Natural Resource Extraction & Justice:
"Risks to Environment & Health"
GSN Study e-Broad @CRS
October 22nd - November 2nd 2012
We are familiar with the ways the extractive industry in a developing country can enrich elites and even fuel armed conflict. Less well known, however, is how extraction can alter a local economy and environment, thereby contributing to poverty, health problems, and environmental degradation in the communities closest to the source. What are the specific health and environmental risks to the people who work and live in the affected communities? Who is regulating the impact of extraction on the local communities? Increasingly, corporations, governments, civil society, the churches, and consumers are being called on to take responsibility for the local impacts of extraction and to take steps to protect if not enhance the lives of affected populations. What are the steps and who is leading the efforts?
This session will look closely at CRS’s work with local partners concerning a smelter in La Oroya, Peru whose emissions have left the vast majority of children in the nearby community with high levels of lead in their blood. The case examines efforts to increase peace and security by building relationships among key stakeholders – a multinational corporation, the local community, and the government. Using lessons learned from CRS’s work, students will explore strategies for supporting the local source communities; working with corporations to monitor impact and promote corporate social responsibility; and conducting advocacy for improved data collection, governance, and monitoring. Throughout, students will be asked to consider their own relationship to source communities and corporations in the U.S and abroad. How can we become more socially responsible consumers, shareholders, advocates, and environmental stewards?
Ways to Participate:
STUDY - Read the essay(s)/watch the video(s) that your professor assigns.
BLOG - Post your reflections and respond to student posts on our GSN Blog.
INTERACT w/ CRS - Email your questions to a CRS expert
Review the resources assigned by your professor.
CRS Framing Documents
1.) Extractives and Equity, Introductory Essay, pp. 1-25
This essay introduces students to the extractive industries and the challenges posed by this work – including changes in a region's economy, potential for increased violent conflict, and environmental and health risks. Emphasis is placed on the importance of quality governance and regulation, as well as the necessity of involving all stakeholders in planning and decision making, from communities to corporations. The final part of the essay gives a sense of CRS’s approach to programming and partnership, recounts the history of the Catholic Church’s views on the use of natural resources, and briefly introduces the publication’s case studies. DISCUSS
2.) Peru: Environmental Health as an Equity Issue; The Case of La Oroya, by Barbara Fraser, pp. 28-54
This case describes one of Peru’s first environmental movements. It documents efforts to increase enforcement of environmental regulations in the La Oroya region given the ill effects of the town’s main industry, the smelter operated by American-owned Doe Run company. The case gives excellent examples of transnational and local advocacy in a complex setting. It brings to light questions about who is responsible for providing for the health and livelihood of the region’s affected population and who should (or even can) clean up the massive quantities of heavy metals and gases that plague the area. The case study introduces readers to CRS supported programs aimed at awareness raising, building governance, providing better data on health, and increasing stakeholder accountability at the local and international levels. Catholic social teaching and the important voice of Church leaders is discussed. Participants in this session are encouraged to use this case to launch critical thinking on the interrelationship of business, politics, and environmental justice. DISCUSS
1.) Who is CRS? Brief description of CRS and its methodology in working with local partners. Written by Sue Toton, CRS Liaison to the Partnership at Villanova University. DISCUSS
2.) Background on Extractive Industries– Publication of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) - February 2012. DISCUSS
Faculty Recommended Supporting Resources
Advocacy about the Smelter
1. House of Lead: A Story of Greed – La Oroya, Peru. This YouTube video (10 min.) shows the pollution in La Oroya, Peru and its impact on families, many of whom rely on the Doe Run smelter for their livelihoods. The film includes commentary by children and families who are effected by heavy metal poisoning, commentary by activists including Archbishop Pedro Barreto, and information on the enormous profits earned from the La Oroya smelter by Doe Run by owner Ira Rennet. DISCUSS
2. Peruvian Archbishop Decries Devastating Environmental Effects of Smelting Operation in Congressional Testimony, CRS Newswire, July 19, 2012. This article discusses the testimony of Archbishop Fr. Pedro Barreto of Peru to the US House Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, and Human Rights. Particularly of interest is thinking about the role of the US government in limiting the ill effects of a US company’s overseas operations and protecting the global environment. DISCUSS
3. CAMBIOLO, July 2011 – This is a video (5 min, 58 seconds) produced by children of La Oroya in support of a clean environment. GSN participants can take note of the children’s aspirations, their language (rights language, for example), and the way these young activists propose very reasonable solutions (such as cleaner techology). Video was produced with support from the Presbyterian Hunger Program’s Joining Hands Network (or Red Uniendos Manos Peru), one of CRS’s partners in the case study. DISCUSS
On the Status of the Smelter
1. After Three Years Doe Run Peru’s La Oroya Finally Restarts, July 2012
2. Lead Smelting Going Green with New Technology from Doe Run. Trade article describing new technology dev that will dramatically reduce emissions from smelting operations. DISCUSS
Context on Mining in Peru
- Click here to access the link to a set of sample classroom discussion questions for the readings listed above.
- Sign up to become a GSN Member
- Select the "Natural Resource Extraction: Health & Environment" session.
- Post your reflection and response to other student postings.
- Be sure to sign your name and class so your professor can identify your work.
- Email your class's questions to campus@crs.org
- Join a Live Webcast
- Watch a Recorded Webcast
- Email campus@crs.org.
