Speaker

Dr Bonita Sharma
Assistant Professor
University Of Texas At San Antonio

Do Students Feel Prepared to Address Environmental Injustices? Social Work Students’ Perspectives on Environmental Justice

Abstract Narrative

“Background: There is a general understanding by now that to meet the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, strengthening educational knowledge on climate change and environmental justice is crucial. Environmental justice is a developing concept in social work. However, social workers have an opportunity to play a significant role in advocating for individuals and communities who are affected by environmental injustices (Kelly-Reif & Wing, 2016).With its mission for social justice and educating students in addressing complex human issues at micro, meso, and macro levels through perspectives on systems, person-in-the-environment, ecological, and empowerment theories, social work is well placed to lead in policy, research and practice in environmental justice issues. There is a renewed focus by Council in Social Work Education (CSWE) through its newly developed environmental justice curriculum in addressing this crucial issue; however, there are very limited studies on how social work students perceive environmental justice and their own preparedness to address this issue. The purpose of this study is to examine current MSW students’ perspectives on Environmental justice education and practice. Method: This study reports findings from classroom discussions and focus groups from a southern university’s graduate level social work program to assess how social work students perceive environmental justice. Researchers used guiding questions on the topic of environmental justice. Content coding and thematic reporting were used to generate triangulated data by the three researchers. Findings: Preliminary findings show that students are highly aware of environmental injustices in general. Quality of life, gardening, community, water safeness and food access and quality were all important themes when students thought about addressing environmental injustices. They expressed that the power dynamics of politics, capitalism, poverty, education, and inequity are the multidimensional factors contributing to environmental injustices. Students emphasized collective responsibility for environmental injustices and felt that holding policy makers, universities, private entities and self, accountable as crucial. More students were aware of federal issues compared to local issues. However, they felt that they are usually at the forefront of discussions and advocacy concerning vulnerable population, and it is imperative that they are knowledgeable about impacts of environmental injustices on their clients and communities: “ if we are not knowledgeable on the rights of Indigenous people such as incorporating the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples then we cannot truly assist this population and let their voices be heard.” Students desired more knowledge and tools to equip themselves in empowering their clients and communities. Developing and integrating theoretical frameworks, learning about historical injustices, developing evidence-base knowledge, collaborating with other professions, and integrating environment justice in micro, mezzo and macro levels of social work practice was emphasized by the students. Conclusion: Evidence shows that environment injustices disproportionately impact our client population, communities and has ramifications in the global context. Promoting environmental justice is social justice; hence, social workers are called upon to become culturally competent in addressing environmental and climate impact on our clients to empower them. It is crucial that we equip our students through integration of environmental justice curriculum in our programs. ”

Biography

Dr. Sharma’s research focuses on socio-economic and environmental factors in wellbeing. Her main focus is on these issues related to local and global women’s contexts.

Mr Joydeb Garai
Student
Dept. of Applied Social Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong.

Climate change and cultural response of indigenous people: A case from Bangladesh

Abstract Narrative

“Over the last few decades, climate change has become a great concern all over the world and indigenous people especially those who live in hilly remote area and depend on forest resources are most susceptible to this extremity. This work is an attempt to find out the key indicators of cultural response of indigenous people for adaption in climate change extremity. For conducting this study, 25 in-depth interviews were adopted by employing semi-structured and open ended questionnaire to indigenous people in Rangamati sadar of Rangamati district in Bangladesh. The findings of the study indicate that indigenous people have knowledge about climate change and they get this knowledge from different sources i.e. television, FM radio, local newspaper, peer groups etc. and blame developed countries for the causes of climate change events. The findings also reveal that for adapting to climate change, local people develop their own strategies, like planting trees surrounding their houses, performing religious activity, rendering mutual help to each other, taking relief or financial support from others for investment, applying indigenous technology, changing occupations etc. in their community. A very small number of empirical study was conducted on cultural adaption of indigenous people in climate change, so this study findings can help policy makers as well as government to formulate policy to uplift this community and encourage researchers to undertake further study on this issue in future. Key words: Climate change events, Indigenous people, Cultural adaptation. Affiliation: Dept. of Applied Social Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong. ”

Biography

Joydeb Garai, currently works at the Department of Applied Social Sciences of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University as a PhD research student. He is permanent faculty in the Dept. of Sociology of Chittagong University, Bangladesh. Joydeb does research in Environmental sociology, climate change resilience and adaptation, disaster management, indigenous community so on. His current PhD project is ‘Climate Change Impacts and Vulnerabilities on Indigenous People in Bangladesh: A Sociological Study’. Joydeb Garai completed his Bachelor and Master’s degree from Dhaka University, Bangladesh with award winning marks and conducted his masters thesis on ‘climate change and its impacts on coastal people in Bangladesh’ which was published as a book chapter by springer, in an influential book series. Along with this, Joydeb also published several of his works in different international well-recognised journals and presents his findings in different seminars.

