Exploring Environmental Justice in Decision Making, GEOP300 Essay

This essay delves into the critical aspects of environmental decision-making by examining key concepts associated with environmental justice. It begins by highlighting the increasing importance of equity in environmental policies and decision-making processes, particularly in Australia and globally. The discussion explores the environmental equity movement's call for equal consideration, addressing issues of race, class, and gender, and advocating for rights to information, investigation, participation, and compensation. The essay then examines the significance of mutual respect and justice for all, emphasizing the roles and contributions of women in environmental management, despite their limited access to decision-making spheres. Furthermore, the essay explores the ecosystem services framework as a strategic approach for integrating ecological unity into environmental decision-making, advocating for policies that consider the interconnectedness of ecosystems and human welfare. It also discusses the combination of ecological democracy, environmental education, and the development of innovative metrics to capture the complex relationships within environmental systems. In conclusion, the essay emphasizes the importance of interdisciplinary research and the application of concepts like equity and ecosystem services in fostering sustainable environmental practices and promoting social justice.

Running head: ENVIRONMENTAL DECISION MAKING
ENVIRONMENTAL DECISION MAKING
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author note:

1ENVIRONMENTAL DECISION MAKING
Introduction
The question of equity in the process of environmental decision making has currently
turned out to be increasingly imperative, to the academic as well as policy-making communities.
Recently, concerns regarding equity have gradually shifted to the centre stage in the continuing
debate that will establish the broad focus of environmental policy in Australia and on the global
level over the following decades (Schlosberg and Collins 2014). Hence, it is ever more vital for
academic community to increase its efforts to develop an all-inclusive program of exploration on
the environmental equity movement. The following essay will evaluate mutual respect and
justice for all peoples and manage ecosystem unity in the process of environmental decision-
making.
Discussion
The emergent environmental equity movement has called for similar level of
consideration from researchers which has been in agreement with the former environmental
movements in Australia. Such a developing movement will correspond to economically marginal
determinants which the former movements failed to attain. Golub and Martens (2014) have noted
that environmental equity has the capacity to confront more dynamically the existing system of
stratification related to race, ethnicity, class and gender. However, as it deals with crucial issues
of equity and power and comprises the possibility of renovating and revitalizing
environmentalism in Australia. Comprehensive studies of Agyeman et al. (2016) have noted that
the development and impact of this movement necessitates a considerate research attention.
Drawing relevance to these factors, Martinez-Alier et al. (2016) have shed light on the
essentiality of progressing towards policies which tends to facilitate the right to accurate

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information; the right to prompt, reverent and unbiased investigations; the right to participate in
the decision-making procedures in addition to the right to compensation when threats, injuries
and damage have been imposed. As a result, environmental policy makers must initiate to focus
on applying strategies which have the competence to confront successfully with the problem of
the equity. At this juncture, Schlosberg and Collins (2014) have argued that environmental risks
and hazards have been created by a financial system which is not intended to generate social
justice. Drawing relevance to the importance of mutual respect and justice for all peoples, free
from any form of discrimination or bias, Waas et al. (2014) have noted that women in several
developed and developing nations have attained specific roles and responsibilities which provide
opportunities for in-depth knowledge of natural resources and environment. Furthermore, reports
of Law et al. (2018) have noted women comprises of around 45% of the agricultural labour
force in developing nations and further account for a probable two-thirds of the world's 600
million poor livestock keepers. On the contrary, Puaschunder (2015) has claimed that despite of
their significant position in environmental decision-making processes, women still have less
access to environmental decision-making spheres at all levels. However, recently developed
record which compiles indicators on women’s participation in global environmental delegations
as well as leadership of significant environmental institutions, environmental associations along
with environmental ministries at the national level tends to highlight areas where women’s
leadership has highly developed and areas which requires improvements. At this peak of
discussion, Martinez-Harms et al. (2015) have mentioned the importance of justifiable
information for improved, evidence-based policy and with aim to strategically implement
assurance to gender equality and women’s empowerment in relation to the environmental
decision-making.

