ABSTRACT
The value of looking at gender-based exclusion from power and decisionmaking is not only of interest in its own right. It also offers potentially valuable insights into the participation of marginalised and excluded groups in environmental law and the sustainability praxis more generally, as, in part, the latter attempts to address a multiplicity of excluded groups including women. Underpinning the Brundtland-inspired approach adopted by Agenda 21 is the recognition that sustainability is founded on sustainable decision-making which in turn requires participation in and ownership of decisions by all stakeholders, from the major groups to the individual. Ecological thinking is far removed from the often largely cosmetic changes to political praxis suggested by a grafting on of sustainability to business as usual models. Particular emphasis will be placed on the contribution of inclusive ecofeminist approaches to developing more sustainable decision-making processes, specifically through advocating an expanded view of viable inputs into both discursive and deliberative systems.
