Living Beyond the Pale : Environmental Justice and the Roma Minority

We find Roma settlements on the outskirts of villages, separated from the majority population by roads, railways or other barriers, disconnected from water pipelines and sewage treatment. Why are some people (or groups) better off than others when it comes to the distribution of environmental benefits? In order to understand the present situation and identify ways to address the impacts of these inequalities we must understand the past and mechanisms related to the differentiated treatment. The situation and discrimination of the Roma ethnic minority in Slovakia is examined from the perspective of environmental conditions and injustice. There is no simple answer as to why there is environmental injustice. Environmental conditions in Roma settlements are just one of the indicators of failures of policies addressing the problem of poverty and social exclusion in marginalized groups, structural discrimination, and internal Roma problems. Environmental injustice is not an outcome of the "historical determination" of the Roma population to live in environmentally problematic places. Contents List of Abbreviations and Acronyms List of Tables List of Figures Acknowledgements Introduction CHAPTER ONE. Environment, Poverty and the Roma PART I CHAPTER TWO. Environmental Justice and Entitlements CHAPTER THREE. The Roma of Slovakia PART II CHAPTER FOUR. Rudňany: A Tale of the Old Liabilities CHAPTER FIVE. The Svinka River: People, Water and the Environment CHAPTER SIX. A Regional Snapshot Overview PART III CHAPTER SEVEN. Patterns of Environmental (In)justice CHAPTER EIGHT. Roma? Not in My Backyard CHAPTER NINE. Trends and Reverting the Trends Annex. Shifts in Approaches References Index