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Sage - Encyclopedia of Geography
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Ecological Justice
Introduction
Conceptions of justice typically address notions of what is right and what is fair.
Ecological justice deals with how humans relate with non-human species and the natural
world. Sometimes called justice to nature, it seeks to delineate our moral obligations to
other species. This entry considers definitions, concepts and issues central to ecological
justice which is different to ‘environmental justice’. The latter term refers to social justice
environmentalism.
Defining ecological justice
Commentators attribute the term ‘ecological justice’ to geographers Nicholas Low and
Brendan Gleeson, but its scholarly antecedents date as far back as the mid-twentieth
century, to Aldo Leopold’s ‘land ethic’ and Rachael Carson’s Silent Spring, which sought
to extend ethical behaviour to biotic communities.
As a research perspective, ecological justice recognises that nature has intrinsic
value and acknowledges the interconnections and mutual interdependence of all species.
Proponents seek to expand the domain of ‘moral considerability’ beyond humans to
encompass animals, plants and even inanimate objects like rocks, rivers and oceans.
There are several bases of ecological justice. Religious grounds posit humans as
custodians of the natural world and are founded on humans’ moral responsibility to other
species, stemming from supernatural entities (God, Buddha, Allah, Dreamtime beings
etc.). Instrumental grounds see current and future generations of humans as reliant upon
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the natural world for their needs (e.g. food, medicine & clothing). Without these species,
humans may suffer extinction. More recently some commentators have argued that
humans have a kinship with non-human species, as fellow animals and ‘ecological
citizens’, and are thus morally obliged to care for other species. In short, ecological
justice seeks to reposition humans’ relationship with nature and to establish moral
obligations to non-human entities.
Key thinkers
There are too many key thinkers in this field to discuss in detail here. Some key
contributions are outlined below, but others also merit attention (e.g. J. Baird Callicott,
Tom Regan, Ted Benton & James Lovelock).
Peter Singer – animal rights
Perhaps best known for his book Animal Liberation, Singer argues for extending the
notion of rights to animals, with some limits. He argues that many animals can feel pain,
manipulate the world around them, have cultural expression and develop deep familial
bonds, thus making them worthy of ethical consideration. But Singer dismisses the notion
of sentience (intelligence) as a test for moral considerability, arguing that very young
humans or mentally disabled individuals may have lower intelligence levels than many
mammals.
Christopher Stone – do trees have standing?
Stone sought to challenge longstanding notions of legal inclusivity, expanding the
community of legal right to include trees and inanimate objects. He proposed a system of
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legal rights for nature. Tried in law courts in the United States, his propositions failed the
test of jurisprudence, but paved the way for legal recognitions of non-human species.
Roderick Nash & Luc Ferry – rights of nature
Nash traced the foundations of ‘natural rights’, exploring the philosophical and religious
foundations of Western humanism. Together with philosophers like Luc Ferry, Nash has
researched how the Cartesian divide between humans and animals developed (i.e. a
worldview that separates nature from culture), and how various religious and
philosophical traditions have allowed for the development of ecological ethics (e.g. the
animal trials of the Middle Ages). Ferry and Nash have challenged some ideas within the
deep ecology movement as being potentially fascist (e.g. what is natural, and place-based
ecological connections that determine who and what belongs where).
Arne Næss – deep ecology
Moving beyond Singer, Arne Næss has proposed a doctrine of equal rights of nature,
espousing that all living entities are inherently valuable. Deep ecology proponents hold
nature to be sacrosanct and seek to protect ‘pristine nature’ from human induced harm by
cultivating ethical, spiritual and emotional identification with nature. But the ecocentric
ethics of deep ecologists have been criticised - for rendering the idea of rights
meaningless, for not paying enough attention to social inequalities, for essentialising
nature (ignoring inherent differences between humans and non-human life forms) and for
risking social-Darwinism (i.e. naturalising famine or legitimising paternalism).
