Ecocene Foundation is a platform for academic articulation and for action, oriented towards the conception, design and implementation of socio-ecological transformation processes towards sustainability.
From the Anthropocene to the Ecocene
The last time the planet underwent a global warming process comparable to the current one was about 2 million years ago, during the Pliocene, long before humans appeared on Earth.
Today, as a consequence of an unsustainable global development model, the Earth system is undergoing transformations on a scale that until now could only be caused by major geological forces, such as the movement of tectonic plates or changes in solar irradiation: we are living in the Anthropocene.
To ensure the continuity of life, a fundamental and urgent reconfiguration of our unsustainable ways of life and social organization is necessary to restore a dynamic ecological balance, giving way to the Ecocene: a post-Anthropocene age that offers the conditions for the good living of all within the ecological limits of the planet.
Ecocene Foundation seeks to contribute to systemic societal change for a transition from the Anthropocene to the Ecocene.
APPROACH
How does social change happen?
The Anthropocene and its multiple socio-ecological crises are a symptom of the unsustainability of a way of social life that has spread throughout the planet since the 2nd half of the 20th century. Both where it has become the “norm” and where it remains an aspiration, this way of life could not be sustained without the exploitation of peripheral social groups and countries, of future generations, and without the degradation of the planet to fuel the cycle of accumulation and overconsumption. It is a civilizational crisis of a systemic nature.
The perspective of an Ecocene age of resilience and sustainability requires thinking and acting in a systemic and inclusive way, disabling the blockers of change and enabling new avenues of imagination and action. Due to its complexity, social change is not a controllable phenomenon, but it sure can be influenced by human action – and, in fact, it is constantly being shaped through a myriad of small and large actions, intended and unintended. Through the strategic implementation of transformative actions based on a better understanding of transformation processes that occur in the world, we believe in the possibility of positively influencing the transition from the Anthropocene to the Ecocene.
In order to gain a better understanding of transformation processes, it is necessary to promote a pluralization of the expert and public debates, in order to make room for new ideas and proposals, to advance in the construction of unlikely alliances, in the transformation of systems of practices and related habits, to identify and take advantage of political and technological windows of opportunity, and of the possibility of building “new common senses” that are disruptive of the political-economic power relations that currently sustain the status quo fueling the Anthropocene.
Although this change can be derived and promoted through a myriad of forms of intervention, Ecocene Foundation seeks to identify, illuminate and contribute to activating leverage points in order to trigger domino effects through integrative strategies (decompartmentalizing socio-environmental problems / breaking issue silos), multilevel (micro-meso-macro) and multidimensional (linking economic and institutional aspects with cultural and social ones). Ecocene Foundation thus wants to position itself in the field of systemic entrepreneurship.
Through programs and projects managed by the organizational units that make up its structure, Ecocene Foundation promotes projects and actions that to influence the global system in its complex interactions, at its multiple scales and dimensions (economic, political, cultural, technological, etc.).
Areas of Work
Research on ongoing socio-ecological transformation processes in different parts of the world, with a focus on Latin America, to unveil clues as to how systemic change occurs.
Development of visions, theoretical concepts, and integrated models for systemic transformation to social-ecological sustainability.
Design and execution of training programs in the social-ecological area for diverse audiences, with the academic endorsement of important international universities.
Facilitation of social change processes in the field and effective protection of human and environmental rights, through consultancies in the development of organizational plans and strategies, and direct action in territorial and community processes.
Legal advice and public interest litigation in the field of human and environmental rights.
Consulting services and production of technical reports for the public and private sectors and civil society organizations.
Creation, promotion, and participation in collaborative work networks to address the challenges that arise in each of the aforementioned areas.