Environmental conflicts and injustices have become a significant problem in the societies today due to various social, economic and environmental factors. In most cases, environmental injustices occur when human beings cause an imbalance in the environment due to their ecological practices. In this case, different sociologists have analyzed the arising environmental conflicts and injustices and have come up with theories to explain their causes and solutions. The treadmill of production, ecological modernization and conservation of resources are some examples of theories that explain the environmental injustices that occur within societies and the nation as a whole. Bouganville island environmental injustice is an example of environmental injustice that can be explained by the treadmill of production theory and conservation of resources theory.
The treadmill of production theory was developed by a sociologist known as Allan Schnaiberg, who focused on the production processes of resources as one of the causes of environmental destruction. The treadmill of production theory argues that production processes of resources consistently leads to the destruction (Lewis, 2019). The treadmill of production increases the environmental problems that are experienced today, especially in developing countries (Curran, 2017). This globalization results in environmental degradation due to the increasing demand for production from advanced and developing countries. Capitalism in countries and states is the main reason for the increased treadmill of destruction due to the high demand for production and profits. Environmental resources are being converted into profits through production and market exchange (Lewis, 2019). Therefore, through this theory, it can be said that competition and the desire for increased profits are the main drives of the intensifying production processes in the capitalist world’s economy (Curran, 2017). The result of this becomes resource withdrawals from the environment and toxic additions to the environment. In the end, these withdrawals from and toxic additions to the environment causes continual environmental degradation impacting the ecosystems and human well-being.
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On the other hand, conservation of resources theory by Dr Stevan Hobfoll in 1989 mainly focuses on psychological stress as a construct in human beings. The psychological stress developed in human beings as a result of objective elements of threats and losses leads to appraisals by people who share a common ecological system and culture ( Hobfoll et al., 2016) . Three factors cause psychological stress in human beings as per Hobfoll in his theory. The first element is when there is a threat of loss of resources and the second being the actual loss of the environmental resources. Finally, spending on resources after lacking the gained resources ( Hobfoll et al., 2016) . In his case, individuals in society will experience psychological stress as well as different levels of stress due to the combined instances or individual instances mentioned above.
For the conservation of resources to work, various principles guide the theory, which is mainly the ‘Primacy of Resource Loss’ and ‘Resource Investment’ ( Hobfoll et al., 2016) . The first principle of primacy of resource loss mainly states that there is a significantly stronger impact on an individual when there is a loss of resources than when there is a gain of resources ( Hobfoll et al., 2016) . Loss of resources is more detrimental than how the same gain of resources would be beneficial. On the other hand, the second principle of resource investment states that individuals make investments of resources in order to prevent and maintain resource loss as they acquire new ones ( Hobfoll et al., 2016) . Individuals will tend to capitalize on resources in order to safeguard and recover from resources as well as gaining new ones. Therefore this tends to exert psychological stress on human beings especially during threats of loss of resources.
In the case of Bougainville island environmental injustices that occurred in 1988 to 1998 demonstrates the treadmill of production theory and conservation of resources theory are valid. Bougainville a region located in Papua New Guinea, which is an area rich in copper ( Adamo, 2018 ). Explorations were conducted in the 1960s by the Bougainville Copper Limited, a company that operated the Panguna mines. Soon after, mining operations began, which later became the leading cause of the uprising violence and civil conflict taking place between the years of 1988 to 1997 ( Adamo, 2018 ). The arising of the civil conflict due to mining operations in the copper-rich island led to the displacement of thousands of people and the death of thousands of people.
As per the treadmill of production theory, the civil conflict and environmental injustices in Bougainville Island were due to the demand for production of copper, leading to the destruction of the environment. The mining operations that were taking place impacted the health of the environment; and pollutions from the mine contaminated the Juba River, which was a source of water of the people around ( Adamo, 2018 ). Not only was Juba River contaminated but also the land which was their source of food and also the sea was also contaminated. Furthermore, the profits that were generated through the mining operations were not adequately shared with the local communities and the landowners. Injustice, therefore, occurred due to lack of benefit-sharing agreements between the residents and the mining company ( Adamo, 2018 ). It can, therefore, be explained that the demand for production of copper and gold by the developing states in Australia similarly led to the degradation of the environment around the island. Withdrawals of copper from the environment led to the addition of toxic environmental pollutants into the environment, thus leading to environmental degradation and finally, the civil conflict.
Another cause of civil war on the island of Bougainville is the psychological stress impacted upon the residents as per the conservation of resources theory. The residents of Bougainville realized that the mining company and the undergoing operations were destroying their environment, and they were given no compensation (Tierney et al., 2016). This caused stress in them as they were losing their resources to a company that showed no social corporate responsibility. Through this, the civil conflict began as the residents saw a need to protect their resources for the future. The threat of losing their resources and the degradation of their environment caused psychological stress in the people of Bougainville. This forced them to fight for their independence under the Bougainville Revolutionary Army.
The two theories, treadmill for production and conservation of resources theories, have a similar approach to explaining the Bougainville environmental injustice. There is only a small differences. Both theories’ explanations of the issue of environmental destruction and their causes of injustice are co-related. Both theories believe that Bougainville civil conflict was caused by destruction of resources, pressure, tension and stress to the surrounding individuals. However, some differences can be portrayed between the two theories. For the treadmill of production theory, the conflict arose when the residents of Bougainville were not adequately compensated, and profits were not shared equally between the company and the local community. For the conservation of resources, the conflict arose due to threats of locals losing their resources. The two theories are useful in explaining the Bougainville environmental injustice and civil war as the causes can be clearly defined, analyzed and understood.
In conclusion, environmental degradation is mainly caused by the economic activities of human beings for the satisfaction of their desires and needs. Human beings should be able to find a way that they can provide for then needs and wants without necessarily destroying the environment. Moreover, after using environmental resources, human beings should find a way to replace them and avoid toxic additions to the environment. It can be achieved when the companies take the first step of corporate social responsibility and sustainability.
References
Adamo A. (2018). A cursed and fragmented island: History and conflict analysis in Bougainville, Papua New Guinea, small wars & insurgencies. Small Wars and Insurgencies , 29(1), 164-186, doi: 10.1080/09592318.2018.1404765
Curran, D. (2017). The Treadmill of Production and the Positional Economy of Consumption. Thematic Issue: Environmental Sociology, 54 (1). doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/cars.12137
Hobfoll S.E., Tirone V., Holmgreen L., & Gerhart J. (2016). Chapter 7 - Conservation of Resources Theory Applied to Major Stress. Stress: Concepts, Cognition,Emotion, and Behavior , 65-71. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-800951-2.00007-8
Lewis, T. L. (2019). Globalizing the treadmill of production: a solutions-oriented application to Ecuador. Environmental Sociology , 5(3), 219-231. doi: 10.1080/23251042.2018.1514942
Tierney, D., Bolton, P., Matanu, B., Garasu, L., Barnabas, E., & Silove, D. (2016). The mental health and psychosocial impact of the Bougainville Crisis: A synthesis of available information. International journal of mental health systems , 10 (18). doi:10.1186/s13033-016-0054-x
