Taking seriously diverse orientations to nature
Environmental Justice as Recognitional Justice
‘Uniformity is not nature’s way; diversity is nature’s way.’
— Vandana Shiva
People from diverse backgrounds and cultures experience and value nature differently. Ensuring that inclusion in environmental decision-making respects these differences is not only vital for genuine fairness, but will also enrich and improve the quality of the decision-making itself. Political philosophers call this requirement ‘recognitional justice’. It asks that environmental decision-making reflect the experiences and values of people with diverse identities. On this approach, environmental justice is recognitional justice.
‘For centuries, indigenous peoples have protected the environment, which provides them food, medicine and so much more. Now it’s time to protect their unique traditional knowledge that can bring concrete solutions to implement sustainable development goals and fight climate change.’
— Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, President of the Association for Indigenous Women and Peoples of Chad (AFPAT).
Examples in action
Black Girls Hike
Founded by Rhiane Fatinikun MBE in 2019, Black Girls Hike creates safe spaces for black women to reconnect with nature and challenges the lack of representation in the natural environment and activities dominated by whiteness.
Sensory Trust
Creative Spaces is the Sensory Trust’s flagship dementia project, bringing together people with dementia and their carers throughout Cornwall and putting choice and ownership back into their lives, and in this way, supporting better living and independence in people’s own communities.
Kew Gardens – Celebrating Queer Nature
Plants and fungi present complex possibilities and infinite diversity in nature for us to discover, symbolising queerness and LGBTQ+ groups throughout history.
Teasel Cooperative
Teasel addresses systems of oppression and exclusion faced by queer and trans people and reclaims landwork as carework by reconnecting with land, growing food from soil, and fostering ecological communities.
‘We know that climate change is a global issue, but not everyone suffers from the impact equally. People of colour are hardest hit with many ethnic minority groups more likely to live in areas exposed to dangerous air pollution or have inadequate access to green spaces. The stories we tell of climate change need to reflect the realities facing these groups and amplify unheard voices.’
— Judy Ling Wong, Honorary President at Black Environment Network
Further Reading
‘We’re not saying that climate change affects only Black people. However, it is communities in the Global South that bear the brunt of the consequences of climate change, whether physical – floods, desertification, increased water scarcity and tornadoes – or political: conflict and racist borders.’
— Alexandra Wanjiku Kelbert, Black Lives Matter UK & Wretched of the Earth
‘Today, only 1.7% of climate funding worldwide goes to support smallholder farmers in developing countries who are on the front lines of the climate crisis. This is not fair. Smallholder farmers produce one-third of the world’s food and Wangari has already explained how hard that job has become.’
— Wawa Gatheru, founder of Black Girl Environmentalist