Eco-activism and Social Work

New Directions in Leadership and Group Work

Dyann Ross, Martin Brueckner, Marilyn Palmer, Wallea Eaglehawk, Dyann Ross, Martin Brueckner, Marilyn Palmer, Wallea Eaglehawk

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2019
• Print ISBN:
  9780367250041
• eBook ISBN:
  9781000751505
• Topic: Sciences biologiques
• Subtopic: Sociologie rurale

Social workers are called upon to shift from a human-centric bias to an ecological ethical sensibility by embracing love as integral to their justice mission and by extending the idea of social justice to include environmental and species justice. This book presents the love ethic model as a way to do eco-justice work using public campaigns, research, community arts practice and other nonviolent, direct action strategies.

The model is premised on an active and ongoing commitment to the eco-values of love, eco-justice and nonviolence for the purpose of upholding the public interest. The love ethic model is informed by the stories of eco-activists who used nonviolent actions to address ecological issues such as: pollution; degradation of the environment; exploitation of farm animals; mining industry overriding First Nation Peoples' land rights; and human health and social costs related to the natural resource industries, private land developments and government infrastructure projects.

Informed by practice insights by activists from a range of eco-justice concerns, this innovative book provides new directions in social work and environmental studies involving transformational change leadership and dialogical group work between interest groups. It should be considered essential reading for social work students, researchers and practitioners as well as eco-activists more generally.

Part 1
What love looks like in public

Part 1 provides an introduction to the book by outlining the ethical premises and an analytical method for eco-activism in a pro-development political and economic context. This is followed by stories of eco-activism which give a rich account of the opportunities for nonviolent, direct action to challenge the injustice and harm caused by developmentalism. Eco-activism is what love looks like in public as citizens seek eco-justice and thereby endeavour to uphold the public interest.

Chapter 1
Eco-activism and social work

In the public interest

Martin Brueckner & Dyann Ross

Eco-activism: a new agenda for social work

The book describes the experiences and insights of eco-activists to establish some of the key eco-justice issues and to explore what is being done about them. The aim is to provide a set of context- and power-sensitive leadership strategies and resources to address ecological threats. The threats arise from the adverse impact of mining operations, animal farming, state infrastructure projects and private property developments. The book fills a gap in social work regarding how to think about and practice community activism for justice causes in a strongly pro-development political context. Social work’s dictum of “person-in-environment” refers to people in their social, cultural and political milieu or context. An ecological orientation to social work includes the natural environment alongside this context-sensitive concern for people (Jones, 2013, p. 214). Significantly, to address the human-centric bias of social work, an ecological turn in social work includes the rights and interests of nonhuman life (Hanrahan, 2011; Boetto, 2019). The book takes up Boetto’s (2019) call for action by placing eco-activism at the centre of social work’s social justice mission. Eco-activism involves a critical understanding of the relationship, power and context dimensions of justice concerns linked to nonviolent social action premised on a love ethic.

Eco-activism has much to offer social work, which is finding its activist imperative languishing in neo-liberal contexts (Greenslade, McAuliffe & Chenoweth, 2015). Eco-activism dovetails for social workers into the developing area of research and practice variously referred to as eco-social work (Molyneux, 2010; Bailey, Hendrick & Palmer, 2017; Tischler, 2011; Boetto, 2019), deep-ecological social work (Besthorn, 2000), eco-social practice (Peeters, 2011; Norton, 2011), green social work (Dominelli, 2012, 2018) and environmental social work (Gray, Coates & Hetherington, 2013). Boetto (2019, p. 143) summarises the range of characteristics linked to eco-social work as: anti-oppressive and community development skills and processes; sustainability and degrowth; change approaches which span the micro and macro levels of practice; working across differences; embracing the interconnectedness of humans and the natural world and, related to this interconnectedness, learning from First Nation Peoples’ knowledge and ways; relational and collective approaches to well-being; and critical awareness and analysis. Walter, Taylor and Habibis argue that consistent with whiteness theory, colonialist countries such as Australia reflect the majority status of “Euro-Australians” (2013, p. 232). Walter et al. write that social work in fact is “very white”, and because it is constructed on the laws, knowledge and privilege of Euro-Australians, this “allows it to mask its privilege” (2013, p. 232). Therefore, the book’s editors wish to acknowledge the importance of First Nation knowledge that already is located within a lived tradition over thousands of years of ecological sustainability, stewardship and care for Planet Earth (Poelina, 2019; Green, 2018; Woodley, see Chapter 5). First Nation writers and activists are contributing to ideas and ways of being that are consistent with eco-social work as there is no separation between humans, nonhuman animals and country (Bennett, Green, Gilbert & Bessarab, 2013). Their work implies that an eco-activist agenda needs to include an ongoing commitment to decolonising ideas, practices and relationships (Yellow Bird, Coates & Gray, 2013).

