Indigenous peoples have occupied their territories for thousands of years, territories that are increasingly being mined by an industry applying the most modern extractive, marketing, and transport technologies on a scale that can be difficult to comprehend. Mining reshapes landscapes, literally moving mountains and diverting rivers; the Indigenous owners of these landscapes often believe them to have been originally shaped by ancestor beings who still reside at mining locations. This book seeks to understand the political, social, economic, and cultural dynamic that is created by the relentless expansion of mining into Indigenous territories. Contributing to such an understanding involves a task of global significance: Indigenous peoples embody a large part of the world's linguistic and cultural diversity; their lands cover an estimated 25 per cent of the world's land surface, intersect with about 40 per cent of all ecologically intact landscapes, and contain a large proportion of the world's mineral resources. Must interaction between Indigenous peoples and mining involve the destruction of Indigenous peoples, territories, and cultures? Can the remarkable resilience that has allowed Indigenous peoples to survive for millennia enable them not only to survive, but to capitalize on the development opportunities offered by mining? What role are governments, international organizations, and civil society playing in shaping relations between mining and Indigenous peoples? Ciaran O'Faircheallaigh addresses these and other questions by drawing on his own 30 years of experience working with Indigenous communities as they deal with mining projects, and on the experiences of Indigenous peoples in some 15 countries from different regions of the globe.

The largest escalation of mining activity in Australian history is currently underway in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Pilbara-based transnational resource companies recognise that major social and economic impacts on Indigenous communities in the region are to be expected and that sound relations with these communities and the pursuit of sustainable regional economies involving greater Indigenous participation provide the necessary foundations for a social licence to operate. This study examines the dynamics of demand for Indigenous labour in the region, and the capacity of local supply to respond. A special feature of this study is the inclusion of qualitative data reporting the views of local Indigenous people on the social and economic predicaments that face them.

This book examines Indigenous responses to mining and their connection to peacebuilding, focusing on the experience of the Nasa Indigenous people of North Cauca during the most recent Colombian post-agreement transition. Amid an armed conflict that has disproportionally affected and targeted the Nasa, as well as ongoing processes of dispossession and oppression, the Nasa have built a tradition of organised, peaceful resistance. This book examines the nature of their responses to mining and how this is linked to peacebuilding, with a focus on how resistance is shaped and enacted to respond to the relationship mineral extraction has with violence and peace. The work is exploratory, ethnographic and interdisciplinary in nature, sitting in the intersection between the anthropology of mining, development studies and peace and conflict studies. The author presents and analyses narratives, participant responses, and her own experiences to illustrate the context and interconnected processes shaping Nasa responses to mining during this transition period. The book will bring international readers closer to these intricate dynamics, where access is otherwise limited because of security, cultural, linguistic and other barriers. The book provides a novel perspective on post-conflict mining governance by focusing on the Nasa’s active role in responding to mining in a post-agreement, transitional context. It highlights, and encourages engagement with, the often-overlooked role of morality in debates about nature and development. This book will be of great interest to students, scholars and practitioners of the extractive industries, natural resource management, conflict management and peacebuilding, Indigenous Peoples and Latin American studies.

The history of mining is replete with controversy of which much is related to environmental damage and consequent community outrage. Over recent decades, this has led to increased pressure to improve the environmental and social performance of mining operations, particularly in developing countries. The industry has responded by embracing the ideals of sustainability and corporate social responsibility. Mining and the Environment identifies and discusses the wide range of social and environmental issues pertaining to mining, with particular reference to mining in developing countries, from where many of the project examples and case studies have been selected. Following an introductory overview of pressing issues, the book illustrates how environmental and social impact assessment, such as defined in "The Equator Principles", integrates with the mining lifecycle and how environmental and social management aims to eliminate the negative and accentuate the positive mining impacts. Practical approaches are provided for managing issues ranging from land acquisition and resettlement of Indigenous peoples, to the technical aspects of acid rock drainage and mine waste management. Moreover, thorough analyses of ways and means of sharing non-transitory mining benefits with host communities are presented to allow mining to provide sustainable benefits for the affected communities. This second edition of Mining and the Environment includes new chapters on Health Impact Assessment, Biodiversity and Gender Issues, all of which have become more important since the first edition appeared a decade ago. The wide coverage of issues and the many real-life case studies make this practice-oriented book a reference and key reading. It is intended for environmental consultants, engineers, regulators and operators in the field and for students to use as a course textbook. As much of the matter applies to the extractive industries as a whole, it will also serve environmental professionals in the oil and gas industries. Karlheinz Spitz and John Trudinger both have multiple years of experience in the assessment of mining projects around the world. The combination of their expertise and knowledge about social, economic, and environmental performance of mining and mine waste management has resulted in this in-depth coverage of the requirements for responsible and sustainable mining.

This book provides an extended analysis of how resource extraction projects stimulate social, cultural and economic change in indigenous communities. Through a range of case studies, including open cast mining, artisanal mining, logging, deforestation, oil extraction and industrial fishing, the contributors explore the challenges highlighted in global debates on sustainability, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), and climate change. The case studies are used to assess whether and how development processes might compete and conflict with the market objectives of multinational corporations and the organizational and moral principles of indigenous communities. Emphasizing the perspectives of directly-affected parties, the authors identify common patterns in the way in which extraction projects are conceptualized, implemented and perceived. The book provides a deeper understanding of the dynamics of the human environments where resource extraction takes place and its consequent impacts on local livelihoods. Its in-depth case studies underscore the need for increased social accountability in the planning and development of natural resource extraction projects.

Drawing on case studies from Pacific Islands, Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia, this book examines ecotourism enterprises controlled by indigenous people in tribal reserves or protected areas. It compares indigenous ecotourism in developed and developing counties and covers cultural ecotours, ecolodges, and bungalows, hunting and fishing tours, cultural attractions and other nature-based facilities or services.

The authors explore the complex dynamics of mining and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in Latin America, including a reflection on the African continent, presenting arguments and case studies based on new research on a set of urgent and emerging questions surrounding mining, development and sustainability.