Eduardo Gudynas is one of the most influential and creative environmental thinkers in Latin America and the author of many books and articles on global justice and the environment. He is best known for his work on the environmental and social impacts of current development strategies in South America, and on alternative paths to sustainability anchored in nature’s rights.
He has also been very active in studying and promoting the idea of Buen Vivir, a movement exploring the concept and practice of “good life” and its social and ecological dimensions. In the last years, Buen Vivir has received increased attention as an alternative platform to mainstream development recognized in the new constitutions of Bolivia and Ecuador.
More about Eduardo Gudynas
Gudynas is the first Latin American thinker and activist to be appointed as the Arne Naess Chair. He has been active in environmental issues in South American countries since the early 1980s, and involved in different social movements, such as peasant and indigenous networks, as well as the promotion of environmental and human rights by NGOs, and universities. He is also research associate at the Dept. Anthropology, University of California at Davis (US) and researcher at the Uruguayan National Research and Innovation Agency.
His most recent books discuss nature’s rights and the biocentric perspective in South America (including Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru and Colombia). Gudynas has also conducted research on extractive industry strategies and their impact on development and the environment. In 2015 he was selected among the 50 most influential intellectuals in Latin America and Spain. He frequently writes in different newspapers, magazines and web portals in Latin America. See his blog: www.accionyreaccion.com; twitter: @EGudynas