EJAtlas in Action: Exploring Environmental and Spatial Justice in Energy Transition Conflicts
Duration: 250 min (4h10min)
General Objective
Enhance participants’ competencies in analyzing conflicts related to energy transition and developing guidelines for strategies that integrate environmental and spatial justice, using real examples from EJAtlas.
Introduction: Global Atlas of Environmental Justice (EJAtlas) (Duration: 20 minutes)
What is EJAtlas?
– The world’s largest database documenting socio-environmental conflicts, including those arising from the transition to renewable energy sources.
What is EJAtlas used for?
– Analytical, educational, and activist tool.
– Support for researchers, policymakers, and local communities.
EJAtlas Methodology:
– How is data collected?
– Sources: scientific literature, NGO reports, local documentation.
– Advantages and disadvantages:
– Advantages: Extensive database, filtering options by regions, commodities, categories.
– Disadvantages: Gaps in documentation, uneven conflict representation, challenges in data updates, etc.
Example:
– Conflict over wind farms in Oaxaca, Mexico – tensions between local communities and investors.
Materials:
– Slide presentation, EJAtlas interface maps, example conflict case.
Exercise 1: Mapping Energy Transition Conflicts in Latin America (Duration: 50 minutes)
Objective: Participants will identify conflicts related to key commodities driving the energy transition in Latin America, create visualizations, and provide preliminary characterizations.
Step 1 (15 min): Group Work – List of Commodities Driving Energy Transition and Sources of Conflicts
Facilitator’s Introduction:
– Explanation of EJAtlas commodities:
– Commodities: Mineral resources, products, or materials that are sources of conflicts (e.g., gold, water, electricity).
Participants’ Task:
– Create a list of key energy transition commodities using Mentimeter:
– Examples: lithium, copper, cobalt, solar farms, wind farms, hydropower dams, sand, lithium-ion batteries
– Groups can add suggestions based on their research and knowledge.
Facilitator-Supported Tasks:
– Compare the list of commodities with EJAtlas capabilities:
– Filter by commodities.
– Revise the list.
Step 2 (20 min): Joint Conflict Mapping and Discussion
Group Tasks:
– Conflict visualization:
– Groups display conflicts on the EJAtlas interface using website filters (e.g., commodities, regions) and logical operators (e.g., OR).
– Use EJAtlas legend modification features to create maps (screenshots) showing:
– Economic categories: Resource extraction, water management, waste, energy infrastructure.
– Community response stage: Negotiation, mobilization, repression, project alternatives.
– Conflict intensity levels: Low, medium, high-intensity conflicts.
– Project status: Proposed, under construction, operational, halted, canceled.
– Result analysis:
– Groups discuss their maps, identifying key patterns.
Step 3 (15 min): Discussion and Results Analysis
Participants answer:
– Dominant economic sectors/industries:
– Which sectors dominate conflicts (e.g., resource extraction, renewable infrastructure, water management)?
– Problematic regions:
– Which areas are most conflict-prone (e.g., Andes, Amazon)? Are there visible regional patterns?
– Situation assessment:
– What actions for environmental justice can be taken in the most affected regions?
– EJAtlas data gaps:
– Which commodities, economic sectors, and regions are:
– Well-documented (e.g., lithium, mining, Andes)?
– Under-documented (e.g., sand, waste, Amazon)?
– What could improve data completeness?
Outcome:
– Participants create visualizations of energy transition-related conflicts.
– Gain insight into the characteristics of conflicts and evaluate how EJAtlas supports research in this area.
– Develop conclusions about dominant sectors, regions, and EJAtlas documentation gaps.
Materials:
– EJAtlas access, Mentimeter, flipcharts, markers, internet.
– Printed maps or screens for map display.
Exercise 2: Delimitation of Unjust Energy Transition Regions in Latin America Using QGIS (Duration: 60 minutes)
Objective:
Participants will enhance their spatial analysis skills by using point data from EJAtlas to delimit regions of unjust energy transition with GIS tools (QGIS).
Step 1: Introduction to QGIS (15 minutes)
– Brief demonstration of the QGIS interface and basic functionalities:
– Data import: How to import datasets.
– Visualization styles: Selecting visualization styles (e.g., color codes for conflict categories).
– Spatial analysis: Tools for spatial analysis (e.g., clustering points, layering).
Step 2: Spatial Analysis (30 minutes)
– Visualizing point data under instructor supervision:
– Data import:
– Participants will import point data into QGIS from a prepared file (CSV/GeoJSON) containing conflict locations in Latin America.
– The instructor will explain the data import process and how to prepare point layers.
– Color coding:
– Point data will be visually represented using a color gradient based on conflict intensity (e.g., green for low intensity, red for high intensity).
– Clustering under instructor supervision:
– Using clustering tools:
– The instructor will demonstrate how to use clustering tools in QGIS (e.g., DBSCAN algorithm or a clustering plugin).
– Clustering goals:
– Identify areas of concentration: Participants will extract regions with a high density of conflicts.
– Highlight high-intensity clusters: Emphasize clusters dominated by high-intensity conflicts.
– Outcome:
– Clear conflict clusters will be marked on the map, enabling participants to identify potential “hot spots” of unjust energy transition.
– Delimiting regions (Buffering) under instructor supervision:
– Creating buffers:
– Participants will use QGIS buffering tools to define zones with a 50 km radius around identified conflict clusters.
