North America/South Asia Conversation on Environmental Justice
December, 2002
In collaboration with the Environmental Justice Initiative and the Ford Foundation, CIEL organized and co-hosted a North America/South Asia Conversation on Environmental Justice from December 2 – 6, 2002 in Sariska, India. Believed to be the first ever of its kind, the conversation was designed to examine what environmental justice (EJ) means in today’s world and to identify opportunities to begin building bridges and fostering solidarity between EJ activists in North America and South Asia.
Sessions were held on: water; gender; heath and toxics; culture; natural resources, conservation and peoples’ rights; mining, dams, displacement and energy; trade, globalization and loss of livelihoods; corporate accountability; and global negotiations. Developing strategies and discussing next steps was also an important part of the Conversation. Over sixty participants from the US, Canada, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh attended. Despite cultural differences and some logistical glitches, feedback from the participants was positive and indicated that the workshop was a potentially important milestone. The proceedings, were published in India in late 2003 under the title Building Building Bridges: North America/South Asia Conversation on Environmental Justice. In addition, a listserv has been set up in order to facilitate exchange of information and strengthen linkages between the two regions.