This episode featured Susan Park, Professor of Global Governance in Government and International Relations at the University of Sydney.
Do international grievance mechanisms work? These non-legal, non-binding mechanisms are increasingly used to provide recourse for people suffering environmental and social harm from internationally funded development projects. But, to date, there have been no studies to show how these mechanisms make a difference to people using them.
Susan presented uses of an eco-justice frame to analyse grievances against international development projects financed by Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) to investigate whether they lead to improvements for people and ecosystems. An eco-justice approach combines the right of nature (to exist, repair, and regenerate) with environmental procedural rights for humans (to have access to information, to participate, and to have access to justice in environmental matters). Using an eco-justice frame for addressing grievances against development arguably can bring us closer to recognising both human and planetary health.
