Industries Extractives

For a long time, it was accepted that the countries that were better off in terms of development were also those that were rich in natural resources in general and mining in particular. However, this is not the case, especially in developing countries, where the endowment of mineral resources does not have the same eff ect. This has given rise to a new phenomenon, dubbed by development specialists as the « curse of natural resources ». It is astonishing that countries potentially rich in mineral resources have such low standards of social development, as those observed in African countries. This leads to the idea that natural resource endowment is an asset for some countries and a liability for others. This is an economic development issue that raises the following question: how can it be explained and understood that African states rich in mineral resources are the poorest? Peripheral questions also remain: How can it be understood that Western countries (Europe, United States of America), which are not endowed with mineral resources like the continent that is the cradle of humanity, have a diff erent development trajectory than African countries? Is there an African specifi city to the curse of natural resources? What algorithm should be developed to make mining a catalyst for development in Africa? These questions lead to the following results: mining in Africa is locked into structural constraints linked to the actantial triangle of state, local populations and extractive companies. It is this resource paradox that calls for the defi nition of a new managerial algorithm to foster the development of African states through mining.

For a long time, it was accepted that the countries that were better off in terms of development were also those that were rich in natural resources in general and mining in particular. However, this is not the case, especially in developing countries, where the endowment of mineral resources does not have the same eff ect. This has given rise to a new phenomenon, dubbed by development specialists as the « curse of natural resources ». It is astonishing that countries potentially rich in mineral resources have such low standards of social development, as those observed in African countries. This leads to the idea that natural resource endowment is an asset for some countries and a liability for others. This is an economic development issue that raises the following question: how can it be explained and understood that African states rich in mineral resources are the poorest? Peripheral questions also remain: How can it be understood that Western countries (Europe, United States of America), which are not endowed with mineral resources like the continent that is the cradle of humanity, have a diff erent development trajectory than African countries? Is there an African specifi city to the curse of natural resources? What algorithm should be developed to make mining a catalyst for development in Africa? These questions lead to the following results: mining in Africa is locked into structural constraints linked to the actantial triangle of state, local populations and extractive companies. It is this resource paradox that calls for the defi nition of a new managerial algorithm to foster the development of African states through mining.

The four decades since the Berger Inquiry have produced a large body of research demonstrating the positive and negative impacts of resource development on northern communities. However, little independent research has aimed to yield an understanding of how best to manage the impacts of resource development and to harness its benefits in ways that can promote long-term sustainable development. This question was the impetus for the Resources and Sustainable Development in the Arctic (ReSDA) research project funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada in 2011. Representing a network of researchers, community members and organizations, ReSDA researchers conducted a series of analyses that focused on what was needed to ensure that northern communities received more benefits from resource development and potential negative impacts were mitigated. Overall, the analyses highlight the serious gaps that remain in our ability to ensure that resource development projects improve the sustainability of Arctic communities. These gaps include a proper understanding of cumulative impacts, the ability of communities to adequately participate in new regulatory processes, the non-economic aspects of well-being, the effects of impact and benefit agreements and new financial benefits, and new mitigation activities.

 The four decades since the Berger Inquiry have produced a large body of research demonstrating the positive and negative impacts of resource development on northern communities. However, little independent research has aimed to yield an understanding of how best to manage the impacts of resource development and to harness its benefits in ways that can promote long-term sustainable development. This question was the impetus for the Resources and Sustainable Development in the Arctic (ReSDA) research project funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada in 2011. Representing a network of researchers, community members and organizations, ReSDA researchers conducted a series of analyses that focused on what was needed to ensure that northern communities received more benefits from resource development and potential negative impacts were mitigated. Overall, the analyses highlight the serious gaps that remain in our ability to ensure that resource development pr...

 The four decades since the Berger Inquiry have produced a large body of research demonstrating the positive and negative impacts of resource development on northern communities. However, little independent research has aimed to yield an understanding of how best to manage the impacts of resource development and to harness its benefits in ways that can promote long-term sustainable development. This question was the impetus for the Resources and Sustainable Development in the Arctic (ReSDA) research project funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada in 2011. Representing a network of researchers, community members and organizations, ReSDA researchers conducted a series of analyses that focused on what was needed to ensure that northern communities received more benefits from resource development and potential negative impacts were mitigated. Overall, the analyses highlight the serious gaps that remain in our ability to ensure that resource development pr...

