Towards Connected Knowledge and Policy in a Development Pluriverse
Speaker: Professor Melissa Leach (Institute of Development Studies)
Climate change and biodiversity loss are fundamentally crises of justice as much as they are crises related to the biophysical environment. Existing approaches that ignore this are not working, and frequently perpetuate harm. This lecture will reflect on matters of justice, as related both to current and historic factors like uneven development, colonisation and environmental racism that shape vulnerabilities over long periods of time, and to processes of disconnection that separate people from the non-human natures they are part of. It will draw on evidence that amplifies the voices and perspectives of people who have experienced injustice and marginalisation, who are facing day-to-day challenges and uncertainties due to environmental changes or harmful impacts of past policies, and whose practices embody deeper ecological connections. This suggests the need for development and policy processes guided by plural notions of sustainability, privileging people’s real-world experiences, understandings and aspirations, and embodying and enacting forms of knowledge, institutions and accountable relationships that are equitable, fair and based on mutual respect.