ABSTRACT In 2015, an Agreement was made in Paris at the 21st conference of the Parties of the UN. The purpose of the Paris Agreement was to collectively target climate change and keep the global warming under 2°C. Since then, the strength of this Agreement has been evaluated in numerous ways, optimists and pessimists present arguments for different theories and opinions. While some argue that the agreement is too weak because of its non-binding features and vagueness, others argue that the very same vagueness has opened up a new door. To contribute with a new perspective, the aim of this study is to describe and analyse different conceptions of nature in the Nationally Determined Contributions submitted to the Paris Agreement by Parties who signed it. Based on previous research about different conceptions of nature, an analytical framework is built and used through a text analysis of some of the Contributions. The findings of this qualitative, descriptive case study are meant to create a deeper understanding of the Contributions made to the Paris Agreement, describing if different conceptions of nature are found and whether this affects the way the Parties aim to tackle the climate crisis.

The purpose of this study is to explore preschool children&rsquo / s attitudes towards environmental issues in terms of consumption patterns, environmental protection, recycling-reusing, and living habits and to investigate gender as a factor affecting environmental attitudes. The sample of the study is comprised of 40 preschool age children living in Ankara, Turkey. The research has been realized by qualitative design and the data were collected through interviews. The interview questionnaire was adapted from

Förlust av biologisk mångfald är ett av de största hoten mot vår planet och våra ekosystem. Mer natur behövs skyddas och det är en viktig del i Sveriges miljöarbete. Skog är den naturform i Sverige som har lägst andel skydd och mer skog behöver skyddas för att nå miljömål och internationella åtaganden. Syftet med uppsatsen var att undersöka hur kommunikation bör se ut för att få ”allmänheten” att börja engagera sig för eller vilja fortsätta engagera sig för skydd av skog. Allmänheten är en viktig faktor eftersom de väljer politiker och kan påverka. För att förstå beteenden och attityder behöver vi förstå de värden som attityder grundar sig på. I studien har jag utgått ifrån ett antropocentriskt och ett ekocentriskt perspektiv, vilka värderingar har allmänheten och är det något som går att använda i kommunikationssyfte? Jag har analyserat tre organisationers hemsidor, samt intervjuat tre kommunikatörer på respektive organisation. Organisationerna kommunicerar övervägande ekocentriskt på sina hemsidor, men organisationerna har inte tänkt i termer av antropocentriskt eller ekocentriskt tidigare. Gränsen är diffus mellan det antropocentriska och ekocentriska perspektivet, därför är det svårt att använda gränsdragningen vid kommunikation. / Loss of biodiversity is one of the biggest threats to the planet and our ecosystems. More nature needs to be protected and that is an important part of Sweden's environmental work. Forests are the kind of nature in Sweden that have the lowest proportion of protection. There is need to protect more forests in order to achieve environmental goals and international commitments. The purpose of the study was to investigate how communication should be designed to make the public want to continue or start engaging in forest protection. The public is an important factor since they choose the politicians and have the possibility to affect. In order to understand behaviors and attitudes, we need to understand the values that attitudes are based on. In the study I have assumed an anthropocentric and an ecocentric perspective, what values do the public have and is it something that can be used for communication purposes? I have analyzed three organizations' websites, and interviewed three communicators on each organization. Organizations communicate predominantly ecocentrically on their websites, but the organizations have not thought in terms of anthropocentric or ecocentric earlier. The boundary is diffuse between the anthropocentric and ecocentric perspective, so it is difficult to use this in a communication perspective.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-07-27T13:49:34Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 EVELINE RACHEL MOREIRA DE MORAIS.pdf: 446386 bytes, checksum: fe19cc2259c9bb2717a0ec4f46179740 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-03-31 / The anthropocentric proposal about the planet in the modern society is the reason of an environmental crisis without proceeding in history. The environmental model illustrated by the ecocentric texts from the Old Testament has presented diverse values from those proposed by current society. The main goal of this work was to distinguish the ecocentric values in the following texts of the Holy Scriptures: Genesis 1: 1-2, 4a and 6-9, Exodus 23: 10-11, Deuteronomy 22: 6-7; 20, 19-20 and 23: 13-15, Psalms 8 and 104 and the entire Book of Job through a wide-ranging literature using exegete s thematic approaches. Moreover, no exegesis of those texts was employed in this research. It was possible to notice that the values demonstrated in these Jewish-Christian texts may be employed by the environmental education in order to contribute to the current process formation of the new environmental paradigm. / Vivemos uma crise ambiental sem precedentes na história mundial, causada pela idéia antropocêntrica de mundo da sociedade Moderna. Textos ecocêntricos do Antigo Testamento da Bíblia possuem valores distintos dos ideais sobre a natureza propostos pela Modernidade. O presente trabalho destaca, a partir de uma pesquisa bibliográfica e através de uma abordagem temática que não faz a exegese dos textos e sim apresenta os estudos feitos pelos exegetas, os valores ecocêntricos contidos nos textos de Gênesis 1,1-2,4a; 6-9, Êxodo 23,10-11, Deuteronômio 22,6-7; 20,19-20 e 23,13-15, Salmos 8 e 104 e o livro de Jó. Percebe-se que os valores contidos nestes textos da tradição judaico-cristã podem ser utilizados pela educação ambiental de forma interdisciplinar, contribuindo para o atual processo de construção do novo paradigma ecológico.

