Environmental Justice Incommensurabilities Framework

Monitoring and evaluating environmental justice concepts, thought styles and human-environment relations

New paper is out!

Environmental justice concepts have undergone significant changes from being solely distributive to include underlying power asymmetries. Consequently, we are now faced with a wide array of different interpretations of what environmental justice is. This calls for a fundamental reflection on what environmental justice stands for, how and most importantly why it is used.

To achieve this goal, this paper elaborates on the genesis of environmental justice. Recurring challenges of environmental justice research and activism will be identified. Addressing those challenges, as well as breaking down environmental justice concepts into smaller patterns and Fleck’sian thought styles, the Environmental Justice Incommensurabilities Framework (EJIF) is introduced. This evaluation and monitoring tool encourages actors (and especially researchers) to reflect upon ideological positionings and axiological interpretations of human-environment relations as well as justice, making research on and with environmental justice more transparent and comparable.

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New research approach presented: Values-Based Modes of Production and Consumption from theory to practice

Perspectives on Values-based Supply Chains. 29th Annual Conference of the Austrian Society of Agricultural Economics – and we were there!

Our team comprising Christina Plank (Political Sciences), Rike Stotten (Sociology), and Robert Hafner (Geography) presented our new research approach on values-based modes of production and consumption by applying it to Austrian CSA cases.

Thank you very much for having us – and the interesting questions afterwards!

Publication:

Stotten, R.; Plank, C.; Hafner, R. (2019): Wertebasierte Produktions- und Konsumweisen am Beispiel Solidarischer Landwirtschaft in Österreich. Perspectives on Values-based Supply Chains. 29th Annual Conference of the Austrian Society of Agricultural Economics.

Links:

Environmental Justice and Soy Agribusiness – Book is out!

Hafner, R. (2018): Environmental Justice and Soy Agribusiness. Earthscan Food and Agriculture Series.  London: Routledge. ISBN: 978-0-815-38535-6.

Environmental justice research and activism predominantly focus on openly conflictive situations; claims making is central. However, situations of injustice can still occur even if there is no overt conflict. Environmental Justice and Soy Agribusiness fills this gap by applying an environmental justice incommensurabilities framework to reveal the mechanisms of why conflicts do not arise in particular situations, even though they fall within classic environmental justice schemes.

Finally out! Book on Fairness and Justice in Natural Resource Politics

I am delighted to present a new Routledge book with active participation from members of our work group!

Fairness and justice in natural resource politics.

Pichler, Melanie; Staritz, Cornelia; Küblböck, Karin; Plank, Christina; Raza, Werner; Ruiz Peyré, Fernando (eds.) (2016):  London, New York: Routledge (Routledge explorations in environmental studies). ISBN: 9781138195950 Continue reading “Finally out! Book on Fairness and Justice in Natural Resource Politics”