De la protesta a la propuesta: Articulations between Environmental Justice Movements and Community-Based Management of Protected Areas in Puerto Rico.

Since the 1980s, an alternative environmental governance model has been unfolding in Puerto Rico, led by marginalized communities. In this paper, we focus on this model and its link with environmental justice struggles. Drawing on the political ecology framework, we analyze the experiences of ten community-led environmental initiatives. Our analysis shows that Puerto Rico is a paradigmatic case in global community-based environmental governance. Contrary to other places, where the management of protected areas began as a neoliberal project “from above,” Puerto Rico shows a model developed mainly “from below,” in resistance to the industrialization and urbanization policies promoted by the state and corporations. We thus argue that community governance has become one of the most important platforms of struggles for socio-environmental justice in Puerto Rico. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]