International study quantifies the impact of extractivism on indigenous communities

Grettel Navas, an academic from the Faculty of Government of the University of Chile, participated as co-author of an international study, led by the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology of the Autonomous University of Barcelona (ICTA-UAB), which analyzed the situation of more than 740 indigenous communities from different parts of the world that are affected by this type of activity. The research quantifies, for the first time, the negative impacts that extractive activities have on the ways of life, rights and lands of native peoples. In Chile, the study covered 23 socio-environmental conflicts related mainly to the Mapuche, Kolla, Atacameño, Diaguita and Aymara peoples. According to the study, mining is the sector that most frequently impacts the indigenous population (24.7%), ahead of the fossil fuel sector (20.8%).

A group of scientists from different countries came together to quantify, for the first time, the negative impacts that extractive activities have on the ways of life, rights and lands of native peoples globally.

Among them is Professor Grettel Navas, an academic from the Faculty of Government of the University of Chile, who participates as co-author of this study led by the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology of the Autonomous University of Barcelona (ICTA-UAB).

Casa de Bello is the only institution in Latin America and in the entire "global south" that participates in this investigation, carried out in collaboration with nine other universities, which reveals violations of indigenous rights.

The study, published in the journal Science Advances, is based on data collected over the past decade by the Environmental Justice Atlas (EJAtlas), an initiative that Professor Navas has been a part of for the past 6 years and that, until By 2023, it has identified and mapped a total of 3,081 socio-environmental conflicts around the world (more information about this map at www.ejatlas.org).

The study in question shows that, despite the fact that indigenous peoples represent only 6.2% of the world's population and their lands occupy a quarter of the planet's land surface, they are affected by 34% of all documented environmental conflicts over extraction projects and industrial development.

The research documents more than 740 different indigenous communities that are affected by this type of activity, which represents 15% of the almost 5,000 groups that exist in the world. Among the indigenous communities identified in Chile are the Mapuche, Kolla, Atacameño, Diaguita and Aymara peoples.

At a global level, the Quechua, Mapuche, Gond, Aymara, Nahua, Ijaw, Munda, Kichwa, Guaraní and Karen communities are the ten indigenous groups that appear most frequently in the EJAtlas dataset. However, they consider that the real number of indigenous groups affected could be much higher, since "there are still important gaps in the data, especially in Central Asia, Russia and the Pacific, where data coverage is more limited," he explains. Arnim Scheidel, researcher at ICTA-UAB and co-author of the study.

Sectors with the greatest impact

Another finding is that eight out of ten environmental conflicts refer to only four sectors, and mining is the sector that most frequently impacts the indigenous population (24.7%), ahead of the fossil fuels sector (20%). .8%), agriculture, forestry, fishing and livestock (17.5%) and the construction and operation of hydraulic dams (15.2%).

Professor Navas points out that, although the study is global, Chile is no exception to this trend. Of the 23 cases analyzed in our country, the main socio-environmental conflicts are associated with the mining and hydroelectric sectors. However, there are also several cases related to the energy transition, such as lithium mining in the Atacama salt flat or the construction of wind farms.

In this sense, according to the academic from the University of Chile, "to think about sustainable and ecological policies, it is not enough to limit yourself to energy transformation and decarbonization, it is crucial to turn your gaze towards social and environmental justice and implement policies recognizing rights, give recognition and participation to the original communities that have historically protected the lungs of our planet”.

The conclusions of this study show the enormous magnitude of the violations of indigenous rights associated with industrial ways of life and recall that international instruments such as Convention 169 of the International Labor Organization (ILO) on indigenous peoples and the Declaration of the United Nations United on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, play an important role in promoting their rights.

“However, the current levels of ratification, application and supervision are insufficient to guarantee respect for these rights”, they remark. For Álvaro Fernández-Llamazares, co-author of the study and researcher at ICTA-UAB, "land grabbing caused by agribusiness and other extractive sectors continues to be a great threat to indigenous peoples."

“That is why indigenous communities all over the planet have been mobilizing for decades to have their rights recognized and respected,” he adds.

For this reason, they agree on the need for governments to apply measures that promote indigenous rights and support environmental justice, guaranteeing real compliance with existing agreements and the protection of rights to their lands.

"Governments must apply a policy of zero tolerance regarding violations of indigenous rights and seek commercial agreements that are conditional on compliance with the responsibilities of the United Nations Declaration by the companies involved," they stress.