L’expansion du capitalisme a suscité des luttes à travers le monde, qui se sont exprimées contre les formes de domination et les divers types de déstructurations – sociopolitiques, économiques, culturelles, environnementales, notamment – issues d’un modèle homogénéisant. Face à l’amenuisement de la capacité de résilience de l’Ecosphère et à l’accroissement des inégalités inter et intra-sociétales, les acteurs de ces résistances anti-systémiques soulignent l’ « insoutenabilité » du système dominant qui porte atteinte au respect de la dignité des êtres humains et de l’intégrité de la Nature. Au sein de ces luttes, trois champs se distinguent par la fécondité de leur articulation à l’heure actuelle : le genre, les peuples autochtones et l’environnement. Peu étudiées dans leurs interrelations, ces catégories représentent des sphères essentielles dans l’analyse de la naissance et de la construction d’un autre ordre mondial, par les liens existants mais souvent masqués entre ces pans et par le potentiel de leur articulation avec d’autres groupements. L’émergence d’un socle de valeurs partagées par ces acteurs sociaux souligne une convergence autour d’une responsabilité éthique, qui implique de repenser la perception prédominante de l’altérité au sein du système dominant. Dans ce cadre, la redéfinition de la responsabilité, fondée sur les notions de réciprocité, de « care » et de « bien vivre », a permis de rassembler ces groupements autour d’une approche qui peut être qualifiée de solidaire et d’écocentrée. Si face à l’urgence sociale et environnementale actuelle, la reconnaissance de l’interdépendance de l’ensemble des composantes de l’Ecosphère, l’humanité y compris, est devenue une nécessité pour divers mouvements sociaux, les peuples autochtones et les mouvements écoféministes constituent les principaux sous-ensembles porteurs de cet en-commun. Reconnaître l’appartenance de l’humanité à l’Ecosphère implique d’adopter une vision du monde respectueuse des êtres humains et de la Nature qui doit se matérialiser dans la pratique par une organisation sociale fondée sur la justice sociale et environnementale. Partir des propositions existantes émanant des acteurs sociaux afin de penser à la construction d’un autre ordre mondial fondé sur une responsabilité solidaire et écocentrée permet de poser les fondements de l’élargissement futur de l’en-commun. / The expansion of the capitalism aroused struggles worldwide, which expressed themselves against the forms of domination and the various types of destructurations – sociopolitical, economic, cultural, environmental, in particular – stemming from a homogenizing model. In front of the decrease of the resilience capacity of the Ecosphere and of the increase of the inter and intra-societal inequalities, the actors of these anti-systematic resistances underline the « unsustainability » of the dominant system which affects the respect for the human being’s dignity and for the Nature’s integrity. Within these fights, three fields distinguish themselves by the fertility of their articulation at the moment : gender, indigenous peoples and environment. Little studied in their interrelations, these categories represent essential spheres in the analysis of the birth and the construction of another world order, by the existing often masked links between these fields and by the potential of their articulation with other groupings. The emergence of a core set of values shared by these social actors underlines a convergence around an ethical responsibility/ accountability, which implies to rethink the dominant perception of the otherness within the dominant system. In this frame, the redefining of the responsibility, based on the notions of reciprocity, care and « good life », allows to gather these groupings around an approach which can be considered as mutual and ecocentric. If in front of the current social and environmental urgency, the acknowledgment of the interdependence of all the constituents of Ecosphere, the humanity including, became a necessity for diverse social movements, indigenous peoples and the ecofeminist movements constitute the main carrier subsets of this « shared common ». To acknowledge the membership of the humanity in the Ecosphere implies to adopt a respectful world’s vision of the human beings and the Nature which has to materialize in the practice by a social organization based on social and environmental justice. To start from existing proposals emanating from social actors to think of the construction of another world order based on a collective and ecocentric responsibility allows to build the foundations of the future extension of the « shared-common ».