Dr Lacey Sloan
MSW, Ph.D, Associate Professor
Department of Social Work University of Vermont

Local and Indigenous Practices for Environmental Sustainability

Abstract Narrative

Abstract
Using examples from around the globe—Pakistan, Somaliland, US, Kenya, Australia, Canada, Brazil, Greenland, Mexico, India and Madagascar—this paper examines local responses to human caused environmental degradation using Indigenous models of environmental sustainability. Climate change is an inescapable fact causing significant impact on sea levels, temperature, loss of species, drought, flooding, famine, migration and conflict (Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, 2018; Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2018; Stern et al, 1992). The colonizing of the Americas, Asia, and Africa has been described as essentially an evolutionary experiment that has long-lasting implications globally with no natural end (Lewis & Maslin, 2018). Perhaps beginning with the transport of foreign species around the globe, resulting in invasive species that sometimes decimated local flora and fauna, colonization resulted in ecological degradation, depletion of resources, and destruction of Peoples and cultures (Robinson, 2001). Recent research suggests that colonization of the Americas had a detectable impact on global climate (Koch et al, 2018).

In many places, local and Indigenous practices are being reclaimed as sustainable practices for rehabilitating and protecting ecological systems. Although not homogenous, prior to colonization, Tribal and Indigenous (Coates et al, 2006), African (Gumo et al, 2012), and Asian and Pacific Islander worldviews saw humans as part of a greater ecology that was interconnected and required balance. Around the globe, local and Indigenous Peoples are rediscovering and reclaiming culture and balanced relationships with the ecology, leading others to follow. For example, Indigenous cultural burning practices in Australia seemed to provide protection from the recent wildfires (Betigeri, 2020). In Pakistan, Indigenous agricultural practices include the use of local organic solutions, reciprocal communal labor, and soft tillage, all of which increase environmental and economic sustainability (Chaudhry & Chaudhry, 2011). These and other examples will be used to share local and Indigenous practices for environmental sustainability.

References
Betigeri, A. (2020). How Australia’s Indigenous experts could help deal with devastating wildfires. Times. Retrieved from https://time.com/5764521/australia-bushfires-indigenous- fire-practices/
Chaudhry, A.G. & Chaudhry, H. (2011). Indigenous farming practices and sustainable rural development: a case of indigenous agricultural practices in a Punjabi village of Sheikhupura district. FWU Journal of Social Sciences, 5(2). 98-128. Retrieved from https://search- proquest-com.ezproxy.uvm.edu/docview/916017163?rfr_id=info%3Axri%2Fsid%3Aprimo
Coates, J., Gray, M. & Hetherington, T. (2006). An ‘ecospiritual’ perspective: Finally, a place for indigenous approaches. The British Journal of Social Work, 36(3), 381–399. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcl005
Gumo, S., Gisege, S.O., Raballah, E. & Ouma, S. (2012). Communicating African Spirituality through Ecology: Challenges and Prospects for the 21st Century. Religions, 3. 523–543. doi:10.3390/rel3020523.

Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). (2018). Summary for policymakers of the assessment report on land degradation and restoration of the intergovernmental science-policy platform on biodiversity and ecosystem services. Bonn, Germany: IPBES. Retrieved from https://www.ipbes.net/event/ipbes-6- plenary
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). (2018). Global Warming of 1.5 C. Retrieved on 15 November 2018 from http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/special- reports/sr15/sr15_ts.pdf
Koch, A. Brierley, C., Maslina, M.M. & Lewis, S.L. (2018). Earth system impacts of the European arrival and Great Dying in the Americas after 1492. Quaternary Science Review, 207. 13-36. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2018.12.004
Lewis, S. & Maslin, M.A. (2018). The Human Planet: How We Created the Anthropocene. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
Robinson, R. (2001). The Debt: What America Owes to Blacks. New York: Penguin.
Stern, P. C., Young, O. R., & Druckman, D. (eds.). (1992). Global Environmental Change: Understanding the Human Dimensions. Washington DC, National Academy Press.

Biography

Dr. Sloan is an Associate Professor at the University of Vermont. Her MSW and Ph.D. in social work are from The University of Texas at Austin. She facilitated the development of 3 new BSW and 3 new MSW programs in the US, Qatar, UAE and Somalia.

