Political ecology | Student essays | No. 4 – Climate change and vulnerable populations

Moderator’s Note: This is the fourth in a selection of student research notes and essays prepared for a political ecology seminar I taught during the just completed fall quarter (Sept-Dec.). The students produced these essays and other contributions presented here which are synthesized from quarter-long topical research projects and presented in the form of a series of thematic posts related to the field of political ecology.

Some of the posts are autobiographical and draw from personal life histories and experiences but these are not empty exercises in navel gazing. Most of these students are part of the so-called Millennial Generation and they seem to me more like critical realists than alienated narcissists, and not because it is an intellectual fad but as a matter of historical and structural circumstances. This is a group of serious-minded, concerned young people who insist that they are going to be more than the embodiment of an alienated apolitical multitude stymied by an increasingly generalized state of precariousness. They refuse to be mere dupes in a tragedy involving the most extreme social inequality and concentrated corporate abuse of wealth and power that we have seen since the Gilded Age.

Meredith Hutchins, a senior anthropology major, wrote the fourth post in the series.  This is one in a series of essays focused on Climate Change, which in many ways I believe is becoming as much of a source of youthful angst as the threat of nuclear annihilation was to my own generation. This is a nuanced analysis of so-called ‘natural’ disasters that was in part inspired by the grave impacts of typhoon Haiyan, which happened during the class.

Hutchins notes that the effects of ‘natural’ disasters are profoundly magnified by “the anthropogenic effects of industrialization polices [that] have already taken a toll on thousands, arguably millions, of lives.” The essay was originally submitted to me via email on November 22, 2013.

“Heat Wave”. Credit: CargoCollective

 




(Un)Natural disasters

THE POLITICAL ECOLOGY OF EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS

Meredith Hutchins | Seattle, WA | January 12, 2013

The scientific evidence has piled up: It is irrefutable that global climate is changing and that the underlying causes are related to industrialization and capitalism. Scientific tracking of climate change also reveals ample evidence of the increasing number of record-breaking extreme weather events and especially violent ‘natural’ disasters. These disasters are disproportionately affecting indigenous communities and poorer nations.

A crucial question to ask then is: Why are certain populations more ‘at risk’ from harm due to extreme weather events compared to other social groups?

There are additional questions: Which groups are involved in rebuilding efforts in places damaged by extreme weather events? Do these rebuilding forces alter the existing government structures of the affected locales? Which locales get rebuilt and which don’t?  This is especially important given the increasingly vulnerable regions that are more susceptible to more frequent and more intense disasters.

What do all of these social, political and environmental factors mean for future action? Should the capitalist countries with economic systems that have increased these changes pay damages to poorer countries as a type of reparation or compensation? Finally, is there any way in which we can still cling to hope for the future, in spite of such a heavy environmental burden? In this article, I will discuss the various aspects that complicate the interaction between non-government organizations (NGOs), governments, and indigenous groups in establishing disaster relief policies.

Vulnerability: who defines it?

What is vulnerability and who decides how it should be defined and addressed? This question is important because often when a group of people is defined as decidedly vulnerable, they are delegitimized and seen as unable to determine a course of action for themselves.

In their article discussing the relationship between risk perception and politics, Bankoff and Hilhorst (2009) argue that: “Approaches to disaster are not just a function of people’s perceptions of disaster risk but also of their notions of the prevailing social order and social relations.”

Following this line of thought, the question must be raised about involvement of non-government organizations (NGOs) and their roles in disaster prevention and relief. Does the role of different organizations change the manner in which aid is received?

