What is environmental justice? Discuss its principles in brief

Environmental justice refers to the fair and equitable distribution of environmental benefits and burdens across all communities, regardless of race, ethnicity, income, or social status.

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It focuses on addressing the disproportionate exposure to environmental hazards, pollution, and the unequal access to environmental resources and amenities that marginalized and vulnerable communities often face.

Key principles of environmental justice include:

1. Equity and Fairness: Ensuring fair treatment and equal protection from environmental hazards, risks, and benefits for all communities, especially those historically marginalized or disadvantaged.
2. Inclusion and Participation: Encouraging the meaningful involvement of all stakeholders, including affected communities, in decision-making processes related to environmental policies, regulations, and projects that impact their lives and environments.
3. Precautionary Approach: Advocating for preventive measures and policies to avoid or minimize environmental harm, particularly in vulnerable communities, even in the absence of complete scientific certainty about potential risks.
4. Accountability and Transparency: Holding institutions, corporations, and government agencies accountable for their actions that affect the environment and public health. Transparency in decision-making processes is crucial to ensure accountability.
5. Recognition of Cumulative Impacts: Acknowledging that certain communities experience cumulative and intersecting environmental burdens due to multiple sources of pollution or hazards, leading to a compounded impact on health and well-being.
6. Health and Safety: Prioritizing the protection of human health and safety as fundamental rights, irrespective of socio-economic status or geographical location, by minimizing exposure to environmental risks.
7. Sustainability and Resilience: Promoting sustainable practices that consider long-term environmental, social, and economic impacts to build resilient communities capable of coping with environmental challenges.

Environmental justice aims to address historical injustices, empower communities, and advocate for policies and practices that promote a clean, healthy, and safe environment for everyone. It seeks to ensure that no community bears a disproportionate burden of environmental harm and that all individuals have equal access to environmental benefits and resources.