Extractivism and its socio-environmental impact in South America. Overview of the “lithium triangle”

Abstract

This article aims to give an overview of the socio-environmental impacts of the extractive process in South America. Half of all lithium reserves on the planet are located between Chile, Argentina and Bolivia, the so-called “lithium triangle”. Lands where the transformation process is often opposed by local organizations that attempt a dialectic of negotiation/resistance of a territory harming communities and damaging fragile ecosystems. The exploitation of local water resources caused by the mining process has a strong impact on ancestral territories. Water resources are contaminated, diverted and consumed by the lithium mining process causing conflicts and exacerbating the long process of expropriation of local communities. The displacement of populations, forced by the intensive development of mining activities, leaves the population in a very high position of vulnerability. In these territories, the objective must be (1) to adapt local infrastructures to the new technological needs of the sector (eg. green technologies), (2) to focus on projects that benefit the local community both socially and environmentally.