In the context of the Philippines, Bankoff and Hilhorst found that the contradictory aims and policies of NGOs and the Filipino government meant that “unfortunately, the resulting misunderstandings, mistrust, inefficiencies, duplication of services and wastage only further imperil[ed] those most in need of timely assistance.” (2009:4; brackets added)

Filipino children after Haiyan. Credit: Washington Post

If the perceptions of risk, which are translated through policy implementation of relief aid by various groups, become ineffective, what is the solution? I argue that cooperation between international organizations and national governments needs to reevaluate the concept of vulnerability and how it shapes policy. This type of victimization allows for a dominating control by those in power, typically the wealthier countries that have caused such devastation in the first place, over poorer countries that cannot afford to rebuild, which will be further discussed later in this post.

How nature is perceived and represented socially and politically

Another issue affecting the efficacy of disaster relief is the perception of nature and how that is used to shape policies in regard to the changing climate. The environment “has been constructed as a domain of resources that can be used as raw materials for state-building and maintenance” (Contreras 2002).

This can be problematic for two reasons: primarily, identifying the environment as “mere matter and devoid of any metaphysical attributes” separates environmental politics from the land itself; secondly, the notion of land as an entity separate of humans is not universally accepted, especially by indigenous groups who have become some of the most susceptible peoples to displacement and denigration as a result of climate change and natural disasters (5).

If the environment and humans are seen as separate, the connection to land that many indigenous groups have can be, and historically has been, discredited. By giving political merit to an opposing perspective, say, that of those native to specific lands, further readjustment might need to be made: policies would no longer be able to focus solely on surface-level recovery, but also on holistic, preventative changes in the destructive, capitalist lifestyle.

To understand the complexity between different groups and their environmental ideologies, I urge you to critically evaluate this video produced by Calle 13, a musical group from Puerto Rico. In the song, the refrain encompasses much of the clash between industrializing policies and indigenous groups:

Tú no puedes comprar el viento,

 […] tú no puedes comprar mis dolores

 

You cannot buy the wind,

[…] you cannot buy my sorrows

[My translation]

This song, among many others from the Latin band, draws attention to the interconnectivity between the land and the people that inhabit it. Such a contrast from more western ideologies is, arguably, the source of conflict in policymaking and implementation. Does the definition of ‘environment’ affect how a group views the best way to protect or recover ecological qualities?

To further frame the historical context of climate policy clashes, I decided to draw from the work of the social theorist Giorgio Agamben. His use of the two Greek words for ‘life’, zoē (“bare life”) and bios (“qualified life”), is suggestive of the schism between capitalist policies and how the environment is represented in climate change policy formation. This aspect of ‘biopower’ allows for control over what is life and what is not life; over who lives and who does not (1998:11).

If the environment is not considered a living being, then it cannot be prioritized as something in need of protection or restoration. The varying political history of the relationship between humans and the environment shapes the manner in which climate change and disaster relief policies are implemented.

Protest group at climate talks. Credit: The Guardian

Social consequences of the aftermath: environmental racism, damage and liability

Although it would be impossible to guess exactly what long term effects will be a consequence of the devastating typhoon Haiyan, underlying commonalities become a thread in the fabric of injustice after natural disasters: Haiti is still suffering from a massive earthquake, and those that lost their livelihoods in New Orleans continue to search a way to regain what has been lost after hurricane Katrina.

When disaster hits, why is it that disparities are further exacerbated and land displacement causes health consequences unequally? When land is no longer available to provide for the people that inhabit it, they are forced to move onto other groups’ lands? Does this not lead to friction and a clashing of values as landscapes change and the coastal areas originally inhabited cease to exist, as if ripped from the pages of an apocalyptic science fiction novel?

Katrina victims signal for help. Credit: Daily Cos

Environmental racism is a crucial concept to help us understand in the context of why groups of people have access to non-polluted resources and viable health resources based on race, class or gender. Seen as “an extension [of] institutional racism” for those that have been systematically excluded from access to viable health, the term “environmental racism” draws more specific attention to one of the many ways in which racism at the institutional level establishes and perpetuates inequality.

