A few days after directives by governments that led to the restriction of movements and operations to contain COVID – 19 pandemic, pictures and video clips showing abnormal changes in the environment flooded digital platforms .This was an impromptu campaign sparked by the realities that the material and ego – centric activities of human beings have a huge impact on the negative behavior of nature. Some cities were depicted as showing the skies for the first time, wild animals taking over inactive streets, natural phenomena such as the mountains being visibly clearer, rare bird and fish species finding their way back into the water bodies, among many other examples of mother nature taking back her rightful place in the globe. COVID – 19 pandemic has exposed how operations of heavy industries and transport systems contribute to pollution (air,water,noise and land), leading to the current destruction of the earth. This pandemic has also shown how a system based on consumerism is not only unsustainable but dangerous to the well-being of nature and the survival of the human race.
This healing or rather detoxifying process that some parts of the planet are going through will only be temporarily if the political and socio-economic model is maintained and we go back to “normal”. Before we get back to business as usual in a mutated context, there are already threats to the environment and natural resources, creating breeding grounds for further damage. No wonder many activists in the climate justice space are rallying for a radical shift away from the capitalist model based on exploitation, consumption and greed of human and natural resources. The challenge however is lack of clarity and unison within the ecological justice movement of the alternative model to replace capitalism, especially as materials and standpoints on ecological justice in the light of socialism or communism are widely contested.
There are some attempts in some eastern Africa countries to encroach green spaces to give way for very heavy infrastructural developments and “concrete jungle” establishments, such as the proposed “eco” lodge in Nairobi National Park, The Nairobi Express Highway, the East African Crude Oil and Petroleum Pipeline across Tanzania and Uganda, among others. In many places across the continent, there is wanton deforestation of forests to give way to large scale cash crops. This is being done in the guise of reclaiming forests under a series of sponsored misinformation online on climate issues. While COVID – 19 has occasioned a somewhat breather to nature, malicious economic forces are scheming against this by initiating these destructive projects. These projects are being initiated while current focus is on news and information on COVID – 19, affording little space for people to catch up with most if not all the rushed decisions on the encroachment of nature.
This encroachment shows how the supposed sovereignty of presumed independent countries and the alleged legitimacy by political leaders are undermined by sinister economic forces all over the globe. The response to the pandemic by the leadership in some developed has also exposed the folly of having businessmen as political leaders. These leaders are only puppets of huge business interests. The extreme levels of inequalities increasing globally make the commitments on ecological justice by these puppet leaders as mere talk shops and props to tick boxes of business interests.
Corona pandemic is thus a wakeup call for the people to guard nature jealously. Countries in the global south are the most vulnerable and hit by the negative impacts arising from callous exploitation of natural resources.
Some campaigns and challenges on ecological justice in Nairobi
Corona pandemic appeared at a time in Kenya when activists were engaged in campaigns against some cases of ecological injustices such as:
The Nairobi Express High Way that is projected to encroach Uhuru Park, Central Park, Nyayo Stadium and other green spaces along Mombasa road, destroying rare indigenous tree species and animal habitats.
Rehabilitation of river Gatharaini by protecting it from encroachment by greedy landlords, road construction projects and illegal dumping. This campaign is being led by Githurai Social Justice Centre Environmental Committee.
Conservation activities along Nairobi river by ecological justice activists and workers from Kamukunji in collaboration in collaboration with the workers union.
Some of the challenges faced by ecological justice activists in these campaigns include:
Minimal interest from many activists to link up social justice and human rights issues with ecological justice. Only a few activists show up for meetings and campaigns while many others cancel attendance at short notices without prior communication. Many people only pay lip service to campaigns on ecological justice but are not willing to practice.
This has led to the marginalization of ecological themes from other periodic human rights activities and campaigns.
Ecological issues more often comes up as afterthoughts. But all is not lost as substantial progress has been made towards the documentation of past and current activities on ecological justice to guide planning and engagements in follow – up campaigns.
Lessons from the campaigns
Campaigns on ecological justice play a central role in engaging the people and linking the day to day people’s struggles to the failure of this unjust system. These campaigns are also opportune for mobilizing and organizing against all forms of imperialism, either from the west or east, and against the insatiable hunger for public spaces and lands across the country, especially in informal settlements in the cities. This helps to position ecological justice as equally important and pivotal in progressive people’s struggles.
These campaigns are also mobilizing grounds to engage the people on environmental issues that affect everyone and have direct connections to other cases of injustice. These campaigns bring the urgent need to conscientise the people that they are entitled to a clean and healthy environment that includes access to water, food ,decent housing, clean air, energy, quality health, waste management ,consumer information, green public spaces and conducive working and learning conditions.
The exploiters of nature are taking advantage of the passivity of the masses on ecological issues. They are therefore acting with outright impunity taking environment as a friendly space with little or no opposition. Alienating environmental issues from other issues on human rights and social justice is an icing on the cake for the exploiters. This points to the need to create, collect and share more often materials on ecological justice. A lot of work has to be done towards making existing information palatable that the people can easily relate with and to have healthy conversations accompanied by actions.
Ecological justice is largely viewed as a foreign and elitist struggle in the socialization process of many people in the country. It therefore behoves human rights activists and organizations to be deliberate on ecological issues. This will require coordination of joint efforts that link ecological justice with other people’s struggles and active engagement in campaigns and activities in this regard. This is more so as attitudes of human rights activists towards ecological justice largely determine how people perceive and engage in ecological struggles.
Irene Asuwa is an ecological justice activist and a member of the Revolutionary Socialist League.
