ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
by Sande Smith, Communications Officer
"The poor are not living in industrialized countries where the environment is distant—where you have to go out to appreciate it. Our lives depend upon it," said Wangari Maathai, winner of the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize.
This is all the more true for women. While the destruction of the environment affects each and every one of us, the brunt of the damage falls on women and children. Nuclear waste, the overuse of pesticides, deforestation, and the pollution of water supplies are wreaking havoc on women's bodies and lives.
According to the World Health Organization, more than three million children under five die each year from adverse environmental causes and conditions. And the National Wildlife Federation has found that diseases associated with dirty water kill between five and 12 million people each year, mostly women and children. Due to increasing privatization and pollution, more people, especially women, lack access to clean drinking water.
Almost every single one of the Millennium Development Goals, to which 191 United Nations member states have subscribed, have environmental implications that concern women. Child mortality cannot be reduced if we ignore how breast milk is tainted by toxins; diseases such as giardia cannot be prevented if there is no safe, clean water; universal primary education cannot be achieved if girls are taken out of school to walk long distances to fetch clean water. Poverty cannot be eradicated if women do not have access to land, which they know how to manage sustainably.
In 2005, the UN acknowledged women's role in preserving and transmitting indigenous knowledge, promoting biodiversity and managing environmental resources with respect. Economic and environmental justice cannot be achieved without the empowerment of women. The profiles that follow are deeply inspiring examples of how women around the world are achieving their right to a safe and healthy environment by combining knowledge with transformative practices that benefit their communities.