Two key examples illustrate these same points about inequalities, the bare life, and the politics of the construction of vulnerability and how these frame the recent experience of Filipinos with Typhoon Haiyan: These are the 7.0 Mw earthquake in Haiti in 2010 and Hurricane Katrina’s storm surge that hit New Orleans and surrounding areas in 2005.

Asking for help after earthquake in Haiti. Credit: CNTV

The increasing prevalence of ‘natural’ disasters

The earthquake in Haiti put the nation on the global stage and shed light on its colonial history and pervasive impoverishment. The country’s deep roots with slave trade as well as a major economic provider for its previous colonial ruler, France, along with a dictatorship and internal political turmoil, have left the once resource-rich land a site of extreme poverty and suffering.

After the most recent earthquake that left the country even further impoverished, public attention shifted on a global scale and aid flooded to the devastated nation. It is important to situate the historical context of Haiti and its political relations in order to determine the course of action for aid relief and how to rebuild an already damaged infrastructure.

Although there is no one solution, evaluation with a critical of various aid policies, both foreign and internal, might lead to understanding their long-term efficacy.

US aid arrives in Philippines. Credit: www.straitstimes.com

Reparations: Should there be compensation for the unequal distribution of pollution from wealthier countries to poorer ones?

The current Climate Change Conference in Warsaw, Poland was held amidst the instability and recovery in the Philippines, Somalia, and other countries that have recently been affected and continue to be by increasingly violent and frequent disasters. This gathering of different groups – from government officials to NGOs, and grassroots movement groups – exemplifies the very clashes in ecological ideology that I have discussed throughout this post.

The coming together of these different interest groups has not only shed light on a global concept of climate change, but it also has become a platform for minority voices to advocate for their rights. I urge you to view this Democracy Now! coverage of the UN Climate Change Conference in Warsaw, Poland. To see more about the conference itself, see the United Nations website.

Looking forward: is it such a bleak future after all?

As the death toll in the Philippines surpasses 5,200 in the aftermath of typhoon Haiyan, it seems that number will only rise as bodies are accounted for and aid relief is not effectively implemented (Democracy Now!). The relationship between humans and the environment is shaped through politics. As more groups of people are falling under the category of ‘climate refugee’, they are forced to move from their land and onto that of others, causing friction and conflict.

How can we as global citizens challenge policies that perpetuate inequality and climate devastation? It seems especially important to challenge the anthropogenic effects of capitalist industrialization, and financialization, polices that have already taken a toll on thousands, arguably millions, of lives.

N. Y. Saño. Credit: cityofbacolod.com

We need to stop focusing on policies and legislation that fall short. Instead, we need to advocate for an ideological and systemic change that will produce long-term restoration for all future inhabitants of this planet, including human and non-human beings.

We should stand in solidarity with those who refuse to settle for less than real change such as Filipino Climate Chief Naderev “Yeb” Saño, who has vowed to fast in solidarity and recognition of his home country and the hunger millions there now face as a consequence of typhoon Haiyan. In his words at the Conference:

“We can stop this madness […] typhoons such as Haiyan and its impacts represent a sobering reminder to the international community that we cannot afford to procrastinate on climate action” (Quoted in ecoseed.org).

References

Agamben, Giorgio, and Marilene Raiola. Homo sacer. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1998.

“Amidst Typhoon Haiyan: The science behind Yeb Sano’s speech”. Web. 22 Nov. 2013. http://www.ecoseed.org/politics/climate-talks/17199-amidst-typhoon-haiyan-the-science-behind-yeb-sano-s-speech

Bankoff, Greg, and Dorothea Hilhorst. "The Politics of Risk in the Philippines: Comparing State and Ngo Perceptions of Disaster Management." Disasters. 33.4 (2009): 686-704. Print.

Contreras, Antonio P. Locating the Political in the Ecological: Globalization, State-Civil Society Articulations, and Environmental Governance in the Philippines. Manila, Philippines: De La Salle University Press, 2002. Print

“Headlines: Friday, November 22, 2013”. Web. 22 Nov. 2013.