Abstract

GUTIERREZ, Ricardo A.. Theory and praxis of environmental rights in Argentina. Temas debates (En línea) [online]. 2015, n.30, pp.13-36. ISSN 1853-984X.

New environmental rights were introduced in Argentina with the 1994 amendments to the 1853 national constitution. The constitutional recognition of environmental rights is a fundamental step in the advancement of environmental justice and citizenship. But it is not enough. Constitutional principles must be translated into enabling legislation and legislation must be effectively applied and enforced. While some authors focus on administrative and judicial enforcement procedures and institutionalized participation in decision-making, this work aims to build up an emergent framework that helps analyze the enforcement of environmental rights in Argentina from a broader perspective that goes beyond procedures and institutionalized participation and also takes into account the role of environmental contention. I argue that three modes of environmental contention combine in the actualization of environmental rights: judicial litigation, social protest, and expert controversy. In the light of the recent development of environmental mobilization and policies in Argentina, this article discusses how these modes manifest themselves and combine, and also how they connect to institutionalized participation.

Keywords : Environmental rights; Participation; Environmentalism; Environmental policies.

        · abstract in Spanish     · text in Spanish     · Spanish ( pdf )