En dépit des richesses minières énormes dont les revenus et autres retombées auraient pu permettre aux États africains de s’acquitter des leurs obligations internationales en matière de protection des droits de la personne, force nous est de constater que le coût humain et environnemental de l’exploration et l’exploitation des ressources extractives est très préoccupant. En plus des efforts déployés par les États africains, agissant collectivement ou individuellement, pour parer à cette situation, cet article, se fondant sur une approche basée sur les droits de la personne, fait un plaidoyer pour l’implication communautaire dans la gouvernance de l’industrie active, aux côtés de l’État et des industries extractives.

 The four decades since the Berger Inquiry have produced a large body of research demonstrating the positive and negative impacts of resource development on northern communities. However, little independent research has aimed to yield an understanding of how best to manage the impacts of resource development and to harness its benefits in ways that can promote long-term sustainable development. This question was the impetus for the Resources and Sustainable Development in the Arctic (ReSDA) research project funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada in 2011. Representing a network of researchers, community members and organizations, ReSDA researchers conducted a series of analyses that focused on what was needed to ensure that northern communities received more benefits from resource development and potential negative impacts were mitigated. Overall, the analyses highlight the serious gaps that remain in our ability to ensure that resource development pr...

This article explores how Mozambique's green economy has been produced through the intersection of global ideas about green development, regional economic development dynamics, and local debates and political pressures around extraction and conservation. Mozambique's green economy aims to compress many of its current challenges into a seemingly attractive and compelling agenda. The green economy discourse has produced a new relationship between the conservation and extractives sector, characterized by 'green' financing and offsetting measures intended to handle (at least on paper) the contradictions between extractives-led growth and sustainable development. However, the green economy vision has also provided specific actors with ways to contest extraction. The article provides a lens onto the production of green economy policies and institutions in Mozambique, the way the policy combines neoliberal and non-neoliberal political ideas, and how green economy ideas are played out in the situated politics of debates over conservation and extraction. I consider how 'the' green economy is reworked through tracing a particular case – the recent debates over whether a large coal port should be built in the Ponta do Ouro Marine Reserve. This foregrounds the multiple and often ambiguous uses of green economy discourses to pursue different, and sometimes contradictory agendas. The article contributes new empirical information on the roll-out of green economies in a developing country context, while also seeking to expand current political ecology literature on neoliberalism and green economies more generally.

Cet article explore la manière dont l' économie verte du Mozambique a été produite, à la croisée des idées mondiales sur le développement vert, des dynamiques régionales de développement économique, des débats locaux, et des pressions politiques autour des industries extractives et de la conservation de la nature. L'économie verte du Mozambique vise à condenser nombre de ses défis actuels en un programme d'apparence attrayant et convainquant. Le discours sur l'économie verte a créé une nouvelle relation entre le secteur de la conservation et les industries extractives, celui-ci est caractérisé par des mesures de financement et de compensation « vertes » destinées à solutionner (au moins en principle) les contradictions entre la croissance économique poussée par les industries extractives et le développement durable. Cependant, l'économie verte a également fourni à des acteurs spécifiques des moyens de contester les industries extractives. L'article fournit une nouvelle perspective sur la production des politiques et des institutions de l'économie verte au Mozambique, la manière dont ces politiques combinent des idées politiques néolibérales et non néolibérales, et la manière dont les idées de l'économie verte sont utilisées dans la politique des débats sur la conservation et les industries extractives. J'étudie la façon dont l'économie verte est retravaillée en retraçant l'histoire d'un cas en particulier: les récents débats sur la question de savoir si un grand port charbonnier devrait être construit dans la réserve marine de Ponta do Ouro. Ces débats mettent en exergue l'utilisation multiple et souvent ambiguë des discours sur l'économie verte pour poursuivre des programmes différents et parfois contradictoires. L'article apporte de nouvelles informations empiriques sur le déploiement des économies vertes dans le contexte de pays en développement, tout en cherchant également à élargir le corpus de la littérature en écologie politique sur le néolibéralisme et les économies vertes en général.

Este artigo explora como a economia verde de Moçambique foi produzida através da interseção de ideias globais sobre desenvolvimento verde, dinâmicas de desenvolvimento econômico regional e debates locais e pressões políticas em torno da extração e conservação. A economia verde de Moçambique pretende reduzir muitos dos seus desafios atuais a uma agenda aparentemente atrativa. O discurso da economia verde produziu uma nova relação entre o setor de conservação e extrativismo, caracterizado pelo financiamento "verde" e pela compensação de medidas destinadas a lidar (pelo menos no papel) com as contradições entre o crescimento extrativista e o desenvolvimento sustentável. No entanto, a visão da economia verde também forneceu a certos atores maneiras de contestar a extração. O artigo analisa a produção de políticas e instituições de economia verde em Moçambique, a forma como a política combina ideias neoliberais e não-neoliberais, e como as ideias da economia verde se desenrolam na política dos debates sobre conservação e extração. Eu examino o modo como a 'economia verde é reconstruída através do estudo de um caso particular-os recentes debates sobre a construção de um grande porto de carvão na Reserva Marinha da Ponta do Ouro. A questão evidencia os usos múltiplos e muitas vezes ambíguos dos discursos sobre economia verde que podem fundamentar agendas diferentes e às vezes contraditórias. O artigo contribui para a geração de um conhecimento empiríco novo sobre a expansão das economias verdes no contexto de um país em desenvolvimento, enquanto colabora para o aprofundamento da literatura sobre ecologia política sobre o neoliberalismo e as economias verdes.

