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ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE 217
in each case. To investigate environmental justice in a context-specific manner,
we need to rely on concepts that are locally accepted, socially legitimate — not
arbitrary — and aligned with the given context. This complexity arises from the
diverse array of concepts applied jointly and their numerous interpretations. The
identification of environmental injustices, whether it is in the form of
environmental damage or the absence of justice, should not be seen as the final
outcome but rather as the starting point for engaging in a broader social discourse.
The approach to environmental justice explained so far needs to be complemented
with further procedural elements. This is necessary because environmental events
are not isolated from society but rather are in interaction with it. Environmental
injustice is not only related to nature; it also depends on the social context.
Researchers have taken two opposing perspectives in this regard. These hold
different interpretations on the interaction between the environmental (non¬
human) factors and society (Murdoch 1997). Neo-Marxists argue that unjust
situations unambiguously arise because of human society’s influence on non¬
human factors (Murdoch 1997; Bosco 2014). Gender, age, ethnicity, the process
of the perpetuation of social and power relations also influence the environment
directly or indirectly. According to actor-network theory, the interactions between
human beings and the environment are not determined solely by pre-existing
social and economic structures. Rather, the dynamics of the natural world can
also play a crucial role in shaping how individuals and groups respond and organize
themselves in the face of environmental challenges. This theory highlights the
interconnectedness and mutual influence between natural and social elements
within the broader environmental context. For example, a natural disaster causes
the social relations of settlements to change, which results in new contacts for the
better assertion of interests. The comparison of the two views has an important
message for environmental justice: space and environment are human-generated
processes and products of society. Therefore, environmental injustice arises
essentially in humans-influenced spaces and environments. In addition, space
and its environmental factors are also capable of constructing society, hence the
process of environmental injustice may be a force which forms social groups
(Murdoch 1997; Bosco 2014).
In addition, the same environmental processes appear differently under different
social conditions and if the geographical and temporal scale varies. In the exploration
of environmental injustice, ex ante (preceding) and ex post (following) processes
can be identified concerning the temporal aspect of injustices. Nevertheless these
processes cannot be entirely differentiated; they become mingled. Ex ante injustices
occur when an environmental event, such as a disaster, acts as a catalyst, revealing
pre-existing underlying injustices. These injustices, which are rooted in complex
social, economic, or power processes, may have already been present but were not
readily evident until the environmental event brought them to the surface. The
disaster serves as a trigger, exposing the deeper and more complex issues that were
already at play. On the other hand, ex post injustices involve the degradation of
the environment and social deprivation as a result of the environmental event. In
this case, the environmental event leads to a downward spiral, where the degradation
of the environment and social hardships mutually provoke and reinforce each
other, exacerbating the overall injustice. Situations of injustice cannot be remedied
without a geographical perspective, because, for one thing, the environmental