Strategies for supporting social organizations in their conflicts with trans-national companies.

Outputs: Research and publication "Social organisations and Extractive industries: existing conflicts on subsoil resources" PDF 284KB

Results:

In Peru , investment in the mining industry is considered to be the mainstay of the country's economic development; currently mining exports represent one-third of total national export. The State is taking action to maintain the flow of investment and only in cases of conflict does it act as a moderator to resolve problems created by mining activities. Conflicts regarding natural resources are increasing in areas where water, gas, forestry and mining exploitations are taking place, generating reaction and claims at local and regional levels.

Three case studies (Tintaya, Tambogrande and Pampamali) demonstrate that local people are not informed of their rights; they are also unaware of related legislation and the mining companies' duties and responsibilities regarding exploitation. The divergence of interests between government representatives and the local people is enormous. In fact, conflicts are generated where government strategies support private investments for natural resource exploitation, with resultant centralized tax revenue, rather than a policy for local and regional development.

The institutional attitude, especially that of the Ministry of Energy and Mines, is to enforce the law taking into account bureautic and formal interests, rather than undertaking proper management of national and local interests. Lack of transparency, law infringement and suppression of information have all been elements of conflict in the three Peruvian cases. Law-based consultations are formal and there is an imbalance in power relationships. Lack of awareness concerning rights of access and use of natural resources has added to the expectations generated by mining activities. Most cases demonstrate that promises made by both the representatives of the government and the mining companies have not been honoured.

The task of building an appropriate framework to deal with extractive issues is crucial both for the farmers' agricultural activities, as well as the need to exploit national natural resources, including subsoil resources.

How to reconcile activities to the benefit of local/regional demands as well as those at the national level?

Firstly, it is important to highlight the need to inform people, in a transparent manner, of any project designed to exploit natural resources in a specific territory. This implies enforcement of the law-related consultations beyond those of formal requisition. This aspect is even more important because people affected are often farmers, rural and indigenous communities.

Secondly, it is important to revise the national strategy related to big transnational investment, envoking a higher fiscal contribution to avoid excessive exoneration from tributary charges. This will result in higher income which may be earmarked for local and regional development.

The relationship between natural resources exploitation and territorial development has to be mandatory in order to reduce the gap between national interests and those of local societies.

Lessons learned:

1. The provision of information is crucial to buildingup good relationships. Ignorance and distrust have dameaged relationships from the outset and are corrupting future negotiation.

2. Consultative processes must be effective and transparent.

3. Unbalanced power relationships are the cause of lack of access to key information and government representatives, therefore the establishment of fairer power relationship can be mediated by third parties (Municipality, Church, NGOs, etc.).

4. The successful cases of defending the rights of poor rural people and farmers have demonstrated the importance of linking the affected people to other sectors of society, or to other groups facing similar problems in other regions, at local national and international level. The role of the mass media is crucial in establishing this informal network.

5. The revision of the national strategy of natural resources exploitation could avoid violent conflicts.

6. The claim on natural resources access and use, generated a greater awareness of environmental issues. Local communities are now aware of the environmental impact of mining companies and are in the position to make them respect the rules and regulations for natural resources protection.

7. Consultative processes are showing the emergence of new actors such as environmental groups.

8. The requests by local people have been minimal due to the lack of vision regarding their future. It will be very difficult for them to return to their traditional agricultural activities because of the environmental impact of mining companies on the natural resources. This element should have been considered in advance and negotiations undertaken between the government and the mining companies to provide guarantees for the future of the affected people.

Use of knowledge gained and strategy for the dissemination of lessons learned :

The study is used to build within the Coalition, a platform dedicated to collective action against mining companies abuses. The Peruvian case is just one of many occurring all over the world. The objective of the platform is to elaborate a standard code of conduct to be adopted in the regulation of extractive industries. Moreover, the interchanges among Land Coalition members will generate peer-to-peer knowledge transfer for the management and resolution of conflicts generated by mining exploitations.