Environmental Harm: An Eco-justice Perspective

215 Pages·2013·1.871 MB·English

by  Rob White

STUDIES IN SOCIAL HARM
ENVIRONMENTAL HARM
An eco-justice perspective
ROB WHITE
EnvironmEntal Harm
An eco-justice perspective
Rob White
First published in Great Britain in 2013 by
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ISBN 978 1 44730 040 3 hardcover
The right of Rob White to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by
him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
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Cover design by Policy Press
Front cover: image kindly supplied by www.alamy.com
Printed and bound in Great Britain by CPI Group
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Contents
List of tables, figures and boxes v
About the author vii
Acknowledgements ix
introduction 1
Environmental harm and social harm approaches 1
Green criminology and environmental harm 4
An eco-justice perspective 6
Conflicting views and moral dilemmas 7
one Justice-based approaches to environmental harm 11
Introduction 11
Components of an eco-justice perspective 11
Contentious concepts 16
Key questions about harm 27
The moral calculus: weighing up the harm 36
Conclusion 39
two Environmental justice and harm to humans 43
Introduction 43
Contentious concepts: environmental justice 44
Social patterns of harm and risk 51
Harm, place and the local 60
Transborder conflicts over land 68
Conclusion: measuring the value of human life 73
three Conservation, ecological justice and harm to nature 75
Introduction 75
Contentious concepts: ecological justice 76
Transforming nature 83
Land, property and the global commons 94
Conservationism and social division 100
Conclusion: measuring the value of nature 107
four Species justice and harm to animals 111
Introduction 111
Contentious concepts: species justice 112
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Environmental harm
Categorising animals 117
Crime, criminology and animals 124
Animals, particular species and individuals 131
Conclusion: measuring the value of animals 143
five toward eco-justice for all 145
Introduction 145
Contentious concepts: eco-justice 147
Nature, species and culture 156
Socio-economic context of environmental harm 160
Eco-justice in practice 164
Conclusion: where to from here? 173
References 177
Index 197
iv
list of tables, figures and boxes
tables
1.1 Scale 35
4.1 Fishing and related harmful activities 123
Figure
1.1 Contextual model for weighing up harm 37
Boxes
1.1 An eco-justice perspective: three approaches to justice, 14
rights and harms
1.2 Conceptual framework for environmental horizon scanning 31
1.3 Value 35
1.4 Measuring harm 35
2.1 Features of different types of spaces 65
4.1 Animal categories 117
4.2 Motivations to engage in poaching 129
5.1 Notions of justice 164
v

about the author
Rob White is Professor of Criminology in the School of Social Sciences
at the University of Tasmania, Australia. He has published extensively in
the areas of criminology and youth studies. Recent publications include
Transnational environmental crime (Routledge, 2011); Climate change
from a criminological perspective (Springer, 2012); and Youth gangs, violence
and social respect (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013). He has special interest
in environmental forensic studies as this pertains to contaminated
communities, the dynamics of environmental law enforcement and
adjudication processes at domestic and international levels, and climate
change and social conflict.
vii

acknowledgements
This book is the culmination of years of research and scholarship
involving much thinking about and mulling over of many different
ideas and conundrums. I am thankful for the assistance of Chris Baker
who in the early phases compiled background materials from which a
number of illustrations and examples for this book were drawn. Many
thanks go as well to Avi Brisman for his insightful comments and
queries as the manuscript began to take shape. Throughout the project,
Di Heckenberg provided intellectual contributions and editorial
suggestions of the highest order. Indeed, Di’s constructive criticism and
detailed feedback played a major role in helping to clarify key concepts
and arguments, and for this I am especially grateful. Finally, I wish to
acknowledge the ongoing support and encouragement of Alison Shaw
from Policy Press over the life course of this book.
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