We seek to analyze the current ecological challenges that needs this transition and the issues of social justice it raises. This framework focuses on the impacts of various mechanisms of environmental governance on human-nature relationships and on social relations within the countries of the North and South. Contributions should be based on documentary and empirical investigations on environmental and social justice issues in the context of ecological transition mechanisms.

As part of the call for contributions to Encyclopedia of the Anthropocene (Springer Nature Publications), we call for papers to be published in this encyclopedia under the following thematic unit "Ecological Transition and Social Justice." 

Description of the theme

The alarming global climate crisis calls on researchers and all people in contemporary societies to commit to the ecological transition. This transition implies rethinking supply chains, social lifestyles, and our relationship with nature to reverse current trends. The various efforts give rise to various mechanisms of environmental governance at both local and global levels, which often challenge the realization of a successful transition. A successful transition implies changes that significantly impact social relationships and the human-nature dynamics. The aim of this call for contributions is to examine how the current dynamics of transition affect the social and ecological connectivity. The fundamental question is to know how the challenges of ecological transition raise issues of environmental and social justice ?

We seek to analyze the current ecological challenges that needs this transition and the issues of social justice it raises. This framework focuses on the impacts of various mechanisms of environmental governance on human-nature relationships and on social relations within the countries of the North and South. Contributions should be based on documentary and empirical investigations on environmental and social justice issues in the context of ecological transition mechanisms.

It is obvious that some mechanisms of environmental governance exacerbate inequalities, ecological violence, and social and environmental forms of injustice. For example, the creation of protected areas or the setup of wind farms often displaces local populations without compensation. Similarly, carbon credits emerge as mechanisms of environmental injustice, allowing large multinational companies to emit CO₂ at the expense of small businesses and local populations. This illustrates how injustice is not only social, it’s also ecological. In the human-nature relationship, nature is often seen and exploited as a resource to be subdued for anthropocentric purposes. This results in a violent, exploitative, injustice and inequality dynamic that raises important issues that need investigation :

What social and ethical issues arise from the ongoing ecological transition at local and international levels? How does environmental governance impact the relationship between humans and nature? In what ways do environmental governance practices in disadvantaged and peripheral areas become mechanisms of domination, inequality, and environmental violence? How do post-colonial international environmental cooperation institutions (examples : associations, supra-state organizations) function as tools of exploitation, domination, and socio-environmental injustice? What mechanisms of resistance and local mobilization exist to challenge the current paradigm of environmental governance and advocate for environmental justice? What citizen-driven or territorial dynamics are emerging to foster the ecological transition? How can the ecological transition be reconciled with social justice in the current struggle against the ecological crisis? How can we envision equitable environmental planning that ensures harmony between humans and other living beings? How can we develop a pragmatic philosophy of ecological transition aimed at fostering sustainable, harmonious, and viable coexistence between humans and non-humans ?

This call for contributions aims to gather scientific and fieldwork-based studies to establish a framework for analyzing mechanisms of (in)justice, inequality, and violence within environmental governance systems. This collection of articles will focus on the manifestations of environmental injustice and inequality that arise from socio-economic relations and the coexistence of humans with other living beings, as viewed through the lens of environmental governance mechanisms.

Contributions will explore how current environmental governance practices act as discriminatory systems perpetuating socio-environmental inequalities, green colonialism, and domination, thereby exacerbating socio-environmental injustices and violence. This will allow for the documentation of environmental and social injustices related to governance structures shaping human-nature relations.

The session's contributions will also analyze local and international mobilization mechanisms aimed at transforming environmental governance paradigms into ones that promote fair and equitable transitions. Specifically, they will highlight the strategies employed by actors to resist the injustices, inequalities, and violence resulting from the dynamics of ecological transition that undermine their socio-economic well-being, cultural heritage, and ecosystem harmony. The goal is to identify and analyze visible efforts across social, political and economic sectors (e.g., associations, industries, local governments, and supra-state bodies, university, etc.) that aim to integrate social justice with ecological balance.

Most definitely, this collection, under the theme "Transition and Social Justice," is rooted in a sociology and ethics of transition and remains open to both empirical and theoretical perspectives. Accordingly, we also welcome contributions involving philosophical, ethnological, or sociological reflections on social, economic, and ecological issues. These contributions should focus on the interplay of social and ecological dynamics (human relations and human-nature relations) and address mechanisms of energy, economic, and societal transition.

By adopting a multidisciplinary approach to socio-environmental challenges arising from the coexistence of humans with other living beings, this call for contributions seeks to shed light on the forms of injustice, inequality, and violence characterizing current environmental governance.

Submission Details

Abstracts of 200 words (including a short biography, title, and key questions of your contribution) are to be submitted in English, to the following email address : transition.justice@gmail.com.

by March 30, 2025

Authors of accepted abstracts must submit their final papers by June 30, 2025.

We encourage you to share this call widely within your networks (doctoral students, associations, and researchers) working on this theme.

Scientific committee

• Prof. Nathanaël Wallenhorst, Catholic Universty of the Western (France)
• Pr. Emmanuel Picavet, University of Paris 1 (France)
• Pr. Guillaume Delalieux, University of La Rochelle (France)
• Pr. Abdallah Zouache, Sciences po-Lille (France)
• Pr. Thierry Magnin, catholic University of Lille (France)
• Pr. Benoît Robyns, Junia (France)
• Pr. Mohamed Nach, University of Liège (Belgique)
• Pr. Valérie Deldrève,  INRAE- Montpelier (France)
• Dr. Kokou Somabe, LITL-FGES-ICL, CERAPS
• Mr Herve Barry, catholic University of Lille
• Pr. Essè Aziagbédé Amouzou, , University of Lomé (Togo)
• Pr. Minkilabe Djangbedja, LaRBE,, University of Lomé (Togo)
• Pr Fabien Affo,, University of Parakou (Bénin)
• Dr. Earsom Joseph, ESPOL-LAB (France)
• Dr. Monkouna Lardja, University IRES-RDEC of Lomé 
• Dr. Mody Diaw, INRAE- Montpelier (France)
• Dr. Ginelli Ludovic, INRAE- Montpelier (France)

Indicative Bibliography

• Blanc, G. (2020). L’invention du colonialisme vert. Pour en finir avec le mythe de l’Éden africain. Paris: Flammarion.
• Deldrève, V. (2023). “Environmental Inequalities” in Philippe Boursier (Ed.), Écologies: Le vivant et le social. Paris: La Découverte, pp. 349–355.
• -          (2015). Pour une sociologie des inégalités environnementales. Brussels: Peter Lang.
• Prouteau, F. (2024). Anthropology of the Anthropocene. London: Springer.
• Renouard, C., et al. (2023). Pedagogy of the Anthropocene Epoch for a Great Transition: A Novel Approach to Higher Education. London: Springer.
• Robyns, B., et al. (2023). Smart Users for Energy and Societal Transition. London: ISTE Editions.
• Thévenot, L. (1996). “Valuing Nature: Disputes Over Natural Land Use in France and the United States.” Autres Temps: Cahiers d'éthique sociale et politique, 49, pp. 27–50.
• Schlosberg, D. (2007). Defining Environmental Justice: Theories, Movements, and Nature. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• -          (2003). “The Justice of Environmental Justice: Reconciling Equity, Recognition, and Participation in a Political Movement” in Light, A., & De-Shalit, A. (Eds.), Moral and Political Reasoning in Environmental Practice. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, pp. 125–156.
• Wallenhorst, N., et al. (2023). Political Education in the Anthropocene. London: Springer.