Intergenerational Foresight 2026

What if rural governance reimagined legitimacy through intergenerational compacts co-created with the historically marginalized, in which prosperity is defined and measured by the health of ecosystems? Across Latin America, rural territories sit at the centre of a growing governance paradox. They are foundational to the region’s ecological integrity, food systems and cultural continuity, yet they remain structurally marginal in political and economic decision-making. For decades, development strategies have treated rural areas as sites of extraction or as spaces to modernize rather than as partners in shaping collective prosperity. This extractive and top-down development approach has produced a legitimacy gap with intergenerational consequences. Decision-makers have prioritized short-term economic gains over ecosystem health and territorial continuity. The costs of this model are carried forward through degraded land, stressed water systems, weakened rural economies and persistent outmigration of younger generations. Governance systems struggle to sustain trust, while future options narrow. This provocation reframes rural governance as a core site of intergenerational foresight. It asks whether decision-makers can redefine legitimacy and prosperity through binding intergenerational compacts that they co-create with historically marginalized communities and that make ecosystem health a central measure of success. In doing so, it positions rural Latin America not as a development problem to be managed, but as a critical arena for designing governance models capable of sustaining well-being, legitimacy and resilience across generations. Latin America D Intergenerational Foresight: An Approach for Long-Term Responsibility in Governance 26