97 research outputs found
Distributive Justice at the Global, National, and Temporal Scales
No full textJustice is an underlying principle and an important lens in understanding sustainable development goals (SDG). There is a need for analysis and clarification on the underlying principles of justice embedded in the SDGs. Goals such as no poverty (goal 1), zero hunger (goal 2), health and well-being (goal 3), gender equality (goal 5), affordable energy (goal 7), reduced inequalities (goal 10) as well as climate action (goal 13) aim for a fair distribution of resources, risks, and benefits for all. There is one specific SDG goal which explicitly mentions “justice” and that is stated in goal 16 in the context of peace and ensuring access to justice for all in effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions at all levels. In achieving these goals, distributive justice is a central element and can guide the political translation of SDG goals and targets in concrete strategies and policies (Oliveira 2018)
Book Review: Paul Raskin, Journey to Earthland:The Great Transition to Planetary Civilization
No full textPrivatised hydropower development in Turkey : a case of water grabbing?
No full textThis paper investigates how river privatisation in Turkey is deployed to expand renewable energy production and the implications this has for issues of ownership, rights to water and community life. Recent neoliberal reforms in Turkey have enabled the private sector to lease the rights to rivers for 49 years for the sole purpose of electricity production. The paper focuses on the re-scaling and reallocation of control over rivers through technical-legal redefinition of productive use, access and rights; and on discursive practices that marginalise rural communities and undermine alternative framings of nature. In order to actuate hydropower projects, what previously constituted legitimate water use and access is being contested and redefined. This process involves redefining what is legal (and therefore also what is illegal) such that state regulatory mechanisms favour private-sector interests by the easement of rights on property, government incentives and regulation of use rights to water. Through this lens, in some cases this particular privatisation in Turkey can be understood as an instance of 'water grabbing', where powerful actors gain control over use and increase their own benefits by diverting water and profit away from local communities living along these rivers despite their resistance. The analysis is based on empirical evidence derived from semi-structured interviews, newspapers, governmental and NGO reports, and observations during 3 months of fieldwork in Ankara and several villages in North and South Anatolia
Private Rivers : Politics of Renewable Energy and the Rise of Water Struggles in Turkey
No full textPrivate Rivers is a study of contested processes whereby use rights to water are privatised for electricity production. It engages with the issues of renewable energy solutions and the sustainability of run-of-river hydro projects in Turkey by investigating the connection between these policies and justice for rural populations, whose livelihood depends on the rivers. Since 2001, water privatisation in Turkey has moved beyond the urban setting and is, in various forms, taking place in rural areas. A recent Turkish example of this is the leasing of the rights to the use of rivers to private companies for the purpose of producing electricity for a period of 49 years. This is interpreted as ‘privatisation of the rivers,’ constituting a loss in the public use of these waters given that the rights of others (people and nature), are effectively sidelined through these private transfers. There are three main findings from this field-based and theoretically informed study. First, the privatisation of rivers in Turkey is a result of changes in environmental governance associated with neoliberalisation. In Turkey, water governance has been influenced by privatisation since the 1980s. In line with Foucault’s governmentality perspective, I show how this neoliberal era is characterised by new alliances between the state and the climate change community, and how the involvement of transnational companies implies a more diffuse, opaque form of governance. Secondly, the privatisation of rivers relies on a politics of exclusion in a number of ways. Thus, resource rights are created, negotiated, contested and ignored at various levels in the decision-making processes. It is documented that legal frameworks are regulated in such a way that land and water owned by the state and rural communities are reallocated according to market-based profit interests. The ambiguous environmental impact assessment processes, the renewable energy laws allowing construction on reserved and protected areas and urgent expropriation decisions are all illustrations of how legal rights are negotiated in ways that exclude the rights of people and nature.In consequence, most of the hydroelectricity projects in the current Turkish legal and environmental framework have generated social conflicts and have either already led to, or have the potential to cause environmental degradation. Thirdly, I show that the struggles derived from this process constitute the first nation-wide water rights movements in Turkey. Despite the social and political diversity of the locally based struggle groups, they managed to mobilize nationally around a common goal of protecting their rivers and to share their experiences with other affected communities. These struggles invoked the issue of recognition as a crucial element of justice and have raised awareness of the importance of local participation, customary rights, and effective environmental protection mechanisms