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Meanwhile, Law et al. (2018) have noted that even though ecosystem services has been
recognized as a crucial concept recently, the gradual coordination of policy and academic
discussions have raised several questions for individuals working at the edge of environmental
research and decision-making. Ecosystem services have been crucially recognized as a strategic
as well as tactical framework for considering ecologically unified services within environmental
decision making. As per study conducted by Martinez-Alier et al. (2016), ecological unity
emerges from the endeavours of natural scientists in order to develop highly unified,
collaborated, cross-sectoral, strategies in order to supply management within the area of
sustainable development. In the view of Agyeman et al. (2016), the theoretical formula
entrenched in the ecosystem services framework has claimed that ecosystems show
generalization of services from which benefits to human interests and welfares are strategically
derived. On the other hand, Schlosberg and Collins (2014) have shed light on the importance of
education that has the likelihood of unifying two influential concepts along with global
movements of ecology in addition to limited democracy. Law et al. (2018) have claimed that
these concepts have shown utmost demand to bring about the change of grass-roots civil society.
Such a combination of ‘ecological democracy’ which has been reliant on two fundamental
principles related to the self-determination to participate in local society and increasing
awareness of the interconnectedness of all living things has drawn as well as stimulated the
development of innovative forms of environmental identity as well as citizenship. Additionally,
Sahakian and Wilhite (2014) have observed significant development of environmental education
towards a newly developed association with identity struggle, old social movements in addition
to environmental citizenship.

4ENVIRONMENTAL DECISION MAKING
Comprehensive studies of Martinez-Harms et al. (2015) have claimed that advocates of
the ecosystem services framework have recently undergone significant developments. Such a
development has led ecosystem services to a highly comprehensive framework related to the
ways in which an enriched and variegated term such as welfare plans depend on services which
nature provides. The ecosystem services framework strategically creates services as efficiently
offering advantages to individual interests with extensive linkages and associations. Puaschunder
(2015) has realized the importance of developing a better understanding of welfare and interests
of the environment. As a result, there can be identified a development of recent and innovative
metrics in order to capture methodically undefined associations with environmental systems.
Furthermore, taking into consideration, ecosystem services within environmental decision
making processes authors have introduced innovative level of integration in evaluating factors
which have utmost importance and its vitality to be included in the environmental decision.
Ecosystem services framework primarily entails efficient ecosystem services that sheds light on
diverse sectoral areas and tends to position the natural environment openly in the service of
human interests and welfare. According to Law et al. (2018), there can be witnessed an
engagement with a extensive community of intellectuals as well as policy practitioners in the
theoretical plan aspects of the framework. As a result, it is highly vital to move beyond expedient
communities of attention within the enhanced vernacular realm of management. Drawing
relevance to these factors, Martinez-Alier et al. (2016) have identified the essentiality of
pursuing the extensive conceptual reason of ecosystem services. Moreover, the implication relies
on the fact that efficient parameters of substantiation and practical information which must be
appreciably comprehensive as well as redrawn.
Conclusion

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Hence to conclude, scholars, with their practice of significant work on community and
community change serves highly decisive role in studying communities encountering such
decisions and further has been aiding the communities and individuals who have been affected in
order to better recognize as well as act responsive to environmental occurrences. It has been
noted that while taking into consideration, factors of environmental decision making from the
perspective of ecosystem services, there can be identified significant solution for sustainability.
Thus, it is highly imperative to continue a momentum whereby interdisciplinary researchers
would seek ways of efficiently connecting innovation, creatively as well as considering
implementation of applying strategies through engaged ways. Thus, it is vital to note, that as
physical geography in addition to associated disciplinary areas carry on to innovate key concepts
in the decision making process, use of concepts such as equity and ecosystem services will be
able to draw value in the process.

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References
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