Resource justice (also referred to as "resource equity" or "resource governance") is a term in

environmentalism Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology, and social movement about supporting life, habitats, and surroundings. While environmentalism focuses more on the environmental and nature-related aspects of green ideology and politics, ecolog ...

and in

environmental ethics In environmental philosophy, environmental ethics is an established field of practical philosophy "which reconstructs the essential types of argumentation that can be made for protecting natural entities and the sustainable use of natural resourc ...

. It combines elements of

distributive justice Distributive justice concerns the Social justice, socially just Resource allocation, allocation of resources, goods, opportunity in a society. It is concerned with how to allocate resources fairly among members of a society, taking into account fa ...

and

environmental justice Environmental justice is a social movement that addresses injustice that occurs when poor or marginalized communities are harmed by hazardous waste, resource extraction, and other land uses from which they do not benefit. The movement has gene ...

and is based on the observation that many countries rich in

natural resource Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest, and cultural value. ...

s such as

mineral In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid substance with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. (2011): Mi ...

s and other

raw material A raw material, also known as a feedstock, unprocessed material, or primary commodity, is a basic material that is used to produce goods, finished goods, energy, or intermediate materials/Intermediate goods that are feedstock for future finished ...

s nevertheless experience high levels of poverty ( resource curse).

Factors leading to resource injustice

The term resource justice as a subcategory of distributive justice was first developed following the repeated observation that natural resources that, supposedly, are a blessing for local populations, turn out to be a curse. This can manifest itself in a number of ways – and for a number of reasons, some of which occur in isolation but more often arise together. Some examples are: *

Mining Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...

oil drilling An oil well is a drillhole boring (earth), boring in Earth that is designed to bring petroleum oil hydrocarbons to the surface. Usually some natural gas is released as associated petroleum gas along with the oil. A well that is designed to produ ...

result in severe damage to the environment, for example through

oil spill An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially the marine ecosystem, due to human activity, and is a form of pollution. The term is usually given to marine oil spills, where oil is released into th ...

environmental degradation Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, referring respectively to all living and non-living things occurring naturally and the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism ...

, or

contamination Contamination is the presence of a constituent, impurity, or some other undesirable element that renders something unsuitable, unfit or harmful for the physical body, natural environment, workplace, etc. Types of contamination Within the scien ...

. * The extraction of resources leads to extreme forms of

exploitation of labour Exploitation is a concept defined as, in its broadest sense, one agent taking unfair advantage of another agent. When applying this to labour (or labor), it denotes an unjust social relationship based on an asymmetry of power or unequal exchange ...

and / or creates very hazardous working conditions. * Resources are being controlled by a small elite that makes or embezzles all the profits. This often goes along with

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense that is undertaken by a person or an organization that is entrusted in a position of authority to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's gain. Corruption may involve activities ...

. * People are forced off their land to make place for resource extraction or for large monocultural plantations. * Resources in the developing world are being extracted by companies from industrialised countries, with most of the profits going to the latter. * Companies extract genetic material, which is then commercially farmed or bred – and often

patented A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A ...

Approaches towards greater resource justice

Capacity building Capacity building (or capacity development, capacity strengthening) is the improvement in an individual's or organization's facility (or capability) "to produce, perform or deploy". The terms capacity building and capacity development have often ...

and external support in order to empower "communities affected by oil, gas, and mining operations" so that they themselves are able to determine how local resources are being used. In addition, mechanisms have to be developed to make sure that finite resources are distributed in an equitable way so that poor nations' right to development is not denied. The memorandum Resource Politics for a Fair Future, published by the Heinrich Böll Foundation lists three criteria for a "fair and sustainable Resource Politics", namely: * to "secure the rights of people and nature over markets and profits" and empower them to demand their rights; * to return the "control over natural resources, financial capital and technologies (...) into the hands of the people; * to "transform production, consumption and livelihoods" in ways that enable people to live in a world of global equity.Resource Politics for a Fair Future, p.12-13
PDF, Berlin 2014

References

External links

Dossier – Resource Politics for a Fair Future
Heinrich Böll Foundation {{Types of justice . Environmentalism Resource economics Resource extraction Social justice Sustainable development Value (ethics)

Factors leading to resource injustice

Approaches towards greater resource justice

See also

References

Further reading

External links