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A decolonial and participatory research approach to envision equitable transformations toward sustainability in the Amazon

Sánchez García, Paula Andrea ; Schröter, Barbara LU ; Krause, Torsten LU ; Merrie, Andrew Sean ; Pereira, Laura ; Østergaard Nielsen, Jonas and Loft, Lasse (2025) In Futures 172.
Abstract
How people relate to and see themselves as part of nature relations differs worldwide and often depends on culture and worldviews. Nonetheless, challenging the dominant Euro-Western epistemic domination is needed to attain more equitable and sustainable future visions. This change entails fostering decolonial mediation between different knowledge systems in a context of intersectional difference. The collective struggles of Black, Indigenous, and other Women of Color (BIWOC) for self-determination shed light on pathways of decolonial mediations and how to attain epistemic equity when thinking about the future. Echoing the call of BIWOC to use decoloniality in knowledge co-creation, we co-created a border space together with 20 BIWOC in the... (More)
How people relate to and see themselves as part of nature relations differs worldwide and often depends on culture and worldviews. Nonetheless, challenging the dominant Euro-Western epistemic domination is needed to attain more equitable and sustainable future visions. This change entails fostering decolonial mediation between different knowledge systems in a context of intersectional difference. The collective struggles of Black, Indigenous, and other Women of Color (BIWOC) for self-determination shed light on pathways of decolonial mediations and how to attain epistemic equity when thinking about the future. Echoing the call of BIWOC to use decoloniality in knowledge co-creation, we co-created a border space together with 20 BIWOC in the Putumayo department of Colombia. In this space, we jointly envisioned three radical visions of the Amazon through scenario-building exercises between 2022 and 2023. Storytelling is a powerful tool to capture the BIWOC’s differentiated experience of the world and to explore their individual and collective emancipation from different forms of oppression. Decolonial mediations support the (co-)design of a “safe enough” space for questioning and rethinking Euro-Western domination. Our research also indicates that incorporating decolonial praxis into sustainability transformation research can allow for a more radical envisioning of the future. (Less)
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author
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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Futures
volume
172
article number
103638
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • scopus:105007675676
ISSN
0016-3287
DOI
10.1016/j.futures.2025.103638
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
e52e7404-d062-4278-a0cd-082c3ac192b7
date added to LUP
2025-06-12 13:50:06
date last changed
2025-07-12 04:01:19
@article{e52e7404-d062-4278-a0cd-082c3ac192b7,
  abstract     = {{How people relate to and see themselves as part of nature relations differs worldwide and often depends on culture and worldviews. Nonetheless, challenging the dominant Euro-Western epistemic domination is needed to attain more equitable and sustainable future visions. This change entails fostering decolonial mediation between different knowledge systems in a context of intersectional difference. The collective struggles of Black, Indigenous, and other Women of Color (BIWOC) for self-determination shed light on pathways of decolonial mediations and how to attain epistemic equity when thinking about the future. Echoing the call of BIWOC to use decoloniality in knowledge co-creation, we co-created a border space together with 20 BIWOC in the Putumayo department of Colombia. In this space, we jointly envisioned three radical visions of the Amazon through scenario-building exercises between 2022 and 2023. Storytelling is a powerful tool to capture the BIWOC’s differentiated experience of the world and to explore their individual and collective emancipation from different forms of oppression. Decolonial mediations support the (co-)design of a “safe enough” space for questioning and rethinking Euro-Western domination. Our research also indicates that incorporating decolonial praxis into sustainability transformation research can allow for a more radical envisioning of the future.}},
  author       = {{Sánchez García, Paula Andrea and Schröter, Barbara and Krause, Torsten and Merrie, Andrew Sean and Pereira, Laura and Østergaard Nielsen, Jonas and Loft, Lasse}},
  issn         = {{0016-3287}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{06}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Futures}},
  title        = {{A decolonial and participatory research approach to envision equitable transformations toward sustainability in the Amazon}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.futures.2025.103638}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.futures.2025.103638}},
  volume       = {{172}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}