This paper outlines the main differences between ecocentric and anthropocentric positions in regard to justice, exploring university students’ perceptions of the concepts of social and ecological justice and reflecting on how values assigned to humans and the environment are balanced and contested. Putting justice for people before the environment is based on evidence that biological conservation can disadvantage local communities; the idea that the very notion of justice is framed by humans and therefore remains a human issue; and the assumption that humans have a higher value than other species. Putting justice for the environment first assumes that only an ecocentric ethic guarantees protection of all species, including humans, and therefore ecological justice already guarantees social justice. This research shows that many students emphasize the convergence of social and ecological justice where human and environmental interests correspond. While not wishing to diminish the underlying assumptions of either ethical orientation, the common “enemy” of both vulnerable communities and nonhuman nature, as identified by students, is an ideology of economic growth and industrial development. http://dx.doi.org/10.13135/2384-8677/2688 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/helenkopnina/
MULTIFILE
As many in society work towards global sustainability, we live at a time when efforts to conserve biodiversity and geodiversity, and combat climate change, take place simultaneously with land grabs by large corporations, food insecurity, and human displacement through an ecological breakdown. Many of us seek to reconcile more-than-human nature and human nature and to balance intrinsic value and the current human expansion phase. These and other challenges will fundamentally alter the way people, depending on their worldview and ethics, relate to communities and the environment. While environmental problems cannot be seen as purely ecological because they always involve people, who bring to the environmental table their different assumptions about nature and culture, so are social problems connected to environmental constraints. Similarly, social problems are fundamentally connected to environmental constraints and ecological health. While nonhumans cannot bring anything to this negotiating table, the distinct perspective of this book is that there is a need to consider the role of nonhumans as equally important stakeholders – albeit without a voice. This book develops an argument that human-environmental relationships are set within ecological reality and ecological ethics. Rather than being mutually constitutive processes, humans have obligate dependence on nature, not vice versa. We argue that over-arching ecological ethics is necessary to underpin conservation in the long-term. This requires a holistic ‘justice’, where both social justice (for humans) and ecological justice (for nature) are entwined. However, given the escalating environmental crisis and major extinction event we face, and given that social justice has been dominant for centuries, we believe that in many cases ecojustice will need to be prioritized. This will depend on the situation, but we feel that under ecological ethics, holistic ethics cannot always allow social justice to dominate, hence there is an urgent need to prioritize ecojustice today. Accordingly, this book will deal with questions of both social and ecological justice, putting forth the idea that justice for both humans and nonhumans and their habitats can only be achieved simultaneously. This book will explore the following questions: What is the relationship between social and ecological justice? How might we integrate social and ecological justice? What are the major barriers to achieving this simultaneous justice? How can these barriers be overcome? What are the major debates in conservation relevant to this? doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-13905-6 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/helenkopnina/
MULTIFILE
In this article we focus upon a division between generalized schools of philosophical and ethical thought about culture and conservation. There is an ongoing debate playing out over conservation between those who believe conservation threatens community livelihoods and traditional practices, and those who believe conservation is essential to protect nonhuman species from the impact of human development and population growth. We argue for reconciliation between these schools of thought and a cooperative push toward the cultivation of an environmentally-focused perspective that embraces not only social and economic justice but also concern for non-human species. Our goal is to underline the ethics and tangible benefits that may result from combining the cultural data and knowledge of the social sciences with understanding of environmental science and conservation. We highlight instances in which social scientists overlook their own anthropocentric bias in relationship to ecological justice, or justice for all species, in favor of exclusive social justice among people. We focus on the polemical stances of this debate in order to emphasize the importance of a middle road of cooperation that acknowledges the rights of human and nonhuman species, alike. In conclusion, we present an alternative set of ethics and research activities for social scientists concerned with conservation and offer ideas on how to reconcile the conflicting interests of people and the environment. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2015.01.030 https://www.linkedin.com/in/helenkopnina/
MULTIFILE
KLM published a climate plan (2023), which describes how the airline wants to reach its science-base targets for carbon intensity as developed by SBTi. The research question is "how does the KLM climate plan realistically relate to the emission reduction targets of a general 1.5°C climate scenario, Dutch policy, principles of climate justice, and legal climate obligations?" It is important that airline climate plans lead to a societal just reduction of emissions. The research is a first to apply principles of 'climate justice' to an airline. It will provide insights and facts for the societal and political discussions about sustainable aviation development.
The project ‘Towards resilient leisure, tourism and hospitality (LTH) ecosystems in Europe’ addresses the critical problem of unsustainable practices in the tourism and travel industry. The LTH industry is ‘back on track’ after recovering from the global Covid-19 crisis. Destinations show increased numbers of international arrivals and rapid growth of tourism-related revenues. It is foreseen that cities like Amsterdam, but also vulnerable natural areas, will receive record numbers of visitors in the coming decade. The dominant economic model operating within the industry nonetheless prioritizes short-term gains, resulting in extreme exploitation of resources, labour, and local communities, evidenced by negative impacts in European destinations like Venice and the Canary Islands. The project aims to shift the industry’s focus to long-term sustainability, addressing systemic constraints and facilitating a transition that aligns with European priorities for a sustainable and just future. It builds vital connections between regional, national, and European research priorities by addressing and advocating for climate and social justice. Regionally, it investigates best practices across diverse tourism environments in Finland, Spain, Sweden, the UK, Scotland, and The Netherlands. Nationally, it challenges the status quo by proposing alternative governance frameworks that individual countries could adopt to encourage sustainable tourism practices. On a European scale, the project aligns with EU goals of climate action and sustainable development, supporting objectives of the European Green Deal and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It aims to build solid theoretical foundations necessary for a transition towards more resilient and environmentally and socially inclusive LTH ecosystems. Through integrating insights from multiple regions, the project transcends local boundaries and offers scalable solutions that can influence policy and industry standards at both national and European levels. The project's transdisciplinary nature ensures that proposed solutions are grounded in diverse eco-socioeconomic contexts, making them robust and adaptable.
