Slow Violence and Sacrifice Zones - Understanding Afforestation in County Leitrim

Critical Ecologies

The concept of slow violence is one that has gained recognition in recent years, providing a definition for events that are violent but not normally seen as such, due to its slow nature and continuation over many years. The current destruction being caused to communities and the environment in Leitrim by Sitka spruce plantations can be viewed as slow violence, as well as the area itself being referred to as a ‘sacrifice zone’. Leitrim’s small population, lack of media attention and small electorate have resulted in the area experiencing extreme changes to its environment, with afforestation also affecting community life. This podcast discusses the terms of ‘slow violence’ and ‘sacrifice zones’ and how they can be used to better understand what is happening in Leitrim, while also detailing an account of the field trip Maynooth University Geography students took in April to Leitrim, and a discussion of the impactful work of the group Save Leitrim.