Environmental Ethics,

Sustainability and Education

Edited by

Estelle L. Weber

Inter-Disciplinary Press
Oxford, United Kingdom
© Inter-Disciplinary Press 2009
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ISBN: 978-1-904710-74-5
First published in the United Kingdom in eBook format in 2009. First
Edition.
 Table of Contents
Introduction and Overview ix
Estelle L. Weber

PART I Environmental Ethics and Justice

Crisis? Which crisis? 3

Linda Hadfield

Immigrants in their “Own” Country –

Finns Living in Aland 17
Anna-Liisa Kuczynski

Antarctica: Common Resource or

Developer’s Dream? 33
Jane Verbitsky

Climate Change and the Construction

Industry 47
Francine Baker

Environmental Rights, Justice and

Climate Change 63
Bridget Lewis

Investing the Law With an Environmental

Ethic: Incorporating Environmental Justice
Into Domestic Environmental Laws 81
Brad Jessup

PART II Citizen Advocacy, Engagement, Traditional

Ecological Knowledge and Sustainable
Development

Environmental Ethics is Key to Sustainability

In a Contemporary Society 99
Harriet Nalukenge
 Redressing Equity Issues in Natural Resource-
Rich regions: A Theoretical Framework for
Sustaining Development in East Kalimantan,
Indonesia 107
Agung Sugiri

Is There a Place for Mediation and Other

Consensus Building Processes in
Environmentally Threatened Communities
In the Philippines? 137
Caroliza Tulod-Peteros

So You Say: Ecological Knowledge vs.

Economic Need in South America 157
Noomi Mozard

Incorporating People’s Perception into

Landscape Planning: Ethical Challenges
In Dealing with Diversity of Opinion
Within a Community 171
Elisabeth Conrad, Mike Christie and
Ioan Fazey

The Role of Stakeholder Engagement in

Conservation: Integrating Ecological
Sciences and Participatory Methods in
A Mediterranean Island Context 187
Louis F. Cassar, Stephen Morse and
Geoffrey H. Griffith

Indigenous Land Management in a Modern

World: A Case Study From Papua New
Guinea 197
Estelle L. Weber

PART III Environmental Education

Virtue Ethics, Biodiversity and

Environmental Education 215
Paul Knights
The Problem with Consensus: The
Contested Terrain of Sustainability
In a University Setting 225
Judy Rogers and Jane Shepherd

Teaching Environmental Law:

Curriculum and Methodologies 237
Erika J. Techera

State Neutrality and Compulsory

Environmental Education 249
Anders Schinkel
Redressing Equity Issues in Natural Resource-Rich Regions:
A Theoretical Framework for Sustaining Development in
East Kalimantan, Indonesia

Agung Sugiri

Abstract
Despite having potentials for economic growth, natural resource-rich regions
in developing countries, like East Kalimantan Province of Indonesia, often
face problems emerging from unequal distribution of development benefits
and extreme exploitation of natural resources. Economic inequality and
poverty on one hand, and threats of unsustainability on the other, are thus
common. Essentially, the problems share a common root of cause, namely
inequity. The main question is therefore: “Given that the immediately viable
prospects of achieving economic development in developing countries lies in
natural resource-rich regions, how can public policy in such regions assist in
promoting intra- and inter-generational equity, and thus sustainability?” This
paper proposes a theoretical framework for public policy reformulation that
can help resolve ing the problems in East Kalimantan. Regional development
in East Kalimantan should consequently apply equity in four main functions:
benefit distribution to the people; in the production function of natural
resources; in the nonproduction function and in reinvestment for
sustainability. Equity failures in benefit distribution end up in problems of
poverty and economic inequality. Inequity in the production function causes
problems of inequality and benefit leakages to foreign countries, along with
the threat of unsustainability due to excessive exploitation. Moreover, equity
failures in the nonproduction function deteriorate the assimilative and
carrying capacity of the environment. Finally, equity failures in sustainability
reinvestment threaten sustainability, mainly because of insufficient funding to
reverse the environmental damage. To resolve inequity problems, and thus to
ensure sustainability, it is necessary to reform and renew related public
policies, so correct and corruption-free implementation will bring sustainable
welfare to the people. Finally this paper suggests 18 policy areas needed to be
reformulated.

Key Words: Equity, equity failure, inequality, natural resource-rich,

sustainable regional development, developing countries.

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