13. Green Criminology
13.8 Linking Ecophilosophies, Justice Perspectives, and Indigenous Ways of Knowing
Dr. Gregory Simmons; Dr. Mark Vardy; and Dr. Rochelle Stevenson
We can view a green victimology through the lens of each of the ecophilosophies discussed earlier in the chapter: anthropocentrism, biocentrism and ecocentrism. Recall that anthropocentrism is human-centered, focusing on humans exclusively as both perpetrators and victims. Naturally, then it sees environmental victimisation as restricted to human beings, either in terms of direct harm or of harm flowing from the degradation of nature (the loss of economic goods provided by the natural world, of shared cultural experience, or of opportunities for individual enjoyment or aesthetic appreciation and aesthetic, for example). Biocentrism operates under an expansive view in which there is no inherent distinction between life in all its forms all are equally victims in the face of environmental harm.
Lastly, victimhood under ecocentrism, with its relational understanding of social and environmental issues as intimately connected, takes on a more nuanced character than under either of the previous two perspectives. Here investigation is required into the specifics of damage, disruption and benefit in light of the needs of human beings, societies, other life-forms and the processes that connect each to each other (Beirne, 2007; Brisman & South, 2019; Chunn et al., 2002; Halsey & White, 1998; White, 2003; White & Heckenberg, 2014). Moreover, the particular capacity of humans to “develop and deploy means of production that have global consequences means that humans have a unique responsibility to ensure that such production methods do not exceed the ecospheric limits of the planet” (Halsey & White, 1998, p. 355). Hence, achieving justice means engaging in an on-going evaluation and re-evaluation of our relations to the natural environment and broader world, one in which the environmental victim is not a fixed entity but subject to ongoing determination and redetermination. Similarly, White (2013, 2018) and others contend that a truly ecocentric approach to environmental harm should develop from the iterative interaction of environmental justice, species justice and ecological justice perspectives – through which their differences, inconsistencies and antagonisms are resolved. This parallels with and connects to Indigenous worldviews that sees humans and the natural world as imbricated in a reciprocal set of obligations and responsibilities, such that, when honoured, a healthy balance between all is maintained (Borrows et al., 2019).
Case Study: Tar sands, Indigenous justice and the criminalization of protest
In this case study, we focus on the development of the tar sands in northern Alberta and associated pipelines as an example of how the Canadian criminal justice system continues to perpetuate historical injustices against Indigenous peoples. The tar sands – which are often referred to as