– Two types of buffers will be created:
– General concentration areas: Regions with a high number of conflicts, regardless of intensity.
– High-intensity conflict areas: Regions dominated by high-intensity conflicts.
– Buffering outcome:
– Participants will define the boundaries of unjust energy transition regions:
– Regions with a high concentration of conflicts.
– Regions with a high concentration of intense conflicts.
Step 3: Presentation of Results and Discussion (15 minutes)
- Presentation of results:
– Participants will generate two spatial layers for the delimited regions:
– Unjust energy transition regions (based on conflict concentrations).
– Priority regions requiring urgent environmental justice actions (based on conflict intensity).
- Discussion:
– Methodological challenges: What difficulties arose when delimiting regions based on point conflict data?
– Potential improvements: How could the analysis be enriched (e.g., additional data, more detailed criteria)?
Outcome:
– Visualization: Mapped regions of unjust energy transition in Latin America based on EJAtlas data.
– GIS skills: Enhanced understanding of GIS tools and their applications in environmental justice research.
– Next steps: Results serve as a foundation for further analysis and planning actions to promote environmental justice.
Materials:
– Access to computers with QGIS installed.
– Point data from EJAtlas in CSV/GeoJSON format.
– QGIS user guide and prepared contextual data (e.g., geographic layers, administrative boundaries, ecosystems).
Exercise 3: Case Analysis from EJAtlas (Duration: 60 minutes)
Objective: Deepen understanding of the success factors for local communities in energy transition conflicts using real EJAtlas cases.
Step 1 (20 min): Facilitator Introduction and Case Selection
Facilitator Introduction (10 min):
– The facilitator explains how to identify successful cases in EJAtlas. Local communities are considered here as environmental defenders and advocates for environmental and spatial justice:
– Use the ‘Project Status’ filter and select ‘Stopped.’
– Additionally, use the ‘Success Level’ filter and select ‘Yes’ to find cases officially marked as successful.
– For deeper analysis, use the ‘Outcomes’ filter and select:
– ‘Project cancelled’ – the investment was halted before implementation.
– ‘Court decision (victory of environmental justice)’ – a court ruling in favor of the community.
– The facilitator demonstrates these steps on a projector or screen, showing the EJAtlas interface and practical filtering examples.
Participants’ Task (10 min):
– Participants work in groups. Each group selects one conflict from EJAtlas that meets the community success criteria (as guided by the facilitator). The selected conflict should be located in regions identified in the previous exercise (Exercise 2) as unjust energy transition areas.
– Verify key data of the selected case:
– Location: country, region, specific place.
– Actors: local communities, NGOs, authorities, investors.
– Mobilization strategies: social mobilization, legal support, media campaigns, protests.
Step 2 (25 min): Analyzing Success Factors
Group Discussion:
– What factors enabled community success? (e.g., social mobilization, international support).
– What strategies could be applied in similar conflicts in the future?
– Prepare a brief presentation on a flipchart or text file.
Step 3 (15 min): Presenting Results and Group Discussion
– Each group presents their case and conclusions about success factors.
– Discuss the universality and limitations of the strategies used in the analyzed cases.
Outcome:
– Participants:
– Learn about specific cases of local community successes in the fight for environmental justice.
– Analyze factors influencing the effectiveness of social strategies.
– Acquire the ability to draw conclusions from real-world examples of environmental conflicts.
– The final outcome is a better understanding of success mechanisms and the ability to apply these insights in future analyses and actions.
Materials:
– Access to results from previous exercises and EJAtlas.
– Flipcharts, markers, or computers with text editing software.
Exercise 4: Guidelines for Strategies Incorporating Environmental and Spatial Justice (Duration: 60 minutes)
Objective: Prepare guidelines for strategies aimed at key stakeholders in regions requiring urgent actions for environmental and spatial justice.
Step 1 (20 min): Analyzing Regional Challenges and Needs
– Participants work in groups. Each group selects one of the regions identified in Exercise 2 as a priority area of unjust energy transition.
– Analyze key environmental and spatial issues in the region:
– Scale and intensity of conflicts.
– Key stakeholders: local communities, investors, authorities.
– Resource gaps: institutional, financial, and expert support.
Step 2 (25 min): Developing Strategy Guidelines
– Groups prepare a set of guidelines targeted at two main audiences:
1. Local Communities:
– How to effectively organize campaigns and mobilize support.
– Tips for collaborating with media and NGOs.
– Recommendations for engaging in dialogue with investors and authorities.
2. Decision-Makers and Investors:
– How to consider local community needs in project planning.
– Suggestions for transparency in decision-making processes and community consultations.
– Ways to minimize conflicts by adhering to environmental justice principles.
Step 3 (15 min): Presenting Guidelines and Discussion
– Each group presents their guidelines as a short presentation (oral or on a flipchart).
– Discussion:
– What challenges might arise during guideline implementation?
– Are the guidelines universal, or should they be tailored to specific regions?
Materials:
– Access to results from previous exercises.
– Flipcharts, markers, computers with presentation tools.
Facilitator:
Maciej Kalaska, PhD, Faculty of Geography and Regional Studies, University of Warsaw. He completed a research stay at ICTA-UAB (2022), where he documented socio-environmental conflicts in Poland for EJAtlas. His article Harnessing Social Media Analytics for Political Ecology: Polish Digital Discourse on Waste Incinerators has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Political Ecology.