Environmental Harm: An Eco-justice Perspective PDF
Preview Environmental Harm: An Eco-justice Perspective
STUDIES IN SOCIAL HARM ENVIRONMENTAL HARM An eco-justice perspective ROB WHITE EnvironmEntal Harm An eco-justice perspective Rob White First published in Great Britain in 2013 by Policy Press North America office: University of Bristol Policy Press 6th Floor c/o The University of Chicago Press Howard House 1427 East 60th Street Queen’s Avenue Chicago, IL 60637, USA Bristol BS8 1SD t: +1 773 702 7700 UK f: +1 773-702-9756 t: +44 (0)117 331 5020 [email protected] f: +44 (0)117 331 4093 www.press.uchicago.edu [email protected] www.policypress.co.uk © Policy Press 2013 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record for this book has been requested. ISBN 978 1 44730 040 3 hardcover The right of Rob White to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved: no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission of Policy Press. The statements and opinions contained within this publication are solely those of the author and not of the University of Bristol or Policy Press. The University of Bristol and Policy Press disclaim responsibility for any injury to persons or property resulting from any material published in this publication. Policy Press works to counter discrimination on grounds of gender, race, disability, age and sexuality. Cover design by Policy Press Front cover: image kindly supplied by www.alamy.com Printed and bound in Great Britain by CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon, CR0 4YY Contents List of tables, figures and boxes v About the author vii Acknowledgements ix introduction 1 Environmental harm and social harm approaches 1 Green criminology and environmental harm 4 An eco-justice perspective 6 Conflicting views and moral dilemmas 7 one Justice-based approaches to environmental harm 11 Introduction 11 Components of an eco-justice perspective 11 Contentious concepts 16 Key questions about harm 27 The moral calculus: weighing up the harm 36 Conclusion 39 two Environmental justice and harm to humans 43 Introduction 43 Contentious concepts: environmental justice 44 Social patterns of harm and risk 51 Harm, place and the local 60 Transborder conflicts over land 68 Conclusion: measuring the value of human life 73 three Conservation, ecological justice and harm to nature 75 Introduction 75 Contentious concepts: ecological justice 76 Transforming nature 83 Land, property and the global commons 94 Conservationism and social division 100 Conclusion: measuring the value of nature 107 four Species justice and harm to animals 111 Introduction 111 Contentious concepts: species justice 112 iii Environmental harm Categorising animals 117 Crime, criminology and animals 124 Animals, particular species and individuals 131 Conclusion: measuring the value of animals 143 five toward eco-justice for all 145 Introduction 145 Contentious concepts: eco-justice 147 Nature, species and culture 156 Socio-economic context of environmental harm 160 Eco-justice in practice 164 Conclusion: where to from here? 173 References 177 Index 197 iv list of tables, figures and boxes tables 1.1 Scale 35 4.1 Fishing and related harmful activities 123 Figure 1.1 Contextual model for weighing up harm 37 Boxes 1.1 An eco-justice perspective: three approaches to justice, 14 rights and harms 1.2 Conceptual framework for environmental horizon scanning 31 1.3 Value 35 1.4 Measuring harm 35 2.1 Features of different types of spaces 65 4.1 Animal categories 117 4.2 Motivations to engage in poaching 129 5.1 Notions of justice 164 v about the author Rob White is Professor of Criminology in the School of Social Sciences at the University of Tasmania, Australia. He has published extensively in the areas of criminology and youth studies. Recent publications include Transnational environmental crime (Routledge, 2011); Climate change from a criminological perspective (Springer, 2012); and Youth gangs, violence and social respect (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013). He has special interest in environmental forensic studies as this pertains to contaminated communities, the dynamics of environmental law enforcement and adjudication processes at domestic and international levels, and climate change and social conflict. vii acknowledgements This book is the culmination of years of research and scholarship involving much thinking about and mulling over of many different ideas and conundrums. I am thankful for the assistance of Chris Baker who in the early phases compiled background materials from which a number of illustrations and examples for this book were drawn. Many thanks go as well to Avi Brisman for his insightful comments and queries as the manuscript began to take shape. Throughout the project, Di Heckenberg provided intellectual contributions and editorial suggestions of the highest order. Indeed, Di’s constructive criticism and detailed feedback played a major role in helping to clarify key concepts and arguments, and for this I am especially grateful. Finally, I wish to acknowledge the ongoing support and encouragement of Alison Shaw from Policy Press over the life course of this book. ix
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