The State’s Promotion of Participatory Processes in Peru as a Solution to Conflicts over Mining in Fragile Ecosystems and Indigenous Territories; What are the Problems?

A Graduate Exit Seminar wll be presented by Ana Estefania Kim, MS Candidate, Rural Sociology, on Tuesday, June 23rd, at 2:00 p.m. in 255 Hagerty Hall. She will present The State’s Promotion of Participatory Processes in Peru as a Solution to Conflicts over Mining in Fragile Ecosystems and Indigenous Territories; What are the Problems?

There has been an aggressive expansion of capital investment in mining, oil, and gas extraction since the 1990s in the Global South. There are three main reasons for this. First, states needed to increase revenues and rising international mineral prices facilitated access to deposits formerly too expensive to extract. Second, policies and institutional changes were favorable for investors leading to a business-friendly regulatory environment that was a result of the liberalization of capital, which included promulgation of new mining codes. Third, there was a worldwide growth in demand for minerals from rapidly industrializing countries like China. The 1990s onwards is known as the mining boom era in Latin America and particularly in Peru. Peru has become one of the leading producers of copper, zinc, tin, and lead in the world. Growth of the mining industry in Peru has coincided with international attention to issues of social and environmental justice in mining areas. This has led to the development of international conventions and Peruvian laws and norms to protect the rights of indigenous peoples in areas slated for mining.

In 2013 and 2014 I conducted research in Peru to examine the role of participation in negotiations surrounding the entrance of a new mining project in indigenous and peasant territories. This thesis discusses the findings from that research which includes a critique and analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the legislation and its implementation.