ABSTRACT
The distribution of the costs and benefits of development is an issue central to sustainable development, with its objectives of inter-and intra-generational equity, and is also the core concern of growing calls for environmental equity and environmental justice (EJ). Cutter (1995) defined EJ as ‘equal access to a clean environment and equal protection from possible environmental harm irrespective of race, income, class or any other differentiating feature of socio-economic status’. However, EJ advocates are increasingly concerned with a broader view of the environment, as issues such as access to environmental resources and participation in decisions affecting the environment are important quality-of-life determinants. Thus EJ is concerned not just with the distribution of environmental ‘goods and bads’ amongst minority populations, but also with how those distributions have come about, and how they can and should be addressed. Such ‘procedural equity’ issues make the distinction between environmental equity and environmental justice.
