From extractivism towards buen vivir: mining policy as an indicator of a new development paradigm prioritising the environment

This article analyses mining policy as an indicator of a larger question: are some Third World governments starting to steer away from plunder ‘extractivism’ towards a paradigm that prioritises the environment? We begin with the cases of El Salvador and Costa Rica, which have major mining bans in place. We then present the results of our research in which we find five other countries with noteworthy mining-policy shifts: Panama, Colombia, Argentina, Chile, and New Zealand. A sixth country, Honduras under President Zelaya, stands as a recent historical case of how sensitive such a policy change can be. A key take-away from our article is that critical development scholars and practitioners need to look more closely at the mining sector – not simply to analyse case studies of specific mining protests and resistances to extractivism, although these are of course important. Rather, there is a need to investigate policy changes that just might be indications that the era of unquestioning extractivism has ended and that at least some governments are initiating policies to incorporate environmental externalities, policies that suggest a changing development paradigm in the direction of environmental – and concomitant social and economic – ‘well-being’ as envisioned in buen vivir.     

Drivers for adopting environmental management systems in the post-Soviet mining industry

The past decade has witnessed an active dismantling of public environmental policy in Russia. At the same time, Russian companies involved in natural resources extraction have adopted standardized environmental management systems. In this way, much of the responsibility of environmental policy in Russia has been transferred to private industries and their environmental management systems. These systems do not, as such, guarantee increased environmental responsibility. This article addresses the privatization of the Russian environmental policy in light of the legitimacy and uncertainty involved in standardized environmental management systems. A case study of the mining industry in the Kola Peninsula, Russia, is used in two ways. First, environmental policy conflicts between public bodies and mining companies in Russia are illustrated with two examples. Second, key drivers for adopting environmental management systems in the Kola Peninsula mining companies are extracted from thematic interviews. These drivers are analyzed for their impact on unit and corporate level decision-making. In addition, the drivers are categorized according to the type of legitimacy and stakeholder salience. It is shown that unit and corporate level applications of environmental management have different societal and environmental implications. On the basis of the case study it is suggested that due to their support of cognitive and moral legitimacy, and a broader view on salient stakeholders, environmental management systems defined on the unit level allow a better alignment of corporate goals with societal goals of sustainability.

Mining and subaltern politics: political struggle against neoliberal development in Bangladesh

Drawing on social movement scholarship, this paper analyses subaltern struggles against a multinational mining company. The Phulbari coal mine is the centre of contention between the mining company and local/national activists. Local concerns about the dispossession of lands and livelihoods and environmental destruction have been merged with a Leftist political agenda on the growing vulnerability of the state and national sovereignty in the Global South. A close examination of the movement's discourses suggests that a broader political struggle against resource plunder and energy imperialism has been strengthened by local community resistance to an environmentally destructive coal mine. Based on in-depth qualitative interviews, I analyse how activists have created new meanings of the conflict to confront and delegitimize hegemonic discourses of capitalist development and modernity.     

Resources,Sovereignty, and Governance: Can Mongolia Avoid the ‘Resource Curse’?

The revenue generated from Mongolia's natural resources has the potential to transform the Mongolian state and society. Indeed, investment in mining has already led to a spate of urban growth in Ulaanbaatar and rural development throughout the rest of the country. Yet Mongolia's natural resources could also contribute to a ‘natural resource curse’ if not properly managed. Effective governance in relation to the state's natural resource sector is, therefore, essential. This article examines Mongolia's sovereignty in order to determine whether or not the state is capable of ‘good governance’ in relation to the mining sector.