Claims related to the environment increasingly permeate the domain of human and fundamental rights. It is widely accepted that a direct functional relationship exists between the pursuit of environmental aims generally, and the protection of environmental rights. By and large, this relation compelled 'the environment' to have become a prominent contemporary focus point in legal thought, discourse and adjudication. Since local government operates closer to citizens than any other level of government, it is obvious that it may be expected of it to also play an important role in the management and regulation of matters that affect the environment. In the main, this study questions the extent to which the South African legal framework facilitates local government progress in the decentralised fulfilment of the section 24 environmental right in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996. Firstly, this thesis provides a theoretical literature review of a number of approaches to, categories of and different perspectives on environmental rights in general. As part of this review a number of generic elements is identified for the fulfilment of constitutional environmental provisions, generally. The literature review attends also to the notions of local environmental governance and 'local politics of pollution', amongst other concepts related to local government. Secondly, this thesis (by employing the comparative research method and by using the generic elements for fulfilment of constitutional environmental provisions as benchmarks) critically considers the Constitution or Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany, 1949 (Grundgesety and relevant developments in Germany with reference to the European context and a local government case study on the municipality of Heidelberg. It considers also the Constitution of Namibia of 1990 and relevant developments in Namibia with reference to the African and Southern African contexts and a case study on the Walvis Bay municipality. The South African position is subsequently analysed, first with a focus on section 24 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, environmental law and related developments, then shifting the focus to the constitutional provisions on local government, local government law, related developments and the case of the Drakenstein Local Municipality. Thirdly, based on the lessons learned from and lacunae identified in all three of the countries considered, this study concludes with a set of recommendations for the South African context. / Thesis (LL.D.) -- North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

Claims related to the environment increasingly permeate the domain of human and fundamental rights. It is widely accepted that a direct functional relationship exists between the pursuit of environmental aims generally, and the protection of environmental rights. By and large, this relation compelled 'the environment' to have become a prominent contemporary focus point in legal thought, discourse and adjudication. Since local government operates closer to citizens than any other level of government, it is obvious that it may be expected of it to also play an important role in the management and regulation of matters that affect the environment. In the main, this study questions the extent to which the South African legal framework facilitates local government progress in the decentralised fulfilment of the section 24 environmental right in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996. Firstly, this thesis provides a theoretical literature review of a number of approaches to, categories of and different perspectives on environmental rights in general. As part of this review a number of generic elements is identified for the fulfilment of constitutional environmental provisions, generally. The literature review attends also to the notions of local environmental governance and 'local politics of pollution', amongst other concepts related to local government. Secondly, this thesis (by employing the comparative research method and by using the generic elements for fulfilment of constitutional environmental provisions as benchmarks) critically considers the Constitution or Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany, 1949 (Grundgesety and relevant developments in Germany with reference to the European context and a local government case study on the municipality of Heidelberg. It considers also the Constitution of Namibia of 1990 and relevant developments in Namibia with reference to the African and Southern African contexts and a case study on the Walvis Bay municipality. The South African position is subsequently analysed, first with a focus on section 24 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, environmental law and related developments, then shifting the focus to the constitutional provisions on local government, local government law, related developments and the case of the Drakenstein Local Municipality. Thirdly, based on the lessons learned from and lacunae identified in all three of the countries considered, this study concludes with a set of recommendations for the South African context. / Thesis (LL.D.) -- North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-08-20T13:46:40Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Eugenia_Antunes_Dias_Dissertacao.pdf: 1199049 bytes, checksum: fa96405be1759a59bd958cfcb59b360d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-08-27 / Permanent Preservation Areas (APP s), specially in Brazil s coastal region, have been constantly occupied and degraded by anthropic activities which thrive on the hegemonic model built and consolidated trough a social-historic process that constitute the current relationship between Nature and human society an exteriorization of Nature and its submission to mostly economic interests the anthropocentric view of Nature. In its essence, the juridical field, including environmental law, is a form of softened anthropocentrism that contributes to the annihilation of other kinds of relationships between humans animals and Nature, among them the ecocentric view defended by the environmental movement. This qualitative study focused on unraveling and understanding the vision of Nature s