Earth Stewardship and the Biocultural Ethic: Latin American Perspectives - Earth Stewardship: Linking Ecology and Ethics in Theory and Practice - page 102

to this ecotheology, to achieve ecological justice it is necessary to overcome
anthropocentrism and ethnocentrism. In addition, for his holistic approach, Boff
demands that both the masculine and feminine be embraced, a position that echoes
the philosophy of leading South American ecofeminists and liberation theologians,
Ivone Gebara (Brazil) and Gladys Parentelli (Uruguay-Venezuela).
Based on their work with women living in urban poverty, Parentelli ( 1996 ) and
Gebara ( 1999 ) have inaugurated a Latin American theology from the “optic” of
women. Women as much as the poor are oppressed, hence poverty is not a gender-
neutral category. Vicenta Mamani ( 2000 ), an Aymara woman of Bolivia, adds
another layer of social oppression: being indigenous. Thus many women suffer
triple oppression: gender, class, and race.
Gebara, Parentelli, Mamani and other Latin American ecofemenists show the
complexity of socio-environmental problems. Methodologically they have directed
their attention to the everyday life of women living in marginal neighborhoods.
Moreover, this displacement of the poor is frequently associated with the destruc-
tion of their ancestral lands, farms, and working spaces - that is, their “habitats.”
During the last three decades, ecofeminists have created centers, networks, and
periodical publications that explore the relationship between the oppression of
women, indigenous people, and nature in Latin America (Ress 2006 ).

8.6 Earth Stewards and the Biocultural Ethic

The most severe social impacts associated with environmental degradation affect
indigenous, peasant, coastal, and other rural and marginalized urban communities.
In South America, poor communities (in monetary terms) are not the main agents
but rather the main victims of environmental degradation. 8 The biocultural ethic
affi rms the value of the complex interrelationships among (i) the stewardship prac-
tices or habits of indigenous and rural women, (ii) their daily interactions with the

8 The interpretation of poverty as a main cause of environmental degradation is still prevailing.
However, many scholars and international organizations, including the United Nations World
Commission on Environment and Development (WCED), have offered alternative evidence and
approaches. In its landmark Burndtland Report, WCED ( 1987 , p. 117) stated that “there has been a
growing realization in national governments and multilateral institutions that it is impossible to
separate economic development issues from environment issues; many forms of development erode
the environmental resources upon which they must be based, and environmental degradation can
undermine economic development. Poverty is a major cause and effect of global environmental
problems. It is therefore futile to attempt to deal with environmental problems without a broader
perspective that encompasses the factors underlying world poverty and international inequality.”
The Brundtland Report addressed in depth the disparities in income and ecological impact among
countries, and documented that the countries with lower or middle income economies have 83 % of
the world population, but only 21 % of the world's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Conversely, the
countries that are high-income oil exporters or have industrial market economies are inhabited by
17 % of the world population and accumulate 79 % of the world's GDP. The inequalities in income
distribution are extreme in Latin American countries. For example, in Brazil, the wealthiest country