Malcom Ferdinand is a political science researcher at the CNRS on questions of political ecology and environmental health. In 2019, his book A decolonial ecology Thinking ecology from the Caribbean world received the Book Prize for Political Ecology, awarded by the foundation of the same name.
What part does the issue of chlordecone poisoning play in the demands of current social struggles in the West Indies?
It is not quite at the heart of social struggles. But, on the other hand, it was an important element in the lack of confidence that the West Indians have vis-à-vis the State and certain health departments. Social demands and the question of the high cost of living remain separate. The demands for environmental justice, especially on chlordecone, are different from what is being played today. We have a social model that does not or little work, an economy that does not manage to feed the population with non-food sovereignty, and these mistrust relations have been exacerbated and shown through the question of the treatment of the pandemic.
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Malcolm Ferdinand. © Ouest-France
What is the link between this food non-sovereignty and other social issues?
Chlordecone developed the banana industry, but bananas cannot live. But it is possible to live and inhabit healthily these lands, which are not all contaminated. However, we have arrived at a system which does not allow the inhabitants to be fed healthily and generates dependence on exports and more expensive products. A food basket from France of 100 € is worth between 130 and 150 € in the overseas territories, including the West Indian islands.
How to explain it?
Policy makers know this. If this economy persists, it is because there are capitalist and financial interests to maintain it. Chlordecone has been of benefit to a tiny fraction of the population. The anger that we see today in the West Indies is also the product of this injustice, with a youth losing its bearings, problems of juvenile delinquency, the circulation of weapons and a lack of prospects linked in particular to unemployment. It is an extremely complex, multifactorial situation which is exploding today.
Your book published in 2019, A decolonial ecology, invites us to “think ecology from the Caribbean”. What does that mean ?
The way we approach ecological problems is never completely disconnected from the geographic, political, social and cultural space from which we speak. However, in environmental thought and political ecology, certain themes have been set aside, in particular what it means to live in postcolonial and post-slavery societies. However, the Caribbean has been marked by phenomena of the slave trade linked to the relationship with human beings, nature and exploitation. In these societies, many people want to live in healthy, unpolluted environments, but also want to live in dignity, to have access to equality.
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