Big picture: Environmental justice is the principle that all people should have equal access to a healthy environment, regardless of race, income, or nationality.
- Environmental justice
- The fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people in environmental decision-making, regardless of race, colour, national origin, or income.
- Environmental racism
- The disproportionate placement of environmental hazards (e.g., waste facilities, polluting industries) in communities of colour or low-income areas.
- Climate justice
- Recognising that climate change disproportionately affects the poorest and most vulnerable populations who contributed least to the problem.
Examples of environmental injustice
- Flint, Michigan — lead-contaminated water disproportionately affected a predominantly Black community
- Pacific Island nations — facing rising sea levels despite minimal contribution to global emissions
- Amazon deforestation — displaces indigenous communities for cattle ranching and soybean farming
- Fast fashion waste — exported to developing nations for disposal
Key concept: Indigenous peoples manage approximately 25% of the world's land surface, which contains about 80% of remaining biodiversity. Their traditional ecological knowledge is crucial for conservation.
Value of traditional ecological knowledge
- Generations of observation and adaptation to local ecosystems
- Sustainable harvesting practices refined over centuries
- Understanding of species interactions and ecological cycles
- Fire management techniques (e.g., Aboriginal fire-stick farming)
- Medicinal knowledge of plants and natural remedies
Threats to indigenous land management
- Land dispossession and displacement
- Green colonialism — conservation projects that exclude indigenous communities
- Biopiracy — exploitation of traditional knowledge without consent or benefit-sharing
- Loss of cultural transmission as youth urbanise
- Climate change altering traditional ecosystems and practices
IB exam tip: Always connect indigenous rights to conservation outcomes — research shows indigenous-managed lands often have better biodiversity outcomes than government-protected areas.
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- Green colonialism
- When conservation efforts replicate colonial patterns by displacing indigenous peoples from their lands to create protected areas.
- Fortress conservation
- A model that excludes local communities from protected areas, treating human presence as incompatible with conservation.
- Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC)
- The right of indigenous peoples to give or withhold consent to projects that affect their lands, territories, or resources.
Moving toward just conservation
- Community-based conservation — involving local people as stewards
- Co-management — shared governance between indigenous communities and governments
- Benefit-sharing — ensuring communities benefit from conservation activities
- FPIC in all conservation planning
- Recognising indigenous land rights in law
Emerging justice issues
- Loss and damage finance for climate-vulnerable nations
- Just transition for workers in fossil fuel industries
- Intergenerational equity in climate policy
Key concept: The 30x30 initiative (protecting 30% of land and oceans by 2030) must be implemented with indigenous rights and justice principles at its centre to avoid repeating the mistakes of fortress conservation.
IB exam tip: In evaluate questions, connect environmental justice to climate finance, equity between nations, and intergenerational responsibility. High-level responses show how conservation, economics, and ethics intersect.