privilege in the juridical practice of the Court of Justice of the State of Rio Grande do Sul (TJ/RS) based on the analysis of decisions and general manifestations of agents of the Judiciary Power when solving conflicts between commercial occupations in APP s and the local Executive Power at Laranjal Beach, Municipality of Pelotas, State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. To exercise its obligation of fulfilling the fundamental right of an ecologically balanced natural environment, the local Executive Power, from 2001 onwards, initiated the process of administrative regularization of the area. This study revealed that the TJ/RS reverberated the anthropocentric view of Nature when pronouncing the custody of APP s and judging in contumacy of the protective law. The anthropocentric view of Nature is difficult to overcome, since its symbolic power and practical utility are strongly impregnated in contemporary societies. Despite the fact that the application of Environmental Law can secondarily protect Nature without the appraisal of utilitarian values, in practical terms the verified motivations reject this possibility. / Áreas de Preservação Permanente (APP s), sobretudo na Zona Costeira Brasileira, têm sido constantemente ocupadas e degradadas pela atividade antrópica, baseada no hegemônico modelo de relação da sociedade com a Natureza, construído e consolidado num processo histórico-social de exteriorização da mesma e de sua subjugação aos interesses, especialmente econômicos, dos animais humanos, consubstanciando a visão antropocêntrica de Natureza. O campo jurídico e o próprio Direito Ambiental, este notadamente nomeado pela luta do movimento ambiental, majoritariamente refletem o antropocentrismo amortecendo e, por vezes, aniquilando outras formas de relação dos animais humanos com a Natureza, como a visão ecocêntrica defendida pelo movimento ecológico. Esta pesquisa qualitativa objetivou desvelar e compreender a visão de Natureza privilegiada na prática jurídica do Tribunal de Justiça do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul (TJ/RS). Tal objetivo foi perseguido através da análise de decisões e manifestações diversas dos agentes do Poder Judiciário, quando chamados a dirimir o conflito entre ocupações comerciais em APP s, no Balneário Laranjal, Município de Pelotas (RS), e o Poder Executivo local. Este, a partir de 2001, no exercício de seu poder-dever de efetivar o direito fundamental ao meio ambiente ecologicamente equilibrado, iniciou processo de regularização administrativa da área. O estudo demonstrou que o TJ/RS reverberou a visão antropocêntrica de Natureza quando do pronunciamento pela tutela das APP s, bem como nos casos em que julgou a revelia da legislação protetiva, posto que a força simbólica e a utilidade prática de tal visão estão dominantemente impregnadas nas sociedades contemporâneas e suas instituições, dificultando sua superação. Embora, secundariamente, através da aplicação do Direito Ambiental a Natureza não humana possa ser protegida sem fins utilitários, as motivações verificadas rejeitaram esta possibilidade que informa a visão de cunho ecocêntrico.

Les ressources naturelles sont au cœur de dynamiques contradictoires. Alors qu'elles sont essentielles à la reproduction des sociétés et du vivant, l'organisation actuelle de l'économie mondiale tend à les subordonner principalement à des logiques d'accumulation. Outre que ces dernières ne prennent pas suffisamment en compte les limites physiques au sein desquelles l'humanité évolue, elles entraînent à diverses échelles des inégalités problématiques sur les plans social et écologique. L'ordre économique international actuel tend en effet à générer des phénomènes d'échange écologique inégal qui nuisent au développement des pays producteurs et exportateurs de matières premières, ainsi qu'aux populations et écosystèmes les plus vulnérables en leur sein. Le monde tropical est exemplaire de telles contradictions, concentrant parmi les plus importantes ressources de la biosphère – notamment en matière de biodiversité – ainsi que des milieux socio-écologiques particulièrement fragilisés. Face à des visions et logiques économicistes d'exploitation des ressources, qui s'inscrivent dans la longue durée historique, et trouvent des relais dans les structures juridico-politiques du système économique mondial, il importe de repenser le concept même de ressource naturelle. Il s'agit en effet de redonner toute leur place aux dimensions sociales et écologiques dans les processus de gestion et d'exploitation des ressources. Cela implique une réflexion sur les valeurs qui guident les interactions avec la nature et les relations économiques internationales, afin que la solidarité, la complémentarité et la justice deviennent des priorités. / Natural resources are in the midst of contradictory dynamics. While they are essential to the reproduction of societies and life, actual organization of the world economy subordinates them to logics of accumulation. In addition to the fact that these logics don't take into account (consider) the physical limits inside of which humanity evolves, they induce problematic socio-ecological inequalities at different scales. Indeed, actual international economic order tends to generate ecologically unequal exchanges, which disrupt the development of primary exporting countries and threaten the most vulnerable populations and ecosystems inside of them.Tropics are the typical context in which such contradictions develop themselves. Actually, this part of the world concentrates some of the most important resources for the biosphere – such as biodiversity – but also highly fragilized socio-ecological environments.To confront economistic views and logics of resources exploitation, which are the product of the longue durée, and find support in the juridical and political structures of the world economic system, it is critical to rethink the very concept of natural resources. Social and ecological dimensions should be put back at the heart of natural resources management and exploitation process. Such an approach necessitates thinking about the values that guide interactions with nature and international economic relations, so that solidarity, complementarity and justice become priorities.