Environmental Justice - Around The World

Around The World

In recent years Environmental Justice campaigns have also emerged in other parts of the world, such as India, South Africa, Israel, Nigeria, Mexico, Hungary, Uganda, and the United Kingdom. In Europe for example, there is evidence to suggest that the Gypsies and other minority groups of non-European descent are suffering from environmental inequality and discrimination. In Europe, the Gypsie people are ethnic minorities and differ from the rest of the European people by their culture, language, and history. The environmental discrimination that they experience ranges from the unequal distribution of environmental harms as well as the unequal distribution of education, health services and employment. In many countries Gypsies are forced to live in the slums because many of the laws to get residence permits are discriminatory against them. This forces Gypsies to live in urban “ghetto” type housing or in shantytowns. In the Czech Republic and Romania, the Gypsies are forced to live in places that have less access to running water and sewage, and in Ostrava, Czech Republic, the Gypsies live in apartments located above an abandoned mine, which emits methane. Also in Bulgaria, the public infrastructure extends throughout the town of Sofia until it reaches the Gypsies village where there is very little water access or sewage capacity.

The European Union is trying to strive towards environmental justice by putting into effect declarations that state that all people have a right to a healthy environment. The Stockholm Declaration, the 1987 Brundtland Commission’s Report – “Our Common Future”, the Rio Declaration, and Article 37 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, all are ways that the Europeans have put acts in place to work toward environmental Justice. Europe also funds action-oriented projects that work on furthering Environmental Justice throughout the world. For example, EJOLT (Environmental Justice Organisations, Liabilities and Trade) is a large multinational project supported through the FP7 Science in Society budget line from the European Commission. From March 2011 to March 2015, 23 civil society organizations and universities from 20 countries in Europe, Africa, Latin-America, and Asia are, and have promised to work together on advancing the cause of Environmental Justice. EJOLT is building up case studies, linking organisations worldwide, and making an interactive global map of Environmental Justice.

Whilst the predominant agenda of the Environmental Justice movement in the United States has been tackling issues of race, inequality, and the environment, environmental justice campaigns around the world have developed and shifted in focus. For example, the EJ movement in the United Kingdom is quite different. It focuses on issues of poverty and the environment, but also tackles issues of health inequalities and social exclusion. A UK based NGO, named the Environmental Justice Foundation, has sought to make a direct link between the need for environmental security and the defense of basic human rights. They have launched several high profile campaigns that link environmental problems and social injustices. A campaign against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing highlighted how 'pirate' fisherman are stealing food from local, artisanal fishing communities. They have also launched a campaign exposing the environmental and human rights abuses involved in cotton production in Uzbekistan. Cotton produced in Uzbekistan is often harvested by children for little or no pay. In addition, the mismanagement of water resources for crop irrigation has led to the near eradication of the Aral Sea. The Environmental Justice Foundation has successfully petitioned large retailers such as As Wal-mart and Tesco to stop selling Uzbek cotton.

Under colonial and apartheid governments in South Africa, thousands of black South Africans were removed from their ancestral lands in order to make way for game parks. In 1992, the Environmental Justice Networking Forum (EJNF), a nationwide umbrella organization designed to coordinate the activities of environmental activists and organizations interested in social and environmental justice, was created. By 1995, the network expanded to include 150 member organizations and by 2000, it included over 600 member organizations.

With the election of the African National Congress (ANC) in 1994, the environmental justice movement gained an ally in government. The ANC noted “poverty and environmental degradation have been closely linked” in South Africa. The ANC made it clear that environmental inequalities and injustices would be addressed as part of the party’s post-apartheid reconstruction and development mandate. The new South African Constitution, finalized in 1996, includes a Bill of Rights that grants South Africans the right to an “environment that is not harmful to their health or well-being” and “to have the environment protected, for the benefit of present and future generations through reasonable legislative and other measures that

1. prevent pollution and ecological degradation;
2. promote conservation; and
3. secure ecologically sustainable development and use of natural resources while promoting justifiable economic and social development”.

South Africa’s mining industry is the largest single producer of solid waste, accounting for about two-thirds of the total waste stream. Tens of thousands of deaths have occurred among mine workers as a result of accidents over the last century. There have been several deaths and debilitating diseases from work-related illnesses like asbestosis. For those who live next to a mine, the quality of air and water is poor. Noise, dust, and dangerous equipment and vehicles can be threats to the safety of those who live next to a mine as well. These communities are often poor and black and have little choice over the placement of a mine near their homes. The National Party introduced a new Minerals Act that began to address environmental considerations by recognizing the health and safety concerns of workers and the need for land rehabilitation during and after mining operations. In 1993, the Act was amended to require each new mine to have an Environmental Management Program Report (EMPR) prepared before breaking ground. These EMPRs were intended to force mining companies to outline all the possible environmental impacts of the particular mining operation and to make provision for environmental management.

In October 1998, the Department of Minerals and Energy released a White Paper entitled “A Minerals and Mining Policy for South Africa” which included a section on Environmental Management. The White Paper states “Government, in recognition of the responsibility of the State as custodian of the nation’s natural resources, will ensure that the essential development of the country’s mineral resources will take place within a framework of sustainable development and in accordance with national environmental policy, norms, and standards”. It adds that any environmental policy “must ensure a cost-effective and competitive mining industry.”

In Australia, the “Environmental Justice Movement” is not defined as it is in the United States. Australia does have some discrimination mainly in the citing of hazardous waste facilities in areas where the people are not given proper information about the company. The injustice that takes place in Australia is defined as environmental politics on who get the unwanted waste site or who has control over where factory opens up. The movement towards equal environmental politics focuses more on who can fight for companies to build, and takes place in the parliament; whereas, in the United States Environmental Justice is trying to make nature safer for all people.

An example of the environmental injustices that indigenous groups face can be seen in the Chevron-Texaco incident in the Amazon. Texaco, which is now Chevron, found oil in Ecuador in 1964 and built sub-standard oil wells in order to cut costs. The company was using inferior technology deliberately in order to make their operations cheaper even if it was detrimental to the local people and environment. After the company left in 1992, they left aproximately one thousand toxic waste pits open and dumped billions of gallons of toxic water into the rivers. This sort of mistreatment of the indigenous peoples and people of other countries is causing damage to the environment and is an example of the environmental injustice that happens all over the world. The inability of the people of different countries to fight against the multi-national corporations leads to much environmental injustice to the indigenous peoples of the world.