University of Twente Student Theses
Towards a Spatially and Epistemically Just Earth System Boundary
Delarosa, Alyssa (2024) Towards a Spatially and Epistemically Just Earth System Boundary.
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| Abstract: | Biodiversity and ecosystems are actively being harmed due to the sixth mass extinction event that is impacting the Earth system. In response to this event, the Earth Commission has proposed a biosphere functional integrity boundary which has designated 20-25% of every square kilometre of managed lands to be reserved for nature. The proposed biosphere functional integrity boundary has been built off of the planetary boundaries and doughnut economic model frameworks and the implications of governance and scale drawn from the two frameworks. With developing the biosphere functional integrity boundary, the Earth Commission has acknowledged that the proposed metric may have to be modified based upon context of different areas, and has integrated both the “safe” operating space from the planetary boundaries framework, and the “just” operating space that the doughnut economic model framework added to the planetary boundaries framework. The safe operating space is defined by eight proposed earth system boundaries from the Earth Commission and the just operating space is defined through a proposed earth system justice framework from the Earth Commission. This thesis will address and focus upon the conceptualisation of epistemic justice from the defined just operating space of the proposed biosphere functional integrity boundary. By discussing the conceptualisation of epistemic injustice from Philosopher Miranda Fricker, and inferences drawn from a targeted review of the just urban greening literature, this thesis will identify overarching power dynamics that present a barrier to furthering epistemic justice with governance at both local and global scales. The overarching power dynamics can be a problem for the Earth Commission seeking to address the sixth mass extinction event with their proposed biosphere functional integrity boundary with governance at both local and global scales. Feminist urban political ecology scholar Andrea Nightingale claims that overarching power dynamics within the selection and application of different knowledge sets call for research that identifies who has the power to make decisions while simultaneously being inclusive of everyone and all knowledges through spaces fostering deliberative democratic practises (Nightingale, 2023). If epistemic justice is needed with the development and implementation of the proposed biosphere functional integrity boundary to address the sixth mass extinction event, then how can the overarching power dynamics within the selection and application of different knowledge sets be identified within different spaces? This thesis will argue that by identifying the intertwinement of knowledge, space, and power production within spatial governance and scale, epistemic justice should be used together with spatial justice in order for power dynamics to be identified in different spaces with the proposed biosphere functional integrity boundary. Through both an epistemic and spatial justice lens, the Earth Commission can further its goal of addressing the sixth mass extinction event. |
| Item Type: | Essay (Master) |
| Faculty: | BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences |
| Subject: | 01 general works, 02 science and culture in general, 08 philosophy, 10 humanities in general, 38 earth sciences, 43 environmental science, 74 (human) geography, cartography, town and country planning, demography, 89 political science |
| Programme: | Philosophy of Science, Technology and Society MSc (60024) |
| Link to this item: | https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/103203 |
| Export this item as: | BibTeX EndNote HTML Citation Reference Manager |
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