Inégalités écologiques : vers quelle définition ?

Abstract

The notion of ‘ecological inequalities’ raises several issues because of its recent emergence and of the complexity of the issues it refers to. An in-depth exploration of its different definitions is thus a pre requisite to its further use as a concept on which studies may be based. Then, we propose that some conceptual limits must be drawn in order to avoid emptying the notion from its heuristic power and that using the notion implies that one has to define what one means by ‘environment’, ecology and nature. A starting point is to distinguish two dimensions inherent in the notion; social and environmental inequalities, which allows us to depart from the old concept of ecology as ‘nature’ and to conceive the social and environmental aspects as interrelated. Hence, inequalities arise both in terms of actors’ relationship to nature and to other humans, i.e., the social and political aspects. From this, we can then reflect on means by which to conceptualise actors’ varying capacity at adapting and responding to environmental crises and changes.

Keywords

• conceptualisation
• ecological inequality
• environmental inequality
• political ecology