#impactculture — Public Fediverse posts

We need to move beyond the term stakeholder in environmental decision-making (1/2)

"Language matters in shaping perceptions and guiding behaviour. The term stakeholder is widely used, yet little attention is paid to the possibility that its use may inadvertently perpetuate colonial narratives and reinforce systemic inequities. In this article, we critically examine the limitations of the stakeholder concept and its ambiguity, normativity, and exclusionary implications. We emphasise the importance of using language that gives a voice to marginalised groups, promotes inclusion and equity, and fosters meaningful and reflexive participation in decision-making processes. In critiquing the use of the term and calling for alternative practices, we aim to contribute to the decolonisation of research norms and the creation of more inclusive and equitable societies. Therefore, rather than advocating a single alternative term, we suggest a focus on the people, places, and species affected by decisions, interventions, projects, and issues."
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Reed, M.S., Merkle, B.G., Cook, E.J. et al. Reimagining the language of engagement in a post-stakeholder world. Sustain Sci 19, 1481–1490 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-024-01496-4
#environment #ImpactCulture #DecisionMaking #stakeholders #consultation #tokenism #participation #symmetry #IndigenousPeoples #activism #CitizenScience #engagement #collaboration #research #credibility #CitizenEmpowerment #democracy #SettlerSociety #logging #mining #extractivism

"...The stakeholder paradigm (2/2)
reduces the relationships between people and place to financial or economic transactions that ignore the cultural and spiritual significance of the land and the non-human species to which people are inherently connected. Moreover, the term stakeholder has been used to legitimise extractive policies by corporations and governments on Indigenous lands, on the basis that the interests of corporations and governments are as legitimate as Indigenous communities. This framing ignores power imbalances and the histories of colonisation and dispossession that have impacted those communities over many generations. These exploitations inherent in the stakeholder paradigm are directly relevant for research, which aims to engage individuals, groups, organisations, and, in some cases, non-human or other species in decisions, interventions, projects, and issues (Reed and Rudman 2022)."
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Reed, M.S., Merkle, B.G., Cook, E.J. et al. Reimagining the language of engagement in a post-stakeholder world. Sustain Sci 19, 1481–1490 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-024-01496-4
#environment #ImpactCulture #biodiversity #stakeholders #DecisionMaking #consultation #tokenism #participation #symmetry #IndigenousPeoples #activism #CitizenScience #engagement #collaboration #research #credibility #CitizenEmpowerment #democracy #SettlerSociety #logging #mining #extractivism #exploitation