Unearthing The Nature Gap

How Environmental Racism, extractivism, and Commodification Restrict Nature Access For Marginalized Communities

Color of Change, Alyssa Osasere (2016)

Nature is a gift.

She gives and asks for little in return. But unfortunately, rampant discrimination has robbed the joys of nature from many.

People of color and low-income communities are disproportionately unable to reap the benefits of nature and green spaces. The “Nature Gap” refers to a combination of racial and economic factors that affect an individual or communities' access to the natural environment. This injustice becomes clearer once one grasps the full extent and scope of nature's benefits. The positive effect of nature exposure on mental and physical health is well studied. Studies show evidence that immersion in nature can improve cognitive function, brain activity, blood pressure, mental wellbeing, physical activity, and sleep.

Much less talked about are the emotional, existential, and spiritual benefits of nature-connectedness. The Biophilia Hypothesis, coined by American ecologist, E. O. Wilson suggests that humans have evolved with an inherent deep affinity for the natural world. Individuals who have a strong relationship with nature experience greater 'eudaimonic' well-being — a sense of long-lasting peace and contentment. The connection is invaluable. This connection places us as one member of a much grander ecosystem. It can reshape how we view our “place” in the world, as a family of stewards rather than its rightful ‘owners’. Through this connection, one can commune with nature wherever they are, yet only through exposure to nature can one begin to foster this relationship. Restricting access to nature is to sever an individual's birthright to kindle a kinship with the living breathing world. 

The Claws of Environmental Racism

The nature gap is a consequence of a far greater issue: institutionalized environmental racism. Environmental racism reveals its depravity through many faces. It reveals itself in the so-called "cancer alley" in Louisiana, a predominantly African-American and low-income community, which contains over 200 petrochemical plants and refineries. It reveals itself in Nigeria's oil-rich Ogoniland, where over two million barrels of oil have poisoned the delta and the life expectancy is 10 years lower than the national average at a shocking 41 years.  Environmental racism is seldom subtle, but you can also find its claws in popular tourist destinations, where multi-million dollar hotels displace traditional villages and lifestyles to construct ultra-luxurious properties that local people can realistically never afford.

Civil rights leader and organic environmentalist, Dr. Benjamin Chavis, first coined the term "environmental racism" in a speech against polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) waste in Warren County, North Carolina landfill. Environmental racism, wherever one finds it, follows the blueprint of disproportionately burdening communities of color, low-income communities, and indigenous communities. Racist policies rob them of their livelihood, way of life, and force them to live in nature-deprived areas prone to environmental hazards. 

The "climate justice" movement has its roots in the early environmental justice movement which impacted communities organized against the disproportionate siting of hazardous waste sites, polluting industries, and other environmental hazards in their backyards. The global climate justice movement fights against an all too familiar injustice, the disproportionate consequences faced by the "developing world" despite recording the lowest emissions compared with the United States, Europe, and China. 

The "nature gap" is a deliberate manifestation of this deeply rooted system of environmental injustice. 

Nature As a Commodity

Extractivist methods of governance and economics have transformed nature into a commodity. Forest systems, coral metropolises, intertwining rivers, and endless savannas become products in the environmental marketplace — to be sold, exchanged, owned, privatized, distributed, destroyed, repaired, healed, regenerated, so on. 

A fascination with the exotic and faraway, often from tourists from wealthier countries, can also contribute to inequalities and create barriers for local people to access nature. Multi-million dollar chain hotels often displace local communities, building luxurious properties to profit off the land’s beauty while indigenous communities are forced to the sidelines. The new companies drive up property prices making it near-impossible for the locals to afford. In some cases, swathes of land or entire islands are completely closed off to the public. An extreme case is the Maldives. Resorts in the Maldives are situated in their very own island thus completely restricting access to locals. If you want to swim in the few dozens of islands that lie on the horizon, tough luck. There is a cruel irony where we would have entire generations of people who would have lived in the same atoll their whole life never having seen the beauty of their very own neighboring islands. 

Ecosystems become experiences. Beauty comes at a cost, too bad if you can’t afford it.

The nature gap is the lack of green spaces in discriminated communities, and it is also when communities are displaced from their indigenous land for industry while not reaping any riches from it. Reducing the natural world to a commodity that can be owned and sold undermines its intrinsic value as a gift for all. Industries like tourism are not inherently detrimental. When done right, they have the power to positively transform communities. But, as long as these industries operate against a backdrop of extractivism and disregard for local communities' right to their land, they contribute to displacement of native communities, income-inequality, and environmental degradation.

The Right to Blue and Green Spaces

Although the environmental movement began decades ago, we are still a long way behind making nature accessible for all. Conversations are crucial, and we need to have serious discussions about the barriers to blue and green spaces for marginalized communities. While there is plenty of scientific literature on the nature gap in the United States and Europe, we need more studies on the nature gap outside of the Western world, especially in nations impacted by colonialism.

Discussions cannot end with words. They must evolve into decisions made at the policy level. Decisions made without the involvement of those most affected by environmental racism and the nature gap are wasted. Without their perspective and their say, we will see policies that do more harm than good. 

The natural world is our home, a fundamental right, not one's luxury getaway vacation or a privilege for the wealthy few. We must all have equal access to the natural world and all the gifts she grants. 

Ijunad Junaid is a Maldivian environmental storyteller and steward for the Earth. Ijunad’s work explores our fragile relationship with the Earth and climate justice. Based on principles of deep ecology, Ijunad brings out the ‘more-than-human’ world in his writings and inspires to spark a sense of love, longing, and reverence for the Earth and all the billions of life she carries. As a Political Science graduate with a minor in Biodiversity from Leiden University, Ijunad’s work explores politics, power structures, and the climate crisis as intertwined threads.