This year, David Shaw won the annual RIAS/UCR “Sustainable Freedoms” Essay Prize for his insightful and ambitious paper Transforming Sustainable Development: Anthropological Perspectives and Learning from Indigenous Ontologies with Nature. His prize was awarded prior to the presentation of our annual Roosevelt Lecture.
Shaw’s essay combines anthropological theory, governance, and Indigenous perspectives to examine the link between environmental sustainability and human rights. Drawing on Arturo Escobar and Ecuador’s recognition of Buen Vivir and the rights of nature, he argues that conventional and alternative development approaches can be effectively combined.
The paper shows strong scholarly breadth—from carbon markets to Indigenous advocacy—while maintaining a clear focus on how development is defined and whose values shape human–nature relations. The jury especially valued Shaw’s honest engagement with the tensions and limitations of both approaches.
His essay thoughtfully connects environmental concerns with questions of human rights, emphasizing that sustainable futures require both critical reflection and collective responsibility—precisely the kind of engagement this prize seeks to recognize and encourage. David’s essay is available here – the jury encourages everyone to read it!
The jury also awarded an honorable mention to Charlize Larenas Aragón for her paper Conservation: A Dichotomous Environmental Pathway to (Advancing) Sustainability and Human Rights through Protection of Natural Resources. Her essay highlights how conservation can both protect and threaten human rights, particularly for Indigenous communities.
The jury thanks all candidates for their excellent submissions and engagement with the themes of Sustainable Freedoms.
There is still time to sign up for the sitxh edition of the annual “Sustainable Freedoms Essay Prize”. The deadline to send in your paper is on 10 July 2026, more information on this year´s edition can be found here.
