New environmental rights were introduced in Argentina with the 1994 amendments to the 1853 national constitution. This constitutional recognition of environmental rights is a fundamental step in the advancement of environmental justice and citizenship, but it is not enough. When and how do environmental rights become effective? Under what circumstances are environmental rights effectively applied and enforced? We claim that participation is the key mechanism through which constitutionally enacted environmental rights become effective. More specifically, we argue that the embodiment of constitutional environmental rights in concrete policies and practices are propelled by the combination of contentious and institutionalized modes of participation. Based on evidence from two contrasting and salient cases—river sanitation in the Metropolitan Buenos Aires Region and open-pit mining in Andean Argentina—this article discusses how the combination of different modes of participation has been an effective channel for the enforcement and effectiveness of environmental rights.

中文翻译：

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让权利活起来

随着 1994 年对 1853 年国家宪法的修订，阿根廷引入了新的环境权。这种对环境权利的宪法承认是推进环境正义和公民身份的基本步骤，但这还不够。环境权何时以及如何生效？环境权在什么情况下得到有效运用和执行？我们声称参与是宪法颁布的环境权利生效的关键机制。更具体地说，我们认为宪法环境权在具体政策和实践中的体现是由有争议的和制度化的参与模式相结合推动的。