Legal Literacy - Ecological justice is a concept that emphasizes the importance of equality and sustainability in the relationship between humans and the environment. This concept demands that humans recognize themselves as part of the ecosystem and have a responsibility to maintain its sustainability. environment.
The Meaning of Ecological Justice
Ecological Justice is composed of 2 (two) terms: justice and ecology. The term ecology itself was first proposed by Ernst Haeckel as oekologie. In Greek, ecology is divided into oikos, which is defined as home or environment, and logos, which means science or knowledge.
In a broader context, ecology is a branch of biology that studies the interactions between organisms and their environment. The use of the words "ecological" or "ecology" then expanded to refer to everything related to the relationship and interactions between living things and the environment in which they live.
Meanwhile, the root word of justice itself comes from the word 'justitia' which refers to the moral concept of granting rights and obligations in accordance with norms. These two main concepts, namely justice and ecology, together detail a holistic view of sustainability and justice in the context of the environment.
The Concept of Ecological Justice
The concept of ecological justice basically leads more to granting rights to all entities in the ecosystem to be able to live well. It can be said that ecological justice is a concept new in the conceptual discourse on justice.
The understanding that economic, social, and political inequalities closely related to environmental damage are the trigger for the emergence of the concept of ecological justice. The most vulnerable communities and groups are often also the hardest hit by climate change and environmental degradation.
Therefore, ecological justice emphasizes the need for a fair distribution of benefits and burdens in environmental policies and practices.
The concept of ecological justice emerged as a response to global concerns about environmental issues and their impact on society, particularly in the context of development that damages the environment and harms certain community groups.
In the 1980s, environmental activists began to advocate the idea that social justice and environmental sustainability are two inseparable aspects. This initiative developed in conjunction with increasing awareness of the impacts of climate change, biodiversity loss, and
inequality in the utilization of natural resources.
Basically, ecological justice departs from the approach that the relationship between humans and other entities on earth is seen as a complementary relationship, meaning that humans in ecological justice are not the only ones whose welfare should be well taken care of, but other living things must also be taken care of equally and fairly. This is a manifestation of a shift in perspective from
Anthropocentrism to Ecocentrism.
Perspectives on Ecological Justice
The anthropocentric view sees humans as the center or focal point of all systems in the universe, that only humans are considered to have value so that humans do not care directly about non-humans, even though they may care about their own interests, for example in terms of
welfare or fulfillment of rights.
In contrast, ecocentrism provides a view that there is a mutualistic relationship in every component of life in nature as a constituent of the ecosystem. In ecocentrism, there is a renewal of the position of humans where initially it was the center of the universe to become a small part of the universe.
Based on the explanation above, ecological justice can be seen from two perspectives, namely:
- Anthropocentric perspective: This perspective views humans as the center of the universe and only humans have the right to justice.
- Ecocentric perspective: This perspective views that all entities in the ecosystem, including humans, have the right to justice.
Principles of Ecological Justice
There are several principles underlying ecological justice, including:
- The principle of equality: All entities in the ecosystem, including humans, have the same right to live and develop sustainably.
- The principle of non-discrimination: There shall be no discrimination in the distribution of environmental benefits and burdens.
- The principle of sustainability: All human activities must be carried out with due regard for environmental sustainability.
Implementation of Ecological Justice
Ecological justice can be applied in various fields, including:
- Natural resource management: Ecological justice demands that natural resource management be carried out in a sustainable and fair manner, so that it does not only benefit certain groups.
- Sustainable development: Ecological justice demands that development be carried out with due regard for environmental aspects, so that it does not cause environmental damage.
- Environmental protection: Ecological justice demands that the environment be protected from various forms of damage, so as to guarantee a sustainable life for all entities in the ecosystem.
Conclusion
In a narrow sense, ecological justice can be interpreted as an effort to address the poor distribution of natural exploitation. Meanwhile, in a broad sense, ecological justice can be seen as an effort to distribute both the benefits and adverse impacts of human activities with nature.
Therefore, ecological justice can be seen from two perspectives. Firstly, that ecological justice is still focused on humans so that ecological justice can be interpreted as part of social justice because its view sees the environment as a resource that is distributed.
On the other hand, ecological justice views that nature or ecology is an entity that also has the 'dignity' to obtain justice.
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