Making Rights Come Alive: Environmental Rights and Modes of Participation in Argentina

Abstract

New environmental rights were introduced in Argentina with the 1994 amendments to the 1853 national constitution. This constitutional recognition of environmental rights is a fundamental step in the advancement of environmental justice and citizenship, but it is not enough. When and how do environmental rights become effective? Under what circumstances are environmental rights effectively applied and enforced? We claim that participation is the key mechanism through which constitutionally enacted environmental rights become effective. More specifically, we argue that the embodiment of constitutional environmental rights in concrete policies and practices are propelled by the combination of contentious and institutionalized modes of participation. Based on evidence from two contrasting and salient cases—river sanitation in the Metropolitan Buenos Aires Region and open-pit mining in Andean Argentina—this article discusses how the combination of different modes of participation has been an effective channel for the enforcement and effectiveness of environmental rights.