Environmental citizenship and sustainable development: The case of waste facility siting in Taiwan

Mei Fang Fan*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

11 Scopus citations

Abstract

10.1002/sd.353.abs This paper examines how issues of environmental citizenship play out in the context of an industrial waste facility siting controversy in Taipei, Taiwan, and the implications of this complex predicament for justice and sustainable development generally. It shows the ways in which local activists perceive the adverse effects of a development project that generates industrial waste and incinerator ash in their hometown. Local activists feel excluded from decision-making and frustrated by the lack of recognition by authorities. They complain that their local, contextualized knowledge and experiences are ignored. Local activists are concerned about ecological devastation and feel responsible for future generations. Instead of a NIMBY protest of selfish residents, local activists imagine themselves as active citizens fighting for justice and sustainability on a scale beyond their neighborhood. The case highlights the needs for institutional transparency, the recognition of multiple ways of knowing and new conceptions of the good life.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)381-389
Number of pages9
JournalSustainable Development
Volume16
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 2008

Keywords

  • Environmental citizenship
  • Environmental impact
  • Environmental justice
  • Stakeholder engagement
  • Sustainable development

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