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Environmental Destruction: The Oppressive Effects of War, Pollution, Capital and Climate Change

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Wednesday 14 December 2022

 

Outline:

 

This Online Workshop consists of two sessions of three/four speakers.  Talks/presentations will last for 15 minutes (maximum) only. 

 

After the first four speakers in session one has finished, the attendees/audience will be put in breakout rooms for 20 minutes to discuss what they have heard and formulate questions.  On return, there will be a 20-minute Q&A session.

 

A ten-minute break will follow.

 

Session two, will take the same format.  Assuming that there are eight speakers in total, and if the workshop starts at 12.00 (GMT), then it will finish around 15.50 (GMT).

 

Agenda:

 

12-12.10 (GMT) Brief Introduction.

12.10-13.10 Four fifteen-minute presentations.

13.10-13.30 Breakout sessions

13.30-13.50 Q&A

13-50-14.00 Break

14.00-15.00 Four fifteen-minute presentations.

15.00-15.20 Breakout session

15.20-15.40 Q&A

15.40-15.50 Closing remarks​

 

Presentations in this event could lead to publication in either our journals (please click here) or books (click here).  It could also secure a place at our World Convention in Finland 2023 (see CfPs here).

 

Topics and Format:

 

Oral sessions will be conducted online (in person or possibly by a pre-recorded video given global time differences) and be based on the workshop title in accordance with the intersectional nature of (In)Justice International’s investigations and the preferences of the presenter.  For example, forced migrants can be disabled and Indigenous or could be LGBTIQ+ individuals/groups facing discrimination and persecution during and after war.  How have different groups, who have long faced discrimination, stigmatisation and persecution, been treated and how can recompense be facilitated?  Economic strife - whether it be caused by environmental destruction, conflicts or its widespread consequences, COVID-19 and/or increased costs in natural resources or 'stagflation' - is relevant in that war can either cause or exacerbate divisive economic forces impacting upon these aforementioned individuals.

 

These are but a few examples of the diverse approaches that we would like to see.

 

Session 1 Presentations:

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12.10 GMT P.P. Balan, Consultant, Ministry of Panchayt Raj, Government of India, India

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Local Governments and Climate Change

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Local Governments in India are playing a prominent role to tackle many of the causes and effects of climate change. Being closer to the people, local governments have the opportunities to catalyse and sustain the behavioural change at individual and community levels necessary for building a more resilient community. Given their proximity to the community local governments have the advantage of responding faster and more effectively to local climate events than institutions and organisations at higher levels of the governance structures. Generally, it is observed that climate change can only be addressed at higher level through national or international policy making and large scale financial investments in implementation and enforcement. While global commitment and co-operation are paramount, sustained local actions initiated and coordinated by local governments are

necessary for successfully addressing climate issues.

 

In India, many of the local governments have come forward with action plans to protect the communities from the threat of climate change. The case of one rural local body needs special mention as it stands ahead in its myriad activities and has become a role model for others to emulate. It is the Meenamgadi Gram Panchayat of Kerala with its focused attention on Carbon Neutral. This rural local government followed an integrated systematic approach considering local risks, vulnerabilities and there by securing maximum benefits for the local community. Of course, Meenamgadi’s success story is replicated all over India where there are three million local governments joining hands to create a resilient community.

 

As financial support is meagre from the national government, local governments go for no cost to low-cost activities, and they are not in a position to undertake bigger projects which involves financial commitment. At the national level there is dearth of funds. No doubt developing countries require “substantive enhancement” in climate finance beyond the floor commitment of $100 billion a year to meet their ambitious goals and rich countries need to lead the mobilisation of resources, India has trust at the ongoing UN climate submit COP-27 in Egypt.

 

Rich countries, however, have failed to deliver this finance. Developing countries, including India, are pushing with pace to agree to new global climate finance target; also known as the collective quantified goal on climate finance (NCQG) – which they say should be in trillions of dollars given that the cost of addressing and adapting to climate change have grown substantially. Indeed, India has clearly stated that to meet climate action the national determined contribution (NDC) requires financial, technological and capacity building support from the developed countries.

