¿Quién levantará los olivos? Social Relationships with Nature in the olive sector in Jaén

Abstract

This empirical study examines the olive sector in the Southern Spanish province of Jaén. Drawing on the concept of social relationships with nature (SRN) as developed by Eversberg et al. (2022), the study begins with a contextualization of the case, followed by an analysis of 16 qualitative interviews conducted with various producers of olive oil and other people of the region. The analysis identifies three ideal types of social relationships with nature: pragmatic, sufficiency-oriented (1), pro-ecological idealistic (2), and progressive, growth-oriented (3) SRN. The examination of these ideal types reveals that the different forms of relationships with nature are strongly connected to divergent visions of the future and of sustainability and therefore proof the validity of the concept of SRN in the investigation of social-ecological transformations. While growth-oriented SRN advocate for a bioeconomic modernization, the other two types clearly reject such a transformation. The findings indicate that diverse visions of modernity, and therefore differing conceptions of social and ecological sustainability, coexist in Jaén and that those might lead to conflict in the future.