Introduction to the concept of ecological solidarity and its challenges

Abstract

This long introduction will be done by two speakers (Maylis Desrousseaux and Alexandra Langlais) The ecological solidarity is an environmental concept coming from both the ecological sciences and the human sciences. Its definition is recent, however, it is inspired of the concept and juridical principle “solidarity” in France. The latter benefit of a large audience among research, public policies and civil societies. Thus, by drawing a strong link between the environment and humans, the ecological solidarity appears as a lever to achieve the Planetary well-being. In the view of the planetary well- being, we will explore three dimensions of the concept of ecological solidarity: The first one will question our representation of the world and we will demonstrate that ecological solidarity is between an ecocentric and an anthropocentric worldview. However, its implementation in public policies would probably ? be a progress compare to the concept of “sustainable development”: as it ties people together and to their environment, it raises the issue of equal access to natural resources. The second dimension of the concept that will be exposed in the symposium is its spatial and geographical scale: ecological solidarity is not obvious at first sight, especially for issues such as the degradation of soils, and it needs to be clearly defined. In this context, the solidarity marine and terrestrial areas will be exposed as an example. Moreover, are all the humans tied up by an ecological solidarity or is it more likely to define regions and/or categories of population regarding their dependencies to their environment. The third dimension of the concept that needs to be discussed is its formulation. Literally, it demands further research on how it can be implemented and at what spatial scale: what legal translation would be the most efficient and relevant between international conventions and local regulations? How could it be accorded with other principles such as National sovereignty and Private property for example? In this symposium, we expect to discuss these different possibilities, by involving scientist with different backgrounds, from social and environmental sciences.

Key references: John D. Thompson, Raphaël Mathevet, Olivia Delanoe, Chantal Gil-Fourrier, Marie Bonnin, Marc Cheylan, Ecological solidarity as a conceptual tool for rethinking ecological and social interdependence in conservation policy for protected areas and their surrounding landscape, C. R. Biologies 334 (2011) 412–419