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12.25 GMT Laura Bannister, Campaign Director of World Basic Income, UK

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Surviving climate change on a very low income: Economic justice for the MAPA

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Although climate change is ‘the biggest threat that modern humans have ever faced,’ we are not all in it together. If you are among the half of the world’s people that have a very low income you are likely to suffer far more than the rest. Your livelihood, especially if it comes from farming, is likely to be much more precarious and sensitive to climate shocks. Your housing is likely to be less resilient to extreme heat, hurricanes and flooding. Your migration options, thanks to a hostile international border regime, are likely to be hazardous and limited. 

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Despite these challenges, and growing climate justice demands from Black and Indigenous climate movements, economic justice and income security are rarely considered in mainstream climate policy. This session examines why these crucial issues are so often left out and explores the potential of a new big idea - a global carbon cap and dividend - to plug the gap.

 

12.40 GMT  Dr Manuela Mendes, Instituto Universitário de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal

 

Populisms and Anti-Gypsyism in Portugal and in Europe

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In a deepening context of globalisation, extremisms and radicalisation are unconquerable in times of uncertainty and gloom. The emergence of anti-Gypsyism narratives is a regularity. The emergence of more direct populisms in central and Eastern Europe, which is accompanied by the construction of narratives of disqualification of the ‘Other’, essentialisation and demonisation of ‘Ciganos’ perceived as a threat and as a scapegoat. The anti-Gypsyism which is historically rooted in our societies is a specific form of racism, an ideology founded on racial superiority, a form of dehumanisation and institutional racism which is expressed, for example, by violence, hate speech, exploitation, stigmatisation.
 

Recently, in the case of the Portuguese or the appearance of the Chega party, the focus was on immigrants and/or refugees, but the ‘Ciganos/Roma’ as an exciting issue gained sympathy in territories and among voters who are normally on the left. It is interesting to explore the narrative of this party and others in the European context against the ‘Ciganos’ and reflect on the strategies of resistance and empowerment of the ‘Ciganos’ against these parties and movements that disqualify them and subtract from their humanity.

12.55 GMT Dr Anita Singh, Dr Theresia B. Sumarno and Prof. Peter Strachan, Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, Scotland

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Fuel Poverty in the UK: Causes, Policy Implications, and the Next Steps

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National Energy Action has estimated that 6.7 million UK households will be entrenched in fuel poverty by this winter (NEA 2022). Rising fuel prices, low household incomes and energy inefficient housing stock have been implicated as the generic causes of fuel poverty. Government policies mostly target income-based measures like Winter Fuel payment, price policies like rebate to low-income vulnerable households or energy efficiency grants (Mattioli, Lucas and Marsden 2018; Charlier and Legendre 2019). A substantial body of literature indicates that current policies are either palliative steps or curative measures devised to address the issue ex ante (Charlier, Legendre and Risch 2019). This study aims to identify the main causes of fuel poverty and critically analyse the impact of policy measures taken by the UK government, with a view to provide alternative approaches to combat the crisis. Most of the existing literature focuses on the association of fuel poverty with a limited number of parameters and lack a robust multi variate analysis

 

Fuel poverty has been measured in terms of threshold of affordability, expenditure ratio or Hill’s Low income high-cost unit. This study takes a two-pronged approach to the problem. Using a multilevel regression modelling, the research attempts to: (i) evaluate the main causes of fuel poverty within the UK drawing parameters from various definitions; and (ii) analyse the impact of government policy on the fuel poverty. A series of fuel poverty determinants have been drawn from the literature to construct the cause and impact functions. A panel data of 10 years (2010-2020) has been collated from a variety of published databases to arrive at the most significant causal link. The paper then moves on to an interrogation of the most recent policy measures and its relevance based on the results obtained by the longitudinal data analysis.

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The main contribution of this work consists of a wholistic overview of the cause and effects of fuel poverty in the UK, to optimise the government policies. The analysis would help in prioritising the investments made by the government towards different policy measures, to achieve a sustainable solution to the ongoing fuel poverty crisis.