The book articulates an ecological justice (eco-justice) approach to eco-social work which places issues of power and inequality at the centre of eco-activist practice. This brings to the foreground values, skills and strategies which can challenge the power elites of society (Mills, 1953) who gain disproportionately from the exploitation of people, animals and natural resources. Eco-activist approaches respond to conflict, and possibly violence, by fostering long-term multi-stakeholder relationships and multifaceted struggles for just and sustainable outcomes. Figure 1.1 shows the values and responsibilities to be exercised for ecological justice.

The diagram shows the ideas at the heart of a love ethic model (see Part 2), which provides an integrated method of ethics, analysis and strategies for addressing issues of ecological injustice. The love ethic model’s goal of safeguarding the public interest and its eco-values are now discussed to extend the human-centric idea of social justice to be responsive to the interconnectedness of all beings, ecosystems and Planet Earth. Wheeler explains that whereas the idea of public interest is difficult to define in terms of citizens’ and public officials’ responsibilities, the Australian government describe it as “a convenient concept for aggregating any number of interests that may bear upon a disputed question that is of general – as opposed to merely private – concern … [and it] … provides a balancing test by which any number of relevant interests may be weighed one against another” (2006, p. 14). For present purposes, the public interest ideally refers to the highest expression of collective wisdom and dialogue based on love of humanity equally with love of animals and love of Planet Earth. To be useful in contested situations, the concept needs an overt definition such as the one given by Wheeler (2006) with the overarching ideal of public interest guiding the ethical orientation of eco-activism. What constitutes the public interest cannot be left to political pronouncements from the government of the day or multinational companies seeking mining approvals (see Chapter 5). Further, the public interest understood in this ideal way cannot be upheld through violence of any type or by any decisions which threaten the sustainability of people, animals, places and ecosystems. At the same time, there is no outside of the political context, and eco-activists must necessarily work in possibly ethically unwelcome and compromised situations. As such, the public interest that can be achieved in any specific justice struggle will be borne of the societal context, the collective capacity of the activism and the backlash from dominant interest groups to this activism (Conde, 2017).

Figure 1.1 Eco-values and responsibilities

Justice goals are achieved by the citizens of civil society upholding their appropriate responsibility in alignment with the eco-values of love, nonviolence and justice. The responsibilities comprise: stewardship and sustainability of Planet Earth and all life; inclusive governance and accountability; and active participation and voice of impacted interest groups in the justice concern. The responsibilities are recognised in: the international declaration of human rights (United Nations, 1948) and by animal rights groups (World Animal Protection, 2019; Our Planet. Theirs Too, 2011); nation-state’s constitutions and treaties with First Nation People (e.g., New Zealand Government, 1840); key environmental and climate change reports (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2018); and United Nations governance mechanisms (e.g., United Nations Global Compact, 2019). Chapter 10 discusses how the love ethic model can enable the responsibilities which underpin these key commitments of civil societies. The term civil society is not to be read as implying there are uncivil societies; rather, it is used in the manner suggested by Jaysawal (2013) to refer to the capacity of citizens who collectivise in the public sphere to promote the public interest independently of the government and business sectors.

Social work as a profession does not explicitly include love alongside social justice as one of its key values. This is reflected in the almost total absence internationally of the word love in social work codes of ethics (see the exception, Swedish Union for Social Sciences Professionals, 2015). Love, although a contested term, can be understood as a necessary capacity for social justice struggles (Nussbaum, 2013). For leaders such as Gandhi, love is related to empathy and compassion and needs to be linked to nonviolent activism (Gandhi, 2013). Nonviolence refers to a collection of ideas and strategies that range from appeals to the moral integrity of a dominating group to direct actions such as peaceful protests and campaigns (Sharp, 2005). International research shows that mass movements for justice and peace based on nonviolence are more successful than violent uprisings (Chenoweth & Stephan, 2011). hooks (2001) describes love as a political capacity that brings people to an awareness of domination and violence in all its forms and a commitment to struggle for equality, peace and justice. She explains that love “is exemplified by the combined forces of care, respect, knowledge and responsibility” (hooks, 2001, pp. 4–5). Freire writes that “a profound love for the world and for people” is needed to engage in dialogue to achieve nonviolent justice. Dialogue is a “horizontal relationship of which mutual trust between the dialoguers is the logical consequence” (Freire, 1970, pp. 70–72) made possible by the absence of violence and exploitation. Where there is love and willingness to dialogue as equals about justice concerns, there is no violence. West (2011) explains that justice is what love looks like in public.

