Hegemony, ecology and environmental problems

Abstract

We uphold the view that, in the international context of environmental issues, an hegemonic conception of nature is presented, given by the notion of ecosystem. In the first place, we show the way in which this ecological conception of nature “saturates” the context of the environmental crisis, becoming a “compulsory medium” for the different actors involved. Secondly, we highlight three features that are assigned to this ecological study unit and that partially explain its hegemonic character: the ecosystem is considered a unit with no defined space-time dimension; the ecosystem is considered a unit that allows the human species incorporation and the ecosystem is considered a unit that precedes the experience of its researchers. Finally, we suggest three unintended consequences of this hegemonic conception for the environmental issues.