The role of social workers in promoting environmental justice for sustainable communities from a government perspective in Lilongwe

Abstract

Poverty has been and continues to be an ongoing global, regional and national challenge that is demonstrated through the interactions of individuals and their social environment. Reasoning from this fact, world leaders made a commitment for mutual action and adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development for the full benefit of all; for current and future generations, in order to help eradicate poverty through the promotion of social, economic and environmental development (United Nations, 2015:10). Social workers are committed to advocate against any forms of inequality, “unsustainable environments related to climate change, pollutants, war, natural and human-made disasters, and violence to which there are inadequate international responses by promoting and endorsing the human rights of vulnerable communities, while working towards environmental sustainability (Global Agenda, 2012). The goal of the study was to explore and describe the role of social workers in promoting environmental justice for sustainable communities. This was an explorative and descriptive study that used a case study design and qualitative approach. The study recruited ten social workers who were purposively sampled using a non-probability sampling method. One-on-one interviews using a semi-structured interview guide were used for data collection. Data analysis was performed using the six-step thematic analysis. The findings reveal that social workers comprehend the issues involving environmental justice, advocate for the needs of communities to relevant stakeholders, and that they are challenged to implement interventions due to lack of resources that are unevenly distributed in government. Furthermore, there is less community participation from vulnerable communities on strategies and interventions that aim to promote sustainable development. The study concludes that social workers need to shift their focus in social work practice and education by adopting an ecological approach and green social work model, that they are committed to helping communities have access to opportunities and resources that promote sustainable development, and educate communities on the inter-relatedness of human and environmental rights. Furthermore, government is using a top-down approach and do not comprehend the role of social work in community sustainability. Recommendations include the integration of the green social work model in the social work curriculum and continuous professional development, strengthening community empowerment and participation and enhancing resource mobilisation for sustainable interventions through partnerships. KEY WORDS Social work Green social work Environmental justice Sustainable communities Sustainable development Malawi