Eco-social work incorporates love as feelings of compassion and care as well as the political idea of love as a nonviolent, dialogical method involving the capacities of critical understanding and working with power differentials among interest groups. A defining feature of eco-activism is the adoption of a loving, nonviolent and just ethics to guide practice. According to hooks’s love ethic (2000, 2001), the high order capacity implied by this approach is to engage dominant interest groups in dialogue to address their part in creating injustice. To this end, the book adapts Godden’s interpretation of hooks’s love ethic when she describes it as a “model of relationship-based activism” (2017, p. 405). Broadly, this requires transformational, anti-oppressive leadership in ongoing nonviolent direct action and inter-interest group dialogues. The book outlines these main approaches to eco-activism with an explicit ethical focus to foster justice premised in a love of humanity, a love of animals, including all sentient beings, and a love of Planet Earth.

According to the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW, 2018), social justice is the distinctive feature of social work’s mission. Social justice refers to the responsibility: to challenge negative discrimination and institutional oppression; respect diversity; enable access to equitable resources; challenge unjust policies and practices; and work in solidarity to enable social inclusion (IFSW, 2018). Social justice can be understood as a value, as well as the method, for achieving human well-being. In light of the imperatives of eco-social work, the idea of social justice is revised further to include environmental justice and species justice. There is an intersectionality of issues of injustice (Besthorn & McMillen, 2002) such that social justice cannot exist without environmental and species justice (Gaard, 2011; Hollo, 2018). Social justice with this ecological sensibility is in turn linked with sustainability considerations and the enactment of social responsibility by key entities. Sustainability refers to ecological, social and economic factors being in a dynamic balance across generations so that life is maintained and flourishes (Ross, 2015). For example, interpersonal violence such as sexual assault and domestic violence cause harm, reinforce the condoning of violence as a mechanism of power over people (hooks, 2000) and create unsustainable relationships. Another example is environmental pollution and degradation from large-scale mining operations (Munro, 2012; Cleary, 2012) which threaten the lives and livelihoods of communities and nature’s ability to rebalance as evidenced by climate change (Alston, 2015).

Environmental justice is defined by adapting White’s idea of ecocentrism, which “requires [that] all social practices incorporate ecological sensitivities and heightened awareness of the intrinsic value of flora, fauna, eco-systems and non-living entities such as rivers and mountains” (2018, p. 342). The point of difference is this book conceptually separates fauna with the term inter-species justice to ensure it remains an explicit consideration of eco-activism. Additionally, the holistic perspectives of many First Nation People believe that: rivers and mountains are living beings; humans are inseparable from the environment; and all sentient beings are of equal worth (Poelina, 2019; Green, 2018; Creative Spirits, 2019). White suggests that there can be “nonhuman victims” (2018, p. 342) in situations of “environmental insecurity” (White, 2017, p. 58), where environmental degradation and unsustainability by natural resource businesses may constitute state crime if the state fails to adequately protect the environment.

The main sectors that affect environmental security are natural resource-intensive developments such as: large-scale public infrastructure initiatives; real estate development projects; animal farming; and mining businesses (e.g., in the mining sector, Sandlos & Keeling, 2016; Mazzeo, 2018; Pedersen, 2014). All these activities directly affect the natural environment, including animals, which can intersect with, and compound, pre-existing social and economic inequalities. Martinez-Alier (2002) describes how ecological conflicts are inevitable due to the increased use of the environment for economic gain. Humans’ insistence on exploiting the natural environment beyond its capacity to regenerate, coupled with the failure of humans to proactively and responsively care for the natural environment, has been one of the main causes of slow-onset ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Series Page
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• List of figures
• Foreword
• List of contributors
• PART 1 What love looks like in public
• PART 2 Clarion call for social work
• Resources for practice
• Index