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Val Plumwood - Ecofeminism
The late Val Plumwood strove to develop a feminist basis for ecological justice. She and
other ecofeminists have sought to understand and undo structures of domination and
oppression (e.g. such as class, patriarchy, racism and speciesism) within the broader goal
of theorising how humans relate to nature, and how in turn these relationships shape
various power relations. They particularly challenge the association of women and nature
- and women’s supposedly closer affinity to nature defined by their ‘natural’ reproductive
capacities. This thinking they term ‘mutual inferiorization’. The ecofeminist project is
framed around the liberation of the other (including both women and nature) from
masculine, rationalist oppression.
Geographers’ contributions
Within geography, ecological justice proponents include ecosocialists, ecofeminists,
human ecologists and animal geographers. Two areas merit closer attention – animal
geography and political ecology.
Animal geographies
Geographers like Jennifer Wolch have over the past decade radically redefined the field
of human geography to encompass the study of animals and non-human nature. Sarah
Whatmore, Jennifer Wolch and Bruce Braun - among others - have sought to create a
‘more-than-human’ geography, studying for instance how humans are already
‘hybridised’ with nature (e.g. cities are socio-natural entities), how human-animal
relations have shaped spaces and places (e.g. how ideologically charged animal
representations are used to construct ethno-racial identities), and how linkages between
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ideas about animals and racism, sexism, colonialism and nationalism have configured
cultural practices and power relations. Animal geography has oftentimes entailed
reconceptualising animals as what Sarah Whatmore has called ‘strange people’, showing
how animals possess agency and subjectivity and are worthy of moral consideration and
ethical treatment.
Political ecology
Recognising the interconnections between environmental degradation and socio-
economic exploitation, political ecologists have shown how the workings of capitalism
(re)produce large-scale human and animal suffering and environmental harm. The
political ecology perspective has cast light on: how nature is distributed within cities;
how cities function as metabolic entities and as habitats for myriad species; how
capitalism ‘produces’ nature – differentially shaping access to nature and determining
who and what lives and dies; and how habitat destruction is linked with consumptive
lifestyles (e.g. lawn chemicals and groundwater pollution). Understanding political and
economic processes and institutions reveals impediments to the flourishing of humans
and non-human nature.
Animal geographers and political ecologists have not only broadened our understanding
of nature society relations, they have sketched out research agendas that place ecological
justice as a subject of inquiry and goal of action-oriented research.
Dr Jason Byrne
School of Environment
Griffith University, Australia
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Further reading
Baxter, B. (2005). A Theory of Ecological Justice. London: Routledge.
Benton, T. (2008) Environmental values and human purposes. Environmental Ethics, 17,
202-220.
Braun, B. (2005). Environmental issues: writing a more-than-human urban geography.
Progress in Human Geography, 29, 635-650.
Castree, N. (2003). Commodifying what nature? Progress in Human Geography, 27,
273-297.
Foster, J.B. (2002). Ecology Against Capitalism. New York: Monthly Review Press.
Low, N. and Gleeson, B. (1998). Justice, Society and Nature: An Exploration of Political
Ecology. London, Routledge.
Nash, R.F. (1989). The Rights of Nature: A History of Environmental Ethics. Madison,
WI: The University of Wisconsin Press.
Plumwood, V. (1993). Feminism and the Mastery of Nature. London: Routledge.
Robbins, P., Polderman, A. and Birkenholtz, T. (2001). Lawns and toxins: An ecology of
the city. Cities, 18, 369-380.
Wolch, J. (2002). Anima urbis. Progress in Human Geography, 26, 721-742.
Wolch, J. (2007). Green urban worlds. Annals of the Association of American
Geographers, 97, 373-384.
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Cross references
Animal Geographies
Biodiversity
Class and Nature
Colonialism
Conservation
Critical Studies of Nature
Deep Ecology Movement
Ecofeminism
Ecosystems
Environmental History
Environmental Impact of Cities
Environmental Justice
Environmental Rights
Ethics, Geography and
Feminist Political Ecology
Gender and Nature
Nature
Political Ecology
Race and Nature
Urban Ecology
