Metodología: durante seis meses se realizó una etnografía multifocal y multitécnica que recogió el testimonio de diversos participantes: figuras clave de la comunidad, ejidatarios con derechos agrarios y residentes que no conformaban el núcleo ejidal. Resultados: el tema de las tierras ejidales estaba devaluado y manejado a espaldas de la comunidad hasta que el gobierno federal intervino para aplicar la ley correspondiente. El proceso legal dio pie a la defensa del medio ambiente y al empoderamiento de los residentes de la comunidad. Limitaciones: puesto que cada experiencia de implementación presenta variantes y matices diferentes, es necesario decir que el caso analizado no es una muestra representativa. Valor: el caso de San José Tipceh permite entender las bondades y las limitaciones de la transición energética mexicana a escala local. Conclusiones: en el futuro se debe procurar que la implementación de este tipo de proyectos sea sustentable, tomando en cuenta el bienestar de los actores involucrados y que éstos se encuentren en una posición igualitaria de poder.
Biased socio-environmental policies often result in social resistance among the less well-off, hence hindering the effectiveness of such policies. The present research investigated the implications of the plastic bags ban in Morocco implemented in July 2016 and how it differentially impacted formal and informal sector workers including customers of informal economy markets. While formal markets succeeded in implementing the ban given the affordability of alternatives to plastic compared to their customers living standards, the informal markets vendors and customers not only could not afford these alternatives but also suffered from impoverishing effects of such policy as the findings of our research show. The paper concludes that the effectiveness of environmental policies relies heavily on their implementation within a wider framework addressing socio-economic inequalities and poverty among the informal sector workers especially in countries where the latter constitute a large proportion of the national economy.
<p>En este trabajo se destaca la vasta e importante bibliografía historiografica sobre Yucatán que suele ser alvidada para los historiadores, sabre todo par aquellas que recogen, camparan y evaluan las experiencias regionales mexicanas</p>
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