Educación ambiental y participación pública: análisis de los procesos participativos "bottom-up"como instrumentos de aprendizaje para la transformación social

Abstract

The present study aims to analyse the role that conscious and responsible consumption initiatives (CRCI) play in the promotion of green lifestyles. A qualitative approach was adopted to study the Galician Conscious and Responsible Consumption Network (Galicia, Spain). A multi-method design was used, which combined participant observation, document analysis and 26 in-depth interviews to activists in eight consumption initiatives located in seven Galician towns. The results provide a deep knowledge on activist´s motivations to engage in collective forms of consumption as well as on the factors influencing the maintenance of such motivation along time. Second, the study explores the structural, cultural and psychological factors that foster or inhibit the adoption of green lifestyles. Finally, the research examines the social learning phenomena nurtured in these initiatives and their transformative role. In conclusion, the findings reveal that conscious and responsible consumption initiatives are innovative contexts for environmental education and participation, wich nurture new ways of consuming, organizing and relating in community and that also foster the adoption of new environmental-relevant behaviours.