Revealing alternative discourses on urban nature: community-led initiatives in Santiago, Bogotá, and Buenos Aires

Abstract

Biocultural homogenization has extended worldwide, causing biodiversity and cultural diversity loss, leading to extractive and homogenized human-nonhuman relationships. To overcome this, internationally promoted nature-based solutions (NbS) and ecosystem-based efforts have been promoted, however those have exacerbated diversity loss by advocating a narrow range of actions and values of nature, rather than acknowledging the multiple conceptions and perceptions that different communities have of it. Yet, some bottom-up initiatives have actively resisted this trend by reinforcing local cultural perspectives of engaging with nature to address the triple planetary crisis. This paper analyzes three community-led initiatives (CLIs) in Latin America that exemplify alternative, bottom-up approaches for supporting urban nature. Using in-depth interviews and social media content analysis we identified alternative discourses related to ‘living with’ and ‘living as nature’. The findings highlight the role of CLIs in Latin American cities for promoting and also conserving alternative discourses that withstand homogenization while advocating for biocultural diversity. These initiatives redefine ancestral values and perceptions about nature, drawing on alternative visions and practices such as 'buen vivir' and 'pachamama' to foster inclusive urban development strategies.