Earth Stewardship and the Biocultural Ethic: Latin American Perspectives - Earth Stewardship: Linking Ecology and Ethics in Theory and Practice - page 86

Chapter 8
Earth Stewardship and the Biocultural Ethic:
Latin American Perspectives
Ricardo Rozzi
Abstract Latin America hosts a diversity of ecological worldviews and practices
rooted in Amerindian cultures (e.g., Aymara, Quechua, U'wa, and Waorani) and
schools of thought (e.g., geoculture, decoloniality, liberation philosophy and eco-
theology) that have actual and potential value for Earth Stewardship. However,
global discourses do not adequately include the diversity of languages and ethics
rooted in the heterogeneous biocultural mosaic of Latin America and other regions.
This is due in part to the limited inter- linguistic and inter-cultural dialogue among
academics, educators, and policy makers that reside in different regions of the
world. To contribute to solving this defi cit, this chapter couples the conceptual
frameworks of Earth stewardship and the biocultural ethic to foster: (i) inter-cul-
tural dialogues and negotiations that fracture the current homogeneity of neoliberal
global discourses through the acknowledgement and inclusion of the diversity of
ecological worldviews, values, and languages, and (ii) forms of biocultural inter-
species co-inhabitation embedded in the diversity of habitats and life habits. A basic
principle of the biocultural ethic is that life habits are interrelated with the commu-
nities of co-in-habitants and their habitats . These “3Hs” of the biocultural ethic
offer a conceptual framework that can be coupled with three terms that identify
Earth Stewardship: the habitats of the Earth , the habit of stewardship , and the com-
munities of co-inhabitants including the stewards . This coupling makes explicit the
participation of diverse stewards. To better recognize the stewards' diversity is
essential to identify their differential responsibility in the genesis of global environ-
mental change, at the same time that to visualize and value a plethora of ways of
conceiving and practicing Earth stewardship.
Keywords Biocultural ￿ Environmental justice ￿ Intercultural ￿ Liberation philosophy
￿ Traditional ecological knowledge