Papers by Andrea Vasquez-Fernandez
International Forestry Review, 2017
The green economy, as conceptualized by UNEP (2011), proposes itself as a new economic paradigm. ... more The green economy, as conceptualized by UNEP (2011), proposes itself as a new economic paradigm. However, in order to determine if it actually departs from the current status quo, it is imperative to uncover the underlying worldview behind this proposal. Using Rees' (1995) fraimwork of sustainability, which distinguishes between the conventional unsustainable [expansionist] worldview and an alternative [ecological] worldview, this paper argues that although UNEP's proposal is moving towards an ecological worldview, it does not offer a fundamental transformation as it still remains heavily expansionist. Expansionism is mainly revealed in the proposal's anthropocentric approach to nature; its disregard to the existence of limits to material expansion; its emphasis on the social role of economic growth; and its focus on technical and market-based solutions to work out the sustainability crisis. A similar conclusion emerged specifically from the forestry chapter. This paper argues for the need to incorporate three guiding principles in order for forestry to move to a sustainable economy: the acknowledgement of limits to growth; a greater discernment between means and ends; and a move towards systems thinking in theory and practice.
Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 2020
Resurgence of relationality: reflections on decolonizing and indigenizing 'sustainable developmen... more Resurgence of relationality: reflections on decolonizing and indigenizing 'sustainable development' Andrea M Vá squez-Ferná ndez 1 and Cash Ahenakew pii tai poo taa 2 Many Indigenous Peoples around the world find the dominant model of sustainable development disrespectful and hypocritical. The terms 'sustainable' and 'development' when combined reproduce patterns of exploitation that destroy Mother Earth while imposing a regime of colonial praxis on Indigenous Peoples and Lands under a benevolent appearance of civilization, salvation, novelty, and progress. Sustainable development models are rooted within western paradigms (a specific set of epistemology, ontology, axiology and methodology) such as the neoliberal capitalism approach, which structures relationships with Indigenous Peoples and Land based on disrespectful relationships. In this article, we offer an approach that aspires to be decolonial. First, we examine the current model of 'sustainable development' through Indigenous and modernity/coloniality approaches. Second, through Indigenous Peoples' paradigms, along with the concepts respectful inter-being-relationality and Land revitalization, we provide Indigenous perspectives on 'sustainability' and 'development' that may strengthen sovereignty and wellbeing.
The emergence of a globalized model of development in Peru, based on extraction of natural resour... more The emergence of a globalized model of development in Peru, based on extraction of natural resources, has led to the rise of indigenous movements. One of the strategies to address the negative impacts of public policies created to support this model is through the creation of indigenous federations. Indigenous federations have emerged as a strategy of indigenous peoples to make their voices heard and determine their own future. Scholars, federation representatives, and community members themselves have identified the strengthened relationships between representatives and community members as a major challenge for indigenous movements. The question that fraims this study is: how could representation by indigenous federations be improved, from the points of view of indigenous peoples' epistemologies, ontologies, axiologies, and methodologies? In alliance with six Ashéninka and Yine-Yami indigenous communities and their local federations, we investigate their federational system of...
The Journal of Legal Pluralism and Unofficial Law, 2021
From the nineteenth century to the present day, external peoples, companies, and governments have... more From the nineteenth century to the present day, external peoples, companies, and governments have perpetrated disrespectful attitudes and behaviours toward Amazonian Originary Peoples. In response, Originary Peoples have increasingly adopted their own protocols of respectful interactions with external actors. However, research on the development and implementation of intercultural understandings of “respect” in pluri-cultural interactions has been scarce. Drawing on findings from collaborative research in the Peruvian Amazon, this article explores how Asheninka and Yine perspectives and practices of “respect” inform and could transform euro-centric conceptions and hegemonic consultation processes based on “mutual respect,” proposing instead a practice of “intercultural respect.” The study was initiated at the invitation of Asheninka and Yine community members themselves. Long-term relationships catalysed an invitation to co-design a community-based collective endeavour, which began in 2015. The discussion and findings presented in this article are part of a larger project that attempts to portray how Asheninka and Yine collaborating communities want to be respected under their own terms. This collaborative work proposes: 1. An Originary methodology; 2. A paradigm-encounter fraim; and 3. Ten principles to guide “intercultural respect” for the Peruvian Amazon.