 

Session 2 Presentations:​

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14.00 GMT Tetiana Lukeria, Research and Policy Analyst at the Agency for Legislative Initiatives, ISA & Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, Ukraine

 

Challenges of Ukraine's Communities in the Conditions of War: Analysis of Practices at the Local

Level

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The decentralisation reform, which began to be implemented in Ukraine in 2014 with the adoption of the Concept of Local Self-Government Reform at the legislative level, is one of the forms of democratic governance. After local elections in 2020, as of today, there are 1,469 communities in Ukraine, formed by merging villages, towns, and cities. With the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion to Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Ukrainian communities faced new challenges. The research, which was conducted during September-October 2022 among heads of Ukrainian communities, experts by the semi-structured in-depth interview method, made it possible to outline the following aspects:

1) The management structure of the regions has changed
2) The horizontal management line has strengthened
3) International cooperation has strengthened
4) Creation and staffing of resistance forces in communities
5) Prompt creation of volunteer headquarters.
6) Provision of necessary services to internally displaced persons

Challenges related to the war necessitated a rethinking of regional policy. Measures to change regional policy are carried out both at the national and local levels. The issue of functional typology of territories has been settled at the legislative level. With  the amendments to the Law of Ukraine 'On the Basics of State Regional Policy', 4 types of territories have been allocated, according to which the restoration of de-occupied territories will take place: areas of recovery, areas with special conditions for development, areas of sustainable development, poles of economic growth. Measures are also being taken at the national level to help internally displaced persons. In particular, the legislation on cash payments for internally displaced persons has been amended several times, balancing their needs and the state budget. At the local level, the necessary measures are also carried out, which relate to the following aspects: provision of housing, humanitarian, psychological
assistance, employment.
 

It was thanks to the synergy of efforts that it was possible to repulse the Russian invasion in the first days of a full-scale occupation. Today, the issues of return of temporarily occupied territories, restoration of Ukrainian statehood in de-occupied territories, return of Ukrainians who were forcibly left abroad, and ensuring the viability of communities remain relevant for Ukrainian society. The economic component, the influx of investors and external resources, the employment of the population, the availability of the necessary infrastructure, and the functioning of business also depend on this.

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14.15 GMT Matthew Robertson, Intergovernmental Relations Lead with the Métis Nation of Ontario, Toronto, Canada

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From Reconciliation to ‘Idle No More’: ‘Articulation’ and Indigenous Struggle in Canada

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This presentation focuses upon oppression in relation to the long-lasting subjugation of the Indigenous peoples of Canada which, in itself, is the product of historic and ongoing colonialism. In that context, it explores the following research question: How do different discourses lead to changes in understandings of the world, identity, meaning and practice in Indigenous politics in Canada? This article introduces the poststructuralist theory of Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe to Canadian Indigenous studies and demonstrates that it is a unique and effective theory for understanding this question. It finds that in the last few decades, two principal discourses regarding Indigenous peoples and colonialism have circulated in the Canadian body politic—namely, (1) “reconciliation” and (2) “Idle No More.” These discourses shape the identities of both Indigenous peoples and settlers, construct understandings of the world, and determine the meaning of related political struggle, leading to real world practice and politics. The reconciliation discourse has at times been effective at becoming a dominant discourse and has often been able to constitute the meaning of important terms such as ‘decolonisation.’ It serves to pacify Indigenous resistance to colonialism. Counter-hegemonic discourses on reconciliation such as ‘Idle No More’ have been able to challenge that discourse. Academic literature, newspaper articles, YouTube videos, podcasts developed by Indigenous scholars, public letters and speeches delivered by Canadian politicians are analysed to examine the utterances and enunciations of the two discourses.

 

14.30 GMT Prof. Muhammad Hamid Zaman, Tahera Hasan and Janki Bhatt, Boston University & Imkan Welfare Association, USA

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Invisible People, Visible Barriers: Healthcare Access for and among Ethnic Bengalis in Pakistan

