Ecocentric governance: sustainability between the availability of resources and needs

Abstract

Within the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals, the conservation of resources such as electricity and water are the central axis of the public agenda. Public policies unfold between scarcity or abundance. Intermittent supply leads to savings in users. On the other hand, the permanent availability of electricity and water encourages greater consumption. In this sense, the objective of this study was to establish the governance structure, considering five phases: conflict, negotiation, consensus, self-regulation and co-responsibility. The orientation towards the conservation of resources for the benefit of future generations versus the consumption of current generations defines the type of government. This paper establishes the differences between anthropocentric governance and ecocentric governance with respect to the management of energy and water resources and services. An exploratory, cross-sectional and psychometric study was carried out with a non-probabilistic selection of 100 officials and users of the electricity and water service. The Carreón Governance Inventory (2022) was used, and the three preponderant factors were obtained: conflict, negotiation-consensus and self-regulation-co-responsibility. In relation to the literature consulted, the three factors refer to governance oriented towards resource conservation. The third factor of self-regulation and co-responsibility suggests policies oriented by the availability of energy and water resources. Empirical testing of the model in a scenario and a sample exposed to resource scarcity is recommended.