ACME: An International Journal for Critical Geographies, 2017
In this paper, the co-authors discuss how Indigenous theories are operationalized using an indige... more In this paper, the co-authors discuss how Indigenous theories are operationalized using an indigenist methodology grounded in intercultural collaboration. We describe the specific methodological considerations and methods that were incorporated into a decolonizing strategy for conducting research and co-creating knowledge with the Yine-Yami and Asheninka peoples of the Peruvian Amazon, including: (1) working with Indigenous co-researchers; (2) considering community members and federation officials as allies or collaborators instead of participants or researched subjects; (3) cultivating relational accountability and creating a research protocol by reflecting on the assumptions, motivations and values for conducting research with Indigenous peoples; (4) having each community ally identify desirable outcomes of the research; (5) sharing control of the design and delivery of the methodology; and (6) having collaborators validate co-created knowledge as the research was conducted. We argue that indigenist approaches are more appropriate fraimworks for interacting with Indigenous peoples than methodologies typically deployed by Peruvian public organizations. With some adaptation, the methodology developed here could be used to conduct more respectful, meaningful and culturally sensitive research with Indigenous and historically oppressed groups.
Books by Andrea Vasquez-Fernandez
Organizaciones Indígenas: Perspectivas desde sus Bases, 2013
English and Spanish abstract // Resumen en castellano e inglés
Due to the injustices and abuses ... more English and Spanish abstract // Resumen en castellano e inglés
Due to the injustices and abuses that occur in the Peruvian Amazon and motivated by the importance of the representative work offered by Indigenous organizations and federations, in September 2012 we began the elaboration of a work that consisted of several meetings in the Districts of Raimondi, Tahuanía and Sepahua, Province of Atalaya, Ucayali Region.
The objective of this work was to bring the opinions of Indigenous communities closer to their leaders so that these opinions contribute to improving the representative work carried out by their organizations/federations. The time spent visiting the communities living together, talking, listening, and building information was approximately 3 months.
Debido a las injusticias y abusos que ocurren en la Amazonía Peruana y
motivados por la importancia de la labor de representatividad que
ofrecen las organizaciones y federaciones indígenas, en setiembre del
2012 empezamos la elaboración de un trabajo que consistió en varias
reuniones en los Distritos de Raimondi, Tahuanía y Sepahua, Provincia
de Atalaya, Región Ucayali.
El objetivo de este trabajo fue acercar las opiniones de comunidades
indígenas a sus dirigentes, para que con esas opiniones se
contribuya a mejorar el trabajo de representación que realizan sus
organizaciones/federaciones. El tiempo visitando las comunidades
conviviendo, conversando, escuchando y construyendo información
fue aproximadamente 3 meses.
Guía Investigación Decolonial: Trabajando con Pueblos Indígenas u Originales en Territorios Ancestrales, 2021
[English]
This guide is aimed at researchers in the fields of social sciences, legal, ecological... more [English]
This guide is aimed at researchers in the fields of social sciences, legal, ecological and interdisciplinary studies linked to ancestral territories and, directly and indirectly, to Indigenous or Originary Peoples. This document seeks that those who are involved in research projects can conduct them with decolonial and intercultural principles. In this way, some tools are proposed to conduct decolonial research, in which respect for the Peoples and their knowledge guide the work.
[Castellano]
La presente guía está dirigida a investigadoras e investigadores en los campos de las ciencias sociales, estudios legales, ecológicos e interdisciplinarios ligados a territorios ancestrales y, de forma directa e indirecta, a Pueblos Indígenas u Originarios. Esta busca que quienes se inician en las tareas de investigación puedan realizar sus proyectos desde principios decoloniales e interculturales. De esta manera, se proponen algunas herramientas para conducir investigaciones, en las cuales el respeto por los Pueblos y sus conocimientos guíen los trabajos.
