Natural Resource Governance, Grievances and Conflict (eBook)

Acknowledgements 6
Table of Contents 9
List of Abbreviations 14
List of Figures 22
List of Tables 23
1 Introduction 24
1.1 Global-Local Perspectives on Lithium 24
1.2 Understanding the Resource Conflict Link 27
1.3 Research Objectives 32
1.4 Research Methods and Data Evaluation 34
1.5 A Case Study on Lithium in Bolivia 41
1.6 Scientific and Political Contributions 48
1.7 Outline of the Book and General Remarks 51
2 Theoretical Concepts and Analytical Design 54
2.1 Introduction to the Social Science Debate on Natural Resources 55
2.2 Social Conflict 59
2.3 The Resource Conflict Nexus in Different Theoretical Perspectives 64
2.3.1 Resource Curse Debate 64
2.3.2 Resource Grievances in Political Ecology and Neo-Extractivism 75
2.3.3 Understanding the Meaning of Grievances in Resource Conflicts 84
2.4 Governance Research 92
2.4.1 Introduction to the Research on Resource Governance 92
2.4.2 Grievance Dimensions of Resource Governance 97
2.5 Summary of the Analytical Model 114
3 Resource Governance