Modern slavery, environmental degradation and climate change: Fisheries, field, forests and factories

Abstract

In this commentary paper, the current state of research on the tightly connected and bi-directional relationships among modern slavery, environmental degradation and climate change is critically assessed and reviewed. An emerging branch of research has begun to conceptualize linkages between slavery and environmental change. Responding to a gap in the extant literature, this paper synthesizes and makes sense of this emerging research base and proposes a future research agenda for exploring the slavery-environment nexus. Through an exploration of 19 key texts which explicitly examine the relationship between slavery and environmental change, spanning across diverse disciplines and spatial scales, we draw out two key arguments that can be adopted in proposing a future research agenda. Firstly, we identify the sectoral emergence of the nexus,

Understanding the co‐occurrence of tree loss and modern slavery to improve efficacy of conservation actions and policies

“…The four countries studied in more detail are spread along the GSI/EPI relationship with Brazil performing the best and Mozambique (which may also be considered an outlier) the worst. This provides an important insight into the slavery‐environment nexus, identifying a link between the two sectors which has only recently begun to be explored (Brown et al, ). Although the relationship is assessed in terms of tree loss within this paper, there is scope for analysis within other sectors known to employ practices of modern slavery and cause environmental damage, for example, mining, quarrying, fish processing, and brick manufacture, and so forth.…”

“…Firstly, modern slavery estimates from the GSI 2016 (Walk Free, ) were modeled against the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) from the same year (Hsu et al, ; Figure ). This was used to determine which countries require further assessment in relation to the slavery‐environment nexus (Brown et al, ).…”

“…Maintained forest environments have the potential to aid in achieving a number of the Sustainable Development Goals' (SDGs) socioeconomic and ecological targets: SDG 15 (“Life on Land”), SDG 13 (“Climate Action”), SDG 1 (“No Poverty”), and SDG 2 (“No Hunger”) (Seymour & Busch, ; Watson et al, ). But globally, areas where populations are most dependent on forests and their ecosystem services for subsistence and equitable sustainable development are also areas where modern slavery persists—often in activities perpetuating deforestation and similarly destructive practices that threaten biodiversity conservation (Bales, ; Food and Agriculture Organization [FAO], ; Brown et al, ). Thus, this modern slavery‐environmental degradation nexus may add to anthropogenic pressures on forests, compromising their ability to support the attainment of the afore‐mentioned SDGs—as noted in other sectors, including brick making (Boyd et al, ), farming, and fishing (Brown et al, ).…”

“…However, external threats to human security can force these already vulnerable populations to make decisions that result in them being exposed to modern slavery and participating in activities that lead to further deforestation (Bales, ). Activities associated with tree loss, and concurrently linked with modern slavery include tree harvesting for charcoal production in the Republic of Congo and Brazil; forest clearing for conversion to cattle ranching in Brazil and farmland for oil palm plantations in Indonesia; and gold mining in the Madre de Rios region of the Amazon and the Sahel region of West Africa wherein trees are harvested for lining shafts (Brown et al, ; Verité, ). Additionally, many linked modern slavery‐environmental degradation activities undermine conservation initiatives.…”

“…Additionally, many linked modern slavery‐environmental degradation activities undermine conservation initiatives. For example, oil palm related deforestation, in countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia, degrades habitat for endangered species; timber for charcoal production is harvested from protected Amazonian areas; and mangroves are cleared for the establishment of illegal fish‐processing camps in the Sundarbans Reserve Forest (Bales, ; Brown et al, ; Verité, ).…”