Prof Marichen Van Der Westhuizen
Head Of Department Of Social Work
University Of The Western Cape

A Holistic Interdisciplinary Approach Towards Environmental Justice and Youth Empowerment

Abstract Narrative

“South African youth has been described as a marginalised and vulnerable group due to, among others, high unemployment rates and a lack of access to opportunities. A further contributing factor to their vulnerability is environmental degradation that threatens their and future generations’ wellbeing. In line with this, sustainable development has been the focus of discussions among natural scientists, economist and politicians, while youth around the world has become activists to demand changes in the way we go about with our natural resources. The question is how the social sciences can contribute to the empowerment of marginalised and vulnerable youth to voice their concerns, and to participate in sustainable development initiatives. Practice guidelines for the social sciences of how to effectively empower youth to engage with their environment to contribute to sustainable development are, however, lacking. This presentation focuses on how environmental social work can take place in collaboration with faith-based organisations to contribute to both the empowerment of youth and environmental justice. This, then, draws a link between social and environmental justice. The social work profession’s response to environmental and youth issues will be explored. Environmental social work together with faith-based organisations through a holistic interdisciplinary approach will then be discussed in terms of the empowerment of youth to become active participants in their own and future generations wellbeing through their involvement in sustainable development initiatives. The presentation will be concluded with a proposed framework for environmental social work and the empowerment of youth through a holistic interdisciplinary approach. Keywords: Empowerment, environmental social work, holistic social work, interdisciplinary, sustainable development ”

Biography

I am a social worker who have been working in the substance abuse field before joining academia. Both my Master of Social Work and PhD studies focused on contributing factors to relapsing and relapse prevention strategies among youth. My focus on relapse prevention includes individual, group and community interventions to support the recovery process. Ongoing research focuses on treatment that provides the person and the family with a range of intervention options to ensure that services are provided over a long-term period, and in that way address recovery-related challenges. In academia, I have lectured on substance abuse, group and community work methods of intervention, and research methodologies. I supervise postgraduate students, and in this way continue to engage in research to contribute to the knowledge base for the treatment of Substance Use Disorders.

Dr Raquel Marta
Senior Lecturer
University Of West London

Uncertainty and vulnerability: on the edges of human development

Abstract Narrative

Keywords: vulnerability, uncertainty, human dignity, Capabilities Approach, human well-being
Abstract:

Taking uncertainty seriously has a profound impact not only in the way we design and operationalize the economic and social policies, but also in the understanding of all aspects and contexts of human life. By exploring these impacts vis-à-vis human life and human development, this paper aims to provide an alternative analytical tool to critically think uncertainty and vulnerability in its relation with capabilities, human development and global social justice. The author will scrutinize the impact that uncertainty and vulnerability impress on human daily life and how it can be seen and addressed through the Capability Approach lens. The new theoretical paradigm known as “Human Development” or “Capabilities Approach” developed by authors like Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum provides a unique analytical tool that exhibits the embodied structural and relational ramifications of vulnerability, namely through entrenched social injustice and inequality.
The paper will begin by examining the meaning of uncertainty and vulnerability. A number of scholars have brought into focus the complexity and plurality of vulnerability roots, its social consequences, and have argued for a dynamic multidimensional approach to examine vulnerability. However, Sen’s theory of entitlements, capabilities and functioning’s incorporate dynamic elements of vulnerability and capabilities by taking each person as an end both in the development and policy worlds. For Nussbaum, who aims to develop the Capabilities Approach as a theory of social justice, human life flourishing requires the political protection of central capabilities to all citizens. Particular attention is paid to these focuses on the person where the respect of human dignity to live full and creative lives in order to develop their potential and meaningful existence is more starkly evident and engaged. Finally, the paper points to the importance of recognizing the contributions this new evolving theoretical paradigm make while locating these within a broader social justice and human development grounds for the fulfillment of lives that are worthy of equal dignity.

Biography

A Senior Lecturer at the University of West London (UK), Raquel holds a PhD in Social Work from ISCTE – Lisbon University Institute and has lectured widely on social work and related areas at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, in Europe and in the United States. She has worked in the private sector as a social worker, with a major focus on the implementation of Harm Reduction Policies and macro social work practice. Her research focused on creativity, complex thought and vulnerability with a particular focus on professional transformative abilities. Currently, her primary scholarly agenda unites human development and environmental sustainability and is largely concerned with understanding individual vulnerabilities and their linkages with structural environmental inequalities in informal human settlements. Raquel is a member of Children’s Environments Research Group (CERG), the Center for Human Environments (CHE), at The Graduate Center of the City University of New York and affiliated with several professional organizations.

Dr Robin Ersing
Director, USF School of Public Affairs
University of South Florida

Climate-related Hazards: The Transformative Effects of Gender to Promote Resilience

Biography

Robin L. Ersing, Ph.D., MSW is Director and Associate Professor of the School of Public Affairs at the University of South Florida. She is co-editor of the book, “Surviving Disaster: The Role of Social Networks”, and conducts research in the areas of disasters and social vulnerability and community capacity building. Her work focuses on asset-based community interventions with vulnerable and marginalized populations, particularly women in poverty. Dr. Ersing has been a member of a multi-national team of researchers examining the rebuilding of lives and livelihoods post-disaster. She has conducted research in Ghana and with the U.S. migrant farm worker community. She has published extensively on the role of women to promote disaster risk reduction and community resilience. Dr. Ersing has received funding through the Natural Hazards Center and the National Science Foundation to study the influence of social networks on hurricane evacuation decision making. Her work often incorporates methods of participatory action research.