Vol. 8 No. 1 (2025): Arjé Academic Journal (January to June, 2025)

La piña en Costa Rica – ¿producto sostenible, producción sustentable?

Pineapple production in Costa Rica as a study case for sustainability paradoxes and new approaches for solutions

This issue of the academic journal Arjé, edited by Susanne Schlünder and Dennis Wilke, examines the contradictions of the dominant sustainability paradigm, using pineapple production in Costa Rica as a case study. It brings together interdisciplinary contributions that highlight the paradoxes of sustainability and explore alternative environmental practices, such as those incorporating local knowledge in the spirit of the IPBES framework. The aim is to question the economic orientation of the concept of sustainability and to propose new perspectives and solutions. The authors, from the Universidad Técnica Nacional and the University of Osnabrück, collaborate within the framework of a DAAD-funded project on transformative research in education to protect biodiversity and livelihoods. Adopting a multidisciplinary approach, the issue shows how Costa Rica’s pineapple industry contradicts the country’s sustainable image, seeking to promote a broader and more critical understanding of sustainability.