The American West has seen a resurgence of capital investment in extractive mineral development on federal lands, emanating from the recent global financial crisis. For these extractive projects, as in energy development more broadly, struggles over knowledge persist in the pre-operational phases of exploratory access and environmental review when political-legal rights and scientific facts are coordinated, codified, and contested. Contested knowledge about extractive mineral development beyond the 100th meridian, once more narrowly limited to proximate environmental impacts like water quality, now more broadly encompasses themes of scalar governance, landscape-level conservation, and local resource access. The case studies covered here demonstrate that a regional scale approach to political ecology provides utility as a heuristic to conceptually frame the concepts of governance, resource access, and ecological degradation between larger processes of economic restructuring and more localized micro politics. A case study approach is used to empirically support the claim that region provides a meso-scale of analysis in terms of: scalar resource control – state versus federal (southeast Utah); biocentric values – preserving nature for nature's sake (southern Arizona); and anthropocentric values – newly touted, but grounded in age-old utilitarianism (northeast Wyoming).

L'Ouest américain a vu une résurgence d'investissements en capitaux dans l'extraction de minéraux sur les territoires fédéraux, émanant de la récente crise financière. Pour ces projets d'extraction, comme pour le développement de l'énergie de façon plus globale, les conflits liés à l'acquisition de savoir persistent dans les phases pré-opérationnelles d'accès exploratoire et d'analyse environnementale quand les droits politico-juridiques et faits scientifiques sont coordonnés, codifiés et contestés. Les informations contestées concernant le développement d'extraction de minéraux au delà du 100ème méridien, auparavant plus limitées à des impacts environnementaux directs comme la qualité de l'eau, englobent maintenant des thèmes plus larges comme la gouvernance multi-scalaire, la conservation et la gestion à l'échelle du paysage et l'accès aux ressources. Les études de cas présentées ici démontrent qu'une approche à l'échelle régionale de l'écologie politique apporte une utilité heuristique pour formuler conceptuellement les principes de gouvernance, d'accès aux ressources, et de dégradation écologique entre les processus plus larges de restructuration économique, et ceux plus localisés de micro-politique. La méthode de l'étude de cas est utilisée pour soutenir empiriquement l'affirmation soutenant que la région permet une analyse à échelle méso en termes de: contrôle de ressources scalaires – Etat v. Etat fédéral (Utah du sud-est); valeurs biocentriques – préserver la nature pour elle-même (Arizona du Sud) ; et des valeurs anthropocentriques – récemment mises en avant mais ancrées dans un utilitarisme séculaire (Wyoming du nord-est).

El oeste americano ha visto un resurgimiento de la inversión de capital en el desarrollo minero extractivo en tierras federales, que emana de la reciente crisis financiera global. Para estos proyectos extractivos, como con el desarrollo de la energía en términos más generales, las luchas por el conocimiento persisten en las fases previas a la operación de acceso de exploración y revisión ambiental cuando se coordinan los derechos político-legales y los hechos científicos, codificaron y impugnados. La contestación, sobre el desarrollo minero extractiva más allá del meridiano 100, limita una vez más estrechamente a los impactos ambientales inmediatos, como la calidad del agua, ahora abarca más ampliamente temas de gobernabilidad escalar, la conservación a nivel de paisaje, y acceso a los recursos locales. Los estudios de casos cubiertos aquí demuestran que un enfoque regional a escala de la ecología política proporciona utilidad como una heurística para enmarcar conceptualmente los conceptos de gobernabilidad, acceso a los recursos y la degradación ecológica entre los procesos más amplios de la reestructuración económica y la política micro más localizadas. Un estudio de caso se utiliza para apoyar empíricamente la afirmación de que la región ofrece una meso-escala de análisis en términos de: control de recursos de escalar - estado frente federal (sureste de Utah); los valores biocéntricos - preservación de la naturaleza por el bien de la naturaleza (sur de Arizona); y los valores antropocéntricos - recién promocionado, pero a tierra en la vejez utilitarismo (noreste de Wyoming).