Development Economics and Biocultural Justice Management: A Comparative Analysis of Regional Investment in Africa, Rights of Nature in Ecuador, and the Impacts of War on Biodiversity in Colombia in Light of the Right to Development

چکیده

The fundamental question of this article is how to establish a conceptual relationship, within the framework of the theoretical economics of development, among three seemingly distinct areas — regional investment in Africa, the legal system of the rights of nature in Ecuador, and the impact of armed conflicts on biodiversity in Colombia. Focusing on the intersection between theoretical economics, development management, and biocultural justice, this study seeks to propose an analytical model for “multi-foundational development management,” capable of simultaneously achieving economic efficiency, cultural justice, and environmental sustainability. The first section examines the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Investment Protocol from the perspective of the political economy of development and institutional management, in order to determine whether the free flow of capital necessarily leads to the expansion of the right to development, or whether, within the neoliberal framework, it reinforces the reproduction of structural dependency. The second section analyzes Ecuador’s experience in institutionalizing the rights of nature and indigenous multiculturalism to show how biocultural management can provide an alternative developmental model based on economic and ecological coexistence. Finally, the third section, through an examination of Colombia’s experience linking war, biodiversity loss, and economic reconstruction, explains the role of natural resource management and governance institutions in post-conflict sustainability. The overall conclusion is that sustainable development in the twenty-first century can only be achieved if economic theory transcends growth-centered paradigms and is redefined on the basis of biocultural justice and multi-level institutional management.