Campos, I. S., F. M. Alves, J. Dinis, M. Truninger, A. Vizinho, and G. Penha-Lopes. 2016. Climate adaptation, transitions, and socially innovative action-research approaches. Ecology and Society 21(1):13.http://dx.doi.org/10.5751/ES-08059-210113
Money is critical for a regenerative future. Transforming it is an unavoidable social, political, and economic endeavor that must be a global priority if we are to prevent future financial crises, reduce economic inequality and adhere to our climate agreements and sustainability goals. For this transition to occur, we urgently need new economic and monetary paradigms that address the root causes of our current unsustainability, offer a new monetary ontology and design, and, more importantly, steer our monetary regime towards the regeneration of our social, economic and ecological landscapes. We need an ecological understanding of money grounded in Ecological Economics and an Ecological Value Theory that lays down the foundations for the conscious democratization, decentralization, and diversification of money. In this work, we revisit and update the missing link between money and sustainability by proposing new ontological avenues and reviewing the design elements and degenerative processes built into the existing system. We also contribute to the development and emergence of an Ecological Monetary Economics by systematizing the ongoing monetary transition toward sustainability and by offering a set of principles drawn from the regenerative economics literature for the conscious design of monetary ecosystems that contribute positively to solving our societal challenges of the 21st century.
The Ovar coastline is characterized as one of the coastal areas with the highest vulnerability and risk of erosion in the Portuguese coast. The high-energy coast is further threatened by a permanent sediment deficit of anthropic origin, as well as sea level rise due to climate change. It is essential to define modern coastal adaptation strategies to minimize the impacts of these issues on the local communities, while considering social, environmental, and economic factors. It is in this territory that the INCCA project’s case study is located, involving stakeholders with technical, scientific, and operational knowledge in the co-management of the coastal stretch. In the scope of the involvement intended for the project’s development, five participatory events were held, involving local authorities, civil protection, public entities, academia, and the general community. These events allowed a multidisciplinary and multi-stakeholder analysis of the challenges and possible solutions to mitigate coastal erosion, representing the definition of a shared vision for the coastline’s future in this municipality. This work presents the main results of this participatory process as well as reflections on the importance of active citizenship instruments and stakeholder involvement for integrated coastal management in the 21st century.
1 December 2017 in Revista de Gestão Costeira Integrada