Environmental Justice is a Human Right: Non-Harming Responses

Overview: This interactive workshop examines environmental injustice as a human rights concern that is intertwined with racism and gendered and economic oppression. Participants will explore human dependance on a healthy environment to fully enjoy the range of human rights. Non-harming responses will be explored through case studies and brainstorming.Proposal text: Environmental justice is a human rights concern intersecting with issues of equity and social and economic justice. This workshop provides an overview of the impact of climate change and ecological degradation as they interact with racism, gendered inequality, poverty/classism, and geography. A healthy and sustainable environment is a right that promotes and supports human dignity (Daly & May, 2019; “The human right,” 2021).

Participants will engage in identifying non-harming responses cutting across community, policies, and structures. Using case studies, participants will identify responses respectful of “cultural and biological diversity” (Council on Social Work Education [CSWE], 2015, p. 20). Finally, participants will be asked to identify and/or create strategies to incorporate this content into social work education.

Background/Conceptual Framework
Environmental injustice as a human rights violation was first noted in the Principles of Environmental Justice, adopted in 1991. Principle 10 states, “Environmental Justice considers governmental acts of environmental injustice a violation of international law, the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, and the United Nations Convention on Genocide” (Environmental Justice Platform, 1991, p. 1). Over the past decade, the United Nations (UN) has adopted seven resolutions recognizing the human right to a safe and clean environment, including a resolution that “recognizes the right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment as a human right that is important for the enjoyment of human rights” (Human Rights Council [HRC], 2021, p. 3). Sustainable environmental justice, development, and peace are not possible without equity and justice for all (Sloan & Schmitz, in press; Nesmith et al., 2021).

The global crisis of climate change is considered a human rights emergency (Mapp & Gabel, 2019), the greatest threat to public health (WHO, 2021), and a major contributor to the growing food crisis across the globe (Faiola, 2021; Pannett, 2021; Porter, n.d.; “Madagascar,” 2021b). Fortunately, it is known that when human destruction is mitigated, nature has the potential to heal. Indigenous and local control and leadership offer answers to the global crises of environmental degradation, food inadequacy, and biodiversity collapse through the use of non-harming strategies for agriculture, energy, and ecological/environmental justice. Community organizing by those most impacted has powerful results (Nesmith et al., 2021).

Workshop Interactive Engagement with Non-Harming Practices
In this workshop, we will explore a variety of sustainable practices that reduce environmental degradation and the impact of climate change. These include urban farming, Indigenous land practices, and reclaiming and decolonizing the water and land. We will also examine the types of structural changes needed to protect humans and all living beings. Finally, we will work with participants to identify strategies for including this content in their courses and across the social work curricula, including potential learning assignments and assessments.