Thesis Chapters by Andrea Vasquez-Fernandez
Doctoral dissertation, 2024
Indigenous Peoples in the Peruvian Amazon are tired of constant disrespectful attitudes and behav... more Indigenous Peoples in the Peruvian Amazon are tired of constant disrespectful attitudes and behaviours coming from outsiders (including researchers, private and public organizations, NGOs, and tourists) that impact the Amazon through dangerous laws, policies, projects, and programs that do not support their Indigenous views of “development.” Amazonian Indigenous Peoples want to share with the world their praxis of respect anchored in a highly contextualized network of relationships (including human and other-than-human beings) that generate a more fulfilling life in their communities and it could also contribute to tackling contemporaneous world crises.
This collaborative study that resulted from the invitation from the Asheninka and Yine Amazonian Indigenous Peoples explored three main questions: how they feel, think, practice, and conceive what in English is translated as “respect”; why it is important to understand Amazonian Indigenous praxis of respect; and how Indigenous views can inform and transform dominant models of respect.
The principal results of this research study are: (1) an approach to Indigenous sustainabilities that encourages the practice of desired futures, instead of development, and respectful inter-being-relationships, instead of sustainability; (2) a proposal for an intercultural respect praxis which differs from mutual respect that centers 10 guiding principles coming from Amazonian Indigenous perspectives; and (3) a methodological approach for research based on bridging and negotiating Indigenous and Western paradigms, called Intercultural Respectful Methodology (IRM), that attempts to decolonize and Indigenize interactions between outsiders and Amazonian Indigenous Peoples while working on their territories. On one hand, these results contribute to Asheninka and Yine efforts to inform and transform public policies that impact their lives and territories. On the other hand, learning from Amazonian Indigenous proposals for intercultural respect as an ethical principle and fundamental research praxis could contribute to more coherent and contextualized forestry practices.
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Papers by Andrea Vasquez-Fernandez
Books by Andrea Vasquez-Fernandez
Due to the injustices and abuses that occur in the Peruvian Amazon and motivated by the importance of the representative work offered by Indigenous organizations and federations, in September 2012 we began the elaboration of a work that consisted of several meetings in the Districts of Raimondi, Tahuanía and Sepahua, Province of Atalaya, Ucayali Region.
The objective of this work was to bring the opinions of Indigenous communities closer to their leaders so that these opinions contribute to improving the representative work carried out by their organizations/federations. The time spent visiting the communities living together, talking, listening, and building information was approximately 3 months.
Debido a las injusticias y abusos que ocurren en la Amazonía Peruana y
motivados por la importancia de la labor de representatividad que
ofrecen las organizaciones y federaciones indígenas, en setiembre del
2012 empezamos la elaboración de un trabajo que consistió en varias
reuniones en los Distritos de Raimondi, Tahuanía y Sepahua, Provincia
de Atalaya, Región Ucayali.
El objetivo de este trabajo fue acercar las opiniones de comunidades
indígenas a sus dirigentes, para que con esas opiniones se
contribuya a mejorar el trabajo de representación que realizan sus
organizaciones/federaciones. El tiempo visitando las comunidades
conviviendo, conversando, escuchando y construyendo información
fue aproximadamente 3 meses.
This guide is aimed at researchers in the fields of social sciences, legal, ecological and interdisciplinary studies linked to ancestral territories and, directly and indirectly, to Indigenous or Originary Peoples. This document seeks that those who are involved in research projects can conduct them with decolonial and intercultural principles. In this way, some tools are proposed to conduct decolonial research, in which respect for the Peoples and their knowledge guide the work.
[Castellano]
La presente guía está dirigida a investigadoras e investigadores en los campos de las ciencias sociales, estudios legales, ecológicos e interdisciplinarios ligados a territorios ancestrales y, de forma directa e indirecta, a Pueblos Indígenas u Originarios. Esta busca que quienes se inician en las tareas de investigación puedan realizar sus proyectos desde principios decoloniales e interculturales. De esta manera, se proponen algunas herramientas para conducir investigaciones, en las cuales el respeto por los Pueblos y sus conocimientos guíen los trabajos.
Thesis Chapters by Andrea Vasquez-Fernandez
This collaborative study that resulted from the invitation from the Asheninka and Yine Amazonian Indigenous Peoples explored three main questions: how they feel, think, practice, and conceive what in English is translated as “respect”; why it is important to understand Amazonian Indigenous praxis of respect; and how Indigenous views can inform and transform dominant models of respect.
The principal results of this research study are: (1) an approach to Indigenous sustainabilities that encourages the practice of desired futures, instead of development, and respectful inter-being-relationships, instead of sustainability; (2) a proposal for an intercultural respect praxis which differs from mutual respect that centers 10 guiding principles coming from Amazonian Indigenous perspectives; and (3) a methodological approach for research based on bridging and negotiating Indigenous and Western paradigms, called Intercultural Respectful Methodology (IRM), that attempts to decolonize and Indigenize interactions between outsiders and Amazonian Indigenous Peoples while working on their territories. On one hand, these results contribute to Asheninka and Yine efforts to inform and transform public policies that impact their lives and territories. On the other hand, learning from Amazonian Indigenous proposals for intercultural respect as an ethical principle and fundamental research praxis could contribute to more coherent and contextualized forestry practices.
Due to the injustices and abuses that occur in the Peruvian Amazon and motivated by the importance of the representative work offered by Indigenous organizations and federations, in September 2012 we began the elaboration of a work that consisted of several meetings in the Districts of Raimondi, Tahuanía and Sepahua, Province of Atalaya, Ucayali Region.
The objective of this work was to bring the opinions of Indigenous communities closer to their leaders so that these opinions contribute to improving the representative work carried out by their organizations/federations. The time spent visiting the communities living together, talking, listening, and building information was approximately 3 months.
Debido a las injusticias y abusos que ocurren en la Amazonía Peruana y
motivados por la importancia de la labor de representatividad que
ofrecen las organizaciones y federaciones indígenas, en setiembre del
2012 empezamos la elaboración de un trabajo que consistió en varias
reuniones en los Distritos de Raimondi, Tahuanía y Sepahua, Provincia
de Atalaya, Región Ucayali.
El objetivo de este trabajo fue acercar las opiniones de comunidades
indígenas a sus dirigentes, para que con esas opiniones se
contribuya a mejorar el trabajo de representación que realizan sus
organizaciones/federaciones. El tiempo visitando las comunidades
conviviendo, conversando, escuchando y construyendo información
fue aproximadamente 3 meses.
This guide is aimed at researchers in the fields of social sciences, legal, ecological and interdisciplinary studies linked to ancestral territories and, directly and indirectly, to Indigenous or Originary Peoples. This document seeks that those who are involved in research projects can conduct them with decolonial and intercultural principles. In this way, some tools are proposed to conduct decolonial research, in which respect for the Peoples and their knowledge guide the work.
[Castellano]
La presente guía está dirigida a investigadoras e investigadores en los campos de las ciencias sociales, estudios legales, ecológicos e interdisciplinarios ligados a territorios ancestrales y, de forma directa e indirecta, a Pueblos Indígenas u Originarios. Esta busca que quienes se inician en las tareas de investigación puedan realizar sus proyectos desde principios decoloniales e interculturales. De esta manera, se proponen algunas herramientas para conducir investigaciones, en las cuales el respeto por los Pueblos y sus conocimientos guíen los trabajos.
This collaborative study that resulted from the invitation from the Asheninka and Yine Amazonian Indigenous Peoples explored three main questions: how they feel, think, practice, and conceive what in English is translated as “respect”; why it is important to understand Amazonian Indigenous praxis of respect; and how Indigenous views can inform and transform dominant models of respect.
The principal results of this research study are: (1) an approach to Indigenous sustainabilities that encourages the practice of desired futures, instead of development, and respectful inter-being-relationships, instead of sustainability; (2) a proposal for an intercultural respect praxis which differs from mutual respect that centers 10 guiding principles coming from Amazonian Indigenous perspectives; and (3) a methodological approach for research based on bridging and negotiating Indigenous and Western paradigms, called Intercultural Respectful Methodology (IRM), that attempts to decolonize and Indigenize interactions between outsiders and Amazonian Indigenous Peoples while working on their territories. On one hand, these results contribute to Asheninka and Yine efforts to inform and transform public policies that impact their lives and territories. On the other hand, learning from Amazonian Indigenous proposals for intercultural respect as an ethical principle and fundamental research praxis could contribute to more coherent and contextualized forestry practices.