Preliminary guide regarding diverse conceptualization of multiple values of nature and its benefits, including biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services (deliverable 3 (d))
No full textPolicy options and tools for decision makers. : IPBES, Global assessment report on biodiversity and ecosystem services of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services
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Mining for Justice: Marginalized Voices and the Quest for Sustainability in the Colombian Amazon
No full textNach 60 Jahren Konflikt erlebt das kolumbianische Amazonasgebiet einen raschen Wandel, geprägt von Entwaldung durch Rohstoffindustrie, v.a. durch den Goldabbau, den Aufständische und Kriminelle ausnutzen. Marginalisierte Gruppen wie Indigene und Frauen sind besonders betroffen. Umweltbewegungen und indigene Aktivisten arbeiten an Lösungen, wobei viele indigene und afro-stämmige Gemeinschaften den Goldabbau in ihren Gebieten erhalten möchten. Diese Doktorarbeit untersucht das Potenzial des Goldabbaus aus der Sicht marginalisierter Gruppen, insbesondere People of Color, und fragt 1) nach der Bedeutung von Nachhaltigkeit im Goldabbau und seine Auswirkungen auf den Naturschutz, 2) nach nachhaltigen sozial-ökologischen Transformationen in intersektionalen Kontexten und 3) nach gerechten Zukunftsvisionen lokale Women of Color. Die Untersuchung sozial-ökologischer Transformationen erfolgte mithilfe von Umweltgerechtigkeit, Intersektionalität und Dekolonialität, unter Einsatz von Dokumentenanalysen, teilnehmender Beobachtung, halbstrukturierten Interviews und Szenarienentwicklung. Die Datenerhebung umfasste drei Forschungsreisen nach Kolumbien (März 2022 -November 2023) über insgesamt zehn Monate – sieben davon in Putumayo. Marginalisierte Gruppen wie Kleinbergleute und indigene Gemeinschaften fordern Veränderungen, die Ungleichheiten bekämpfen, aber über eine Kostenverteilung hinausgehen. Sie betonen lokale Vorstellungen von gutem Leben und stellen die Annahme infrage, dass unternehmerischer Bergbau der einzige Weg zur Nachhaltigkeit sei. Sozial-ökologische Transformationen entstehen, wenn unterdrückerische Systeme, die Ungleichheit und Umweltschäden befördern, konfrontiert werden und Verfahrensgerechtigkeit sowie Anerkennung angestrebt werden. Gemeinsam mit Frauen vor Ort untersuchte ich die emotionalen Aspekte der Transformation und ihrer Kosten anhand von drei Zukunftsvisionen.After 60 years of conflict, the Colombian Amazon faces rapid transformation. It has experienced significant deforestation due to extractive industries, particularly gold mining, which is exploited by insurgents and criminals, adversely affecting marginalized groups like Indigenous people and women. Conversely, environmental movements and Indigenous activists are working to avert the crisis, with many Indigenous and Afro-descendant groups striving to protect the critical role of gold mining in their communities. This PhD thesis explores how to ensure this transition by examining the potential of Colombian Amazon gold mining through the lens of marginalized groups, particularly people of color. I investigate 1) the meaning of sustainability in gold mining and its conservation implications, 2) sustainable social-ecological transformations amid intersectional differences, and 3) how local women of color envision equitable futures for the region. I explored social-ecological transformations through insights from environmental justice, intersectionality, and decoloniality, using document analysis, participatory observation, semi-structured interviews, and scenario-building exercises in investigative ethnography. Data collection included three trips to Colombia from March 2022 to November 2023, totaling ten months—seven in Putumayo. Marginalized groups, such as artisanal miners and Indigenous communities, demand changes that address inequity beyond cost distribution. This underscores the value of local views on good living and contests the belief that corporate mining is the sole route to sustainability. I conclude that social-ecological transformations for sustainability stem from these groups confronting oppressive systems that fuel social inequity and environmental damage, striving for procedural equity and recognition. Engaging with local women, I explored the emotional aspects of transformation and its costs through three visions of the future
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