Environmental Justice and Indigenous Movements

Sangaralingam Ramesh ()
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Sangaralingam Ramesh: University College London and University of Oxford

Chapter Chapter 5 in The Political Economy of the Indigenous Peoples of the World, Volume II, 2026, pp 205-258 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract This chapter situates Indigenous movements at the forefront of contemporary struggles for environmental justice, arguing that they defend not only local territories but also alternative political and economic principles rooted in reciprocity, stewardship, and intergenerational responsibility. It challenges market-centred environmentalism and state productivist approaches by showing that Indigenous ecological practices have long integrated livelihood, governance, and spiritual obligation. Through discussions of traditional ecological knowledge, biodiversity protection, rotational cultivation, controlled burning, fisheries management, and reindeer herding, the chapter presents Indigenous environmental governance as an adaptive and enduring system rather than a residual cultural form. Major case studies, including Standing Rock, the Sarayaku struggle in Ecuador, and the Ogoni movement in Nigeria, illustrate how resistance to pipelines, oil extraction, and corporate pollution links sovereignty claims to wider debates on climate change, development, and global justice. The chapter also highlights the leadership of Indigenous women and youth, alongside the importance of transnational alliances and advocacy in environmental politics. Advancing the volume’s broader theoretical contribution, it frames Symbiotic Gaian Economics as an approach that embeds political economy within ecological limits and relational obligations. The chapter concludes that Indigenous environmental movements are among the most significant forces shaping just and sustainable futures in an age of planetary crisis.

Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-3-032-24129-0_5

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DOI: 10.1007/978-3-032-24129-0_5

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