Capacity to associate, subjective wellbeing and perceptions of insecurity: three key variables to understand sustainability in conflictive rural Colombia

AbstractSustainability is a multidimensional concept that includes environmental, social, economic and cultural dimensions. We propose in this study that the concept of sustainability is closely related to the quality of life... [ view full abstract ]

Abstract

Sustainability is a multidimensional concept that includes environmental, social, economic and cultural dimensions. We propose in this study that the concept of sustainability is closely related to the quality of life of a community. Under this view, the economic, social and environmental systems that support the community should provide a healthy, meaningful and productive life for all the actual and future members of that community. Some of the basic issues that must be considered in relation to quality of life as sustainability include security, the quality of social relationships (social capital) and satisfaction with life as a whole. In this study, we approach the dimension of security as perceptions of insecurity, an individual variable that processes social conflict and violent environments in the minds and emotions of individuals and communities. We also approach social capital as the capacity to associate, trust, reciprocity and belonging to social networks. The relationship between these variables is explored in a rural context that has been affected by a prolonged social conflict and whose intensity has substantially decreased in the last years. We explore the relations of perceptions of quality of life and social capital at different levels, using the second phase of a survey from 1680 rural producers in Colombia. The main findings of the empirical analysis show a positive relation of social capital on sustainability measured as perceptions of wellbeing. At the same time, perceptions of insecurity have a negative effect on both sustainability and social capital. We found regional differences in the measurements of these variables. These results allow policy-makers to strengthen rural sustainability programs and encourage effective processes of post-conflict development.