Contributions of rural ecovillages to the United Nations 2030 Agenda: evidence from research applied in the state of São Paulo

Abstract

Ecovillages are social organizations derived from the pacifist movement of alternative communities and the counterculture movement for ecology and human rights in the 1970s. Such communities play a relevant social and environmental role, constituting possible proposals for a conscious transition towards a more sustainable society. In this context, based on examples of rural ecovillages in São Paulo, the present study aimed to analyze the main contributions of these social organizations to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda in Brazil. The study was exploratory and descriptive, based on a qualitative and empirical approach. Additionally, in the bibliographic and documental survey stage, field research was carried out involving semi-structured interviews with twenty members of six rural ecovillages located in the east of the state of São Paulo in 2020 and 2021. Collected data processing was based on Content Analysis, supported by Atlas.ti software. Despite the sample limitations of the study, the results suggest significant contributions of ecovillages to 16 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in which actions of restoration of native vegetation in continuous territories, water and food production, collective management, and equitable participation were detected.

Keywords

• assentamento humano
• desenvolvimento sustentável
• agenda 2030
• ecovilas rurais
• ods 11