Socioenviromental Conflicts, Political Ecology and Enviromental Justice: Contributions for a Critical Analysis

Abstract

Environmental conflicts are associated with disputes for the access and use of natural resources; moreover, they are linked to environmental degradation. This paper aims at presenting a conceptual evaluation of environmental conflicts, in order to increase their understanding from the geographical point of view. Along these lines, it uses analytical tools from two critical perspectives: political ecology and environmental justice. Based on a literature review, it was possible to identify that both perspectives propose the need to make conflicts more evident, as a strategy to make explicit that they are not spontaneous consequences of natural resource exploitation, but are, actually, a result of the unequal power relations that define the appropriation of the environment.