Reckoning with historical injustices: Relational values in ecosystem services and environmental justice in the Mapuche-forestry conflict in Chile

Abstract

This article examines the longstanding conflict between the Mapuche people and the forestry industry in Chile through a dual framework of Environmental Justice (EJ) and historical analysis. By situating recognition, procedural, and distributive justice within the context of colonial legacies, we highlight how ahistorical EJ approaches fail to address socio-environmental trade-offs in settler colonial contexts. Our fieldwork, which included interviews and observations in Mapuche communities affected by forestry, reveals contrasting perceptions of ecosystem services (ES) among stakeholders. While forestry companies prioritize provisioning services like timber production, Mapuche communities emphasize relational values tied to native forests, such as spiritual fulfillment and cultural heritage preservation. These divergences underscore systemic recognition injustices and procedural exclusions that perpetuate distributive inequities. We argue that meaningful engagement with Indigenous knowledge and histories is crucial for fostering equitable ES governance. By integrating EJ perspectives into ES frameworks, our study contributes to the decolonization of ES research and offers insights into resolving socio-ecological conflicts in Indigenous territories.