Toward eco-justice for all - Environmental Harm: An Eco-justice Perspective - page 159

context of benefits (that is, analyse the trade-offs), and instituting
continuous monitoring and evaluation systems (that is, evaluate and
re-evaluate in the light of different perspectives and new evidence)
(see Scott, 2005a). Justice as an active process does not have a defined
end-point.
Proposition 2: Justice is about maximising liberty
In the context of environmental harm as this pertains to humans,
eco-systems and animals, to maximise liberty is to maximise general
functioning, the 'to be' and the 'to do' of life. This depends to a large
degree on being recognised as being of worth and significant status
(from the point of view of humans, since it is they who confer 'value'
upon themselves and elements of the world around them). From
the point of view of species justice, this is often considered a core
or fundamental right, even from more circumscribed animal welfare
perspectives. That is, each animal ought to be given the opportunity to,
as far as possible, fulfill its potential as a sentient being. This might take
the form of enshrining in law an 'Animal Bill of Rights', as discussed
earlier in the chapter.
This concern with 'essence' (that is, that all things have the right to
be and do in ways that reflect a core defining trait or characteristic) can
also be extended to the abiotic or non-living. For example, consider
the following conception of 'rights' applied to a river.
A fundamental river right (that is, the riverine equivalent of
a human right) would be the right to flow. If a water body
couldn't flow it wouldn't be a river, and so the capacity to
flow (given sufficient water) is essential to the existence of
a river. Therefore, from the perspective of the river, building
so many dams across it and extracting so much water from
it that it ceased to flow into the sea, would be an abuse of
its Earth rights. (Cullinan, 2003: 118)
What is 'essence' can and does change over time, however. This, too,
complicates our understanding of maximisation of dominion or
liberty. For instance, domesticated animals such as dogs and cats have a
contemporary 'way of life' and 'way of being' that reflects thousands of
years of evolution and human relationships and engagement. To be and
to do for dogs is immediately contextualised by their role and status
relative to their human counterparts, and what they have been bred and
trained to be and do over time (for example, animal companions, racing