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Social Justice Activism

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until it reaches the Romani village where there is very little water access or sewage

capacity.

The European Union is trying to strive towards

environmental justice by putting into effect

declarations that state that all people have a right to

a healthy environment. The Stockholm Declaration,

the 1987 Brundtland Commission's Report – "Our

Common Future", the Rio Declaration, and Article

37 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the

European Union, all are ways that the Europeans

have put acts in place to work toward environmental

justice. Europe also funds action-oriented projects that work on furthering

Environmental Justice throughout the world. For example, EJOLT (Environmental

Justice Organizations, Liabilities and Trade) is a large multinational project

supported through the FP7 Science in Society budget line from the European

[further explanation needed]

Commission. From March 2011 to March 2015, 23 civil society

organizations and universities from 20 countries in Europe, Africa, Latin-America, and

Asia are, and have promised to work together on advancing the cause of Environmental

Justice. EJOLT is building up case studies, linking organizations worldwide, and making

an interactive global map of Environmental Justice.

Sweden

Sweden became the first country to ban DDT in 1969 due to the efforts of women

protesting its usage in forests. In the 1980s, women activists organized around

preparing jam made from pesticide-tainted berries, which they offered to the members

of parliament. Parliament members refused, and this has often been cited as an

example of direct action within ecofeminism.

United Kingdom

Whilst the predominant agenda of the Environmental Justice movement in the United

States has been tackling issues of race, inequality, and the environment, environmental

justice campaigns around the world have developed and shifted in focus. For example,

the EJ movement in the United Kingdom is quite different. It focuses on issues of

poverty and the environment, but also tackles issues of health inequalities and social

exclusion. A UK-based NGO, named the Environmental Justice Foundation, has sought

to make a direct link between the need for environmental security and the defense of

basic human rights. They have launched several high profile campaigns that link

environmental problems and social injustices. A campaign against illegal, unreported

and unregulated (IUU) fishing highlighted how 'pirate' fisherman are stealing food from

local, artisanal fishing communities. They have also launched a campaign exposing the

environmental and human rights abuses involved in cotton production in Uzbekistan.

Cotton produced in Uzbekistan is often harvested by children for little or no pay. In

addition, the mismanagement of water resources for crop irrigation has led to the near

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