Short notice. Of course the poor do cause pollution/degredation - and often
at the sharp end of biodiversity loss. Is this too uncomfortable a truth
for these guys? Bush meat in Central Africa?
Going?
Alan Reid wrote:
> Equity and the Environment (Conference)
> at the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG),
> I Kensington Gore, London SW7 2AR
> Wednesday 8th November 2000
> 10.00 am to 5.00 pm
> For full details telephone 0207 591 3007 or email
> [log in to unmask]
>
> CONTRIBUTORS: Ken Webster, WWF, Gordon Walker, Staffordshire University;
> Robert D Bullard, Clark Atlanta University; Maria Adebowale,
> Environmental
> Law Foundation; Judy Ling Wong FRSA OBE, Black Environment Network;
> Professor Andy Blowers, Open University; Kate Burningham, University of
> Surrey; Julian Agyeman, Tufts University, Boston-Medford; Simon Bullock,
> Friends of the Earth; John Adams, DETR
>
> THE ISSUES
> It has become increasingly apparent that questions of environmental
> degradation and access to environmental resources are inextricably
> linked to
> questions of social equity, justice and the quality of life in the
> widest
> sense. It is clear that environmental problems bear down
> disproportionately
> upon the poor. This unequal distribution of environmental 'bads' is, of
> course, compounded by the fact that globally and nationally, the poor
> are
> not the major polluters. Most environmental pollution and degradation is
> caused by the actions of the rich high-consumption nations and of the
> more
> affluent groups within those societies. The emergence of the
> Environmental
> Justice movement in the US over the last two decades was in large part a
> response to these inequities.
>
> The second dimension is that of sustainable development. The 'new
> environmental agenda' of sustainability which emerged from the 1992 Rio
> Earth Summit, places great emphasis upon the need to ensure a better
> quality
> of life for all. Sustainability, it is argued, cannot be just an
> environmental concern. A truly sustainable society is one where wider
> questions of social welfare are integrally connected to environmental
> concerns.
>
> This conference will explore the links between questions of equity and
> the
> environment by bringing together speakers who have first-hand experience
> of
> these issues. It is clear that these issues are centrally important both
> to
> current government policies and to the longer term search for a more
> environmentally sustainable world. The issues will be examined from a
> grass
> roots perspective as well as at a national and international level. In
> addition, we will be bringing to the conference the North American
> dimension, and considering how the US experience might help inform
> future UK
> policy and practice.
>
> THE TIMING
> The above issues have particular resonance for the UK as we enter the
> new
> century. The Government is committed to combating social exclusion in
> Britain and yet, although there is mounting evidence that environmental
> factors compound and exacerbate social exclusion, little work has been
> undertaken to examine the policy implications of this. Equally, the
> Government has a formal commitment to Agenda 21, signed at Rio -
> effectively
> the global plan for sustainable development. With the South African
> Rio+10
> now being planned for 2002, Government needs to focus more clearly on
> how
> the substantial social changes which sustainable development implies are
> likely to be secured, and how these must be related to questions of
> environmental and social equity.
>
> WHO SHOULD ATTEND?
> * Practitioners and Policy Makers * Regulators, eg the Environment
> Agency,
> the HSE * Researchers, Students and Teachers * Representatives from
> central
> and local government * ngos, charities and trusts with an interest in
> the
> environment/social issues * those involved in communicating
> environmental
> information
>
> COST (to include lunch)? Forty pounds plus VAT for academics, or
> non-profit
> making organisations, fifteen pounds plus VAT for post-graduate
> students, 5
> plus VAT for undergraduates (no lunch), all others 60 plus VAT.
|