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Despite being in a state of statelessness for fifty years, research on ethnic Bengali population in Pakistan remains scarce. A strong state narrative on national security, and reluctance to critically analyse the 1971 war and creation of Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan) has made the discussion of social and economic challenges facing the ethnic Bengali community a taboo subject. As a result, there is limited understanding of health challenges facing the community. The global COVID-19 pandemic, and its manifestation in Pakistan in terms of access and equity to testing and treatment, underscores the need to understand healthcare access among the ethnic Bengali population. This is the most recent instance of a national policy where there is restricted healthcare access among those who are not considered citizens. However, it is also important to understand barriers to healthcare faced by the ethnic Bengalis in a broader historical context of the evolution of a national ID and registration system, in particular the ID cards issued by the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA). This article focuses on the residents of Machar Colony – an informal coastal settlement in Karachi, and a home to nearly three quarters of a million ethnic Bengalis, many of whom have lived in the community for decades. Private hospitals remain prohibitively expensive, and the absence of a NADRA issued computerised national ID card (CNIC) results in exclusion from public hospitals. There is also a palpable sense of anxiety among the community due to police persecution and xenophobia seen at hospitals. We study the argument by the state that those who are denied citizenship, are in fact people who are unable to substantiate their claim of citizenship.

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In terms of healthcare, we find that the changing landscape has resulted in the ethnic Bengali population relying on informal (and unauthorised) medical practises, utilising personal contacts and organic social networks to access life-saving care, and depending on personal loans from other members of the community to pay for treatment. With international agencies (particularly large international aid organisations) largely absent from the colony, and from the discourse on statelessness in general, both awareness and support for the stateless community remains negligible. Our study also finds that despite multiple domestic and international media outlets highlighting the need for an equitable vaccination campaign in the last year, the state’s narrative, willingness, and approach has not changed. Vaccination was finally made available in February 2021, yet with few centres that would cater to the Bengali population, it remained out of reach for most. Finally, we note that a broader issue of access to healthcare remains entangled with ethnic Bengalis being viewed as outsiders, non-native or worse, as allies of the foe that resulted in the dismemberment of the country in 1971.

14.45 Dr Sara L. Ochs, University of Louisville, USA

 

Truth & Justice for Indigenous Communities

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The past decade has brought global efforts by colonial and settler states to provide healing and justice for past and ongoing harms against indigenous communities. These attempts are most commonly embodied through the creation of truth and reconciliation commissions, which seek to establish a reliable historical record of harm; promote reconciliation; and foster healing by providing harmed parties the opportunities to share their stories and—in some cases—to confront their perpetrators. These truth commissions provide indigenous communities with access to justice, albeit not the form of “traditional justice” that most Western societies recognise. Instead, this form of more comprehensive, transitional justice, aims to help indigenous communities heal and move forward from generations of human rights violations.

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My proposed presentation will examine the use of such truth and reconciliation commissions both within Scandinavia (including in Finland, Sweden, and Norway), and globally (such as in the United States, Canada, and Australia). While the presentation will analyse the benefits such truth commissions make bring to indigenous communities, it will also look at some problematic issues in regard to these commissions. For instance, while indigenous communities have played a large role in bringing these truth and reconciliation commissions to fruition, in many countries such as the United States, such commissions are only created once attention and support is brought to the cause by the majority White populations. For example, while Native Americans have been calling for years for the creation of a truth and reconciliation commission to address the U.S. Government’s past use of boarding schools for Native Americans as a means of forced assimilation, such efforts have stalled in Congress, largely because of a lack of national attention brought to the issue. My presentation will explore these issues and posit potential solutions.

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This presentation will build on my past research on transitional justice and truth commissions for indigenous communities (as detailed in my attached CV), as well my work as a U.S. Fulbright Scholar at the University of Gothenburg School of Global Studies during the 2022-2023 academic year.

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Audience:

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We would like to see attendance to this workshop open to academics at any stage of their career, students at all levels and reporters, barristers and people with ‘lived’ experience of such atrocities. We would like attendees to actively participate in the Workshop breakout sessions wherever possible. When taken with the actual presentations, this would not only enhance the learning process but also contribute to the success of the event. Unfortunately, proceedings will only be conducted in English although some help may be available.

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Time Differentials:

 

To mitigate for the different time zones, successful Canadian presenters, for example, will be placed in the second session starting at 14.00 (GMT), whereas successful Australian presenters will be placed in the first session starting at 12.10 (GMT).  Successful European presenters will be placed in either of the two sessions.  Attendees, however, are invited to attend just one full session or both as they see fit to prevent a disruptive atmosphere during the workshop.

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Registration to Attend:

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Attendance is free.  To register, please click here.

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Up-to-date information can also be found on our iscmail discussion list, I-J-INTL.  To subscribe for free click here

 

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