Title: Fundamental human needs and socio-ecological transformation: a reflection on participatory action research in a context of tree plantations in Chile

Authors: Alejandro Mora-Motta; Till Stellmacher; Maria del Valle Barrera

Addresses: Right Livelihood College (RLC), Center for Development Research, University of Bonn, Genscherallee 3, 53113 Bonn, Germany ' Right Livelihood College (RLC), Center for Development Research, University of Bonn, Genscherallee 3, 53113 Bonn, Germany ' Instituto de Economía, Universidad Austral de Chile, Los Laureles No. 35 Interior, Campus Isla Teja – Valdivia, Chile

Abstract: The strength of the fundamental human needs (FHN) approach, originally developed by Max-Neef and colleagues, relies on the separation of finite needs from context-specific satisfiers and a type of participatory action research (PAR) used to define and assess people's well-being. This paper reflects on the FHN PAR workshop-based method that was adapted and used to study how expanding extractivist tree plantations in Southern Chile affect the well-being of peasant and Mapuche-Williche people. The reflection is based on intensive fieldwork conducted in 2016 and 2017 in La Unión, Southern Chile, which included FHN PAR workshops. The paper presents the practical methodological experiences with FHN PAR from that fieldwork and discusses key data analysis elements. It also relates the FHN PAR approach to the contemporary socio-ecological transformation discussion. The article concludes by illustrating the practical potentials and limitations of the FHN PAR workshop-based method to understand well-being in contexts of socio-ecological transformation.

Keywords: fundamental human needs; FHN; extractivism; tree plantations; socio-ecological transformation; Chile.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSD.2022.126469

International Journal of Sustainable Development, 2022 Vol.25 No.1/2, pp.53 - 77

Received: 09 Jun 2021
Received in revised form: 31 Jan 2022
Accepted: 05 Mar 2022
Published online: 26 Oct 2022 *

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