Advancing procedural justice in conservation

Abstract

Just participation in conservation decision-making is a moral imperative and critical to achieving social and ecological goals. However, understanding of what constitutes a just decision-making process in conservation remains limited. Integrating key literature from environmental justice, psychology of justice, and participatory conservation, we identify 11 procedural justice criteria, many of which have been overlooked in conservation literature. We develop a framework to help promote procedural justice in conservation decision-making which organizes the criteria into three key domains (Process properties, Agency of participants, Interpersonal treatment), which are underpinned by the justice dimension of recognition. We highlight seven policy levers that can be used to enhance procedural justice (e.g., scalar and contextual fit, conflict resolution, facilitation). However, advancing just decision-making using this framework requires addressing a number of key challenges, in particular those related to broader structural power inequalities, and elucidating and accounting for plural and situated conceptions of procedural justice. We outline a number of pathways to overcome these challenges, including promoting knowledge coproduction and self-reflexivity.

An antiracist, anticolonial agenda for urban greening and conservation

“…Policies toward recognition justice seek to limit the power of entities such as developers, out of town firms, and wealthy donors, and enhance the power of residents and community organizations. Redistributing power by supporting diverse voices, expanding decision-making control, and providing sufficient resources to communities will enable coproduction of knowledge, sustained participation, and build the trust necessary for collaborative management of urban conservation spaces after initial investment (Montambault et al, 2018;Ruano-Chamorro et al, 2022). One possibility decision-makers should be prepared for in shifting power is that communities may refuse conservation initiatives, and true recognition justice means accepting when communities make that choice (Liboiron, 2021).…”

“…However, before deciding where to plant, cities must recognize and work with communities to determine the most just path forward. Before trees can be equitably distributed across a city, attention must be paid to the social and political structures that disenfranchised marginalized populations and created the injustice in the first place (Ruano‐Chamorro et al., 2022). As described above, these structures might include legacies of systemic racism (e.g., redlining) and legacies of colonial practices, such as segregation of parks and other environmental amenities.…”

“…Along these lines, resources can create opportunities for urban greening that happens with communities and not just to communities. Others have recognized the importance of providing adequate resources (e.g., time, skills, and information) to communities to ensure their effective and sustained involvement (Ruano‐Chamorro et al., 2022).…”

“…In addition to creating the space and physical resources needed for involvement, Ruano‐Chamorro et al (2022) also advocate for better interpersonal treatment of participants, such as respecting local knowledge, to generate more effective cocreation. Such practices may lead to progressive policies, better enforcement of existing regulations, and integration of diverse voices and perspectives (Pearsall & Anguelovski, 2016; Rigolon et al., 2020).…”

The Conceptual Review on the Impact of Organizational Justice on Workplace Deviance and the Mediating Role of Psychological Contract Breach

“…Literature depicts that employees' perceptions regarding organizational justice impact their organizational behaviors (Colquitt et al, 2001;Yang et al, 2012). Over time, justice-oriented research has emphasized the foundations of justice (Ruano-Chamorro et al, 2021). Years of inquiry recommend that individuals evaluate the impartiality of their organization over numerous aspects (Whitman et al, 2012), and each aspect transmits a distinctive set of justice rules with it.…”