Social equity and care for the earth: tensions and synergies in Latin America

Pursuing greater social equity in balance with ecosystems is one of today's greatest challenges. Little is known about the conditions which might facilitate these objectives finding synergy. The purpose of this special issue is to understand the conditions under which concerns for social equity and care for the earth can be addressed jointly at a micro-territorial level. This introduction discusses the Latin American landscape against which the relationship between social equity and care for the earth is explored. It summarizes some linkages identified in the literature and presents the rationale for choosing the broad terms of 'care for the earth' and 'social equity' as a focus. It concludes by highlighting some of the main findings of the contributions. Namely, that the objectives of social equity and care for the earth are in synergy when they are mobilized jointly by citizens, and when concern for outcomes and inclusive processes go hand-in-hand.