“Camps for Ecological Justice”: From the University to the Territory

Cintia Giuliana Balaudo, UNL-CONICET – Natalia Ayelén Barrilis, UNL 

2024

Public universities in Latin America play a key role in promoting science and culture. They also hold a prominent role in fostering critical citizenship and generating knowledge that contributes to social well-being. Within universities, three main functions can be identified: teaching, research, and extension (also called third mission). The latter is the central focus of this text, and involves the development and implementation of activities outside the university scope that allow participants to engage with the complexities of the surrounding social reality. This function facilitates addressing various issues from an interdisciplinary perspective, enabling the creation of accurate diagnoses and the development of better tools and proposals for solving specific cases. It is based on dialogue, solidarity, and commitment, and it aims at applying theoretical learning acquired in the classroom to real and concrete situations. In this way, knowledge construction is carried out through experience in the field, through the interaction with people facing real and, often, urgent problems. 

At the Universidad Nacional del Litoral (UNL), which comprises ten faculties and other dependencies, extension projects are part of an institutional policy and are carried out by teams composed of faculty members, students, graduates, researchers, and volunteers. These teams work on various issues in collaboration with civil society organizations, governmental institutions, and the general public, according to the scientific knowledge areas of each academic unit and the strategic lines defined by the university. 

The “Camps for Ecological Justice” are a Socially Relevant Extension Project (PEIS), a specific modality within the extension practice of the UNL, conducted by the School of Law and Social Sciences since 2019. These Camps are developed within the framework of a research project called “Meulen: Renewal of Legal Contributions on the Ecological Problem,” where, after several years of research, extension projects related to themes relevant to their research objectives, began to be developed, such as nature rights, the environment, access to justice, animal rights, among others. These Camps are a joint effort between the extension team and two civil society organizations linked to addressing socio-environmental conflicts: the Center for Nature Protection (CEPRONAT) and Capibara NDS, along with social actors linked to the territory.

The project was designed to contribute to the internal and territorial organization of neighbors, previously absent or incipient, to achieve greater autonomy when making claims, workshops, and training, taking legal actions, or creating regulations on the environmental problems that affect their daily lives. It includes, as a methodological innovation, a collective and participatory construction on the existing socio-environmental problems in different geographical areas, which also allows the articulation of the field of law (particularly environmental law, nature rights, and human rights) with other areas of knowledge (medicine, agrarian sciences, environmental sciences, and conservation). 

It is noteworthy that it acquired a new dimension from 2021, when the Escazú Agreement came into force: a Regional Human Rights Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation, and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean, which introduced an unprecedented global obligation to States to ensure the protection of environmental defenders. Its objectives, principles, rights, and protection mechanisms align with the extension activity. 

The Camps have a two-side purpose: to gather information on socio-environmental issues to understand the situation of certain populations in the Province of Santa Fe (Argentina) with the aim of the creation of potential public policies, regulations, and other instruments that

enable improved environmental protection, human rights, and nature rights; and to provide the population with the necessary information and tools to defend their rights. 

Each Camp is structured around three central stages. First, a preparatory stage, in which the town where the camp will be held is selected, and the extension team is constituted. Then, the survey to be used is designed, activities are planned, and the location is mapped to determine the areas to visit. Additionally, the team is trained for fieldwork. Second, the execution stage, which consists of two distinct days: one to survey the population and another to do activities aimed at children, adults, and the elderly, with the goal of disseminating information, training, fostering dialogue and meetings, and creating a space for listening and exchange. Lastly, after the field activity, the third stage is carried out, where the extension team processes the collected data, prepares reports, articles, and other dissemination works, and returns to the location to deliver the information to the community. 

Additionally, complementary activities can be carried out according to the needs of each community, such as school visits, awareness campaigns, communication with authorities, and interviews with local leaders to delve deeper into the identified problems.

In its first five years, the “Camps for Ecological Justice” have visited the locations of Santo Domingo, Humboldt, Arroyo Leyes, Rincón, and Monte Vera in the Province of Santa Fe. In the coming years, these activities are to extend to new communities, reinforcing the commitment to knowledge dissemination and social action in the region. 

Direct interaction with communities has enriched the educational and research process, strengthened community bonds, and has fostered citizen participation and empowerment. This demonstrates that academic knowledge, articulated with local needs, can generate significant changes in societies. We are driven by the conviction that, through dialogue, solidarity, and commitment, it is possible to build a fairer and more sustainable future for all, in which the public university will continue to be a fundamental pillar in fostering ecological justice and shared well-being.

Further readings and resources

Balaudo, C. G.; Franco, D. L.; Gazzo, M. V. y Rodríguez, A. (2021). Acampe por una justicia ecológica: una experiencia de extensión y acceso a la justicia en la localidad de Santo Domingo, provincia de Santa Fe. +E: Revista de Extensión Universitaria, 11(15), e0010. doi: 10.14409/extension.2021.15.Jul-Dic.e0010 

Erreguerena, F.; Nieto, G. y Tommasino, H. (2020). Tradiciones y matrices, pasadas y presentes, que confluyen en la Extensión Crítica Latinoamericana y Caribeña. Cuadernos de Extensión Universitaria de la UNLPam,4(4), 177–204. 

Wrunsten, A. (2023). Universidad, extensión e integralidad. Claves para la democracia. +E: Revista de Extensión Universitaria, 13(19), e0005. doi: 10.14409/extension.2023.19.Jul-Dic.e0005 

Página web CEPAL: https://www.cepal.org/es/acuerdodeescazu