Voices Seeking to Be Heard: Rethinking Nature's Role in Deliberative Processes for an Ecological Democracy

On 17 May, Diogo Guedes Vidal and Fátima Alves attended the 5th World Symposium on Sustainability Science and Research in Lisbon to present the poster entitled ‘Voices Seeking to Be Heard: Rethinking Nature's Role in Deliberative Processes for an Ecological Democracy’. This poster addresses the intersection between the ecological crisis and democratic erosion, highlighting the challenges imposed on human-centred governance.

By analysing the results of the PHOENIX H2020 project, the research explores how nature can be more effectively represented in participatory governance processes, with the aim of promoting a more inclusive ecological democracy. The study identifies the lack of practical models that integrate nature into deliberative decisions and proposes new approaches that can strengthen democratic governance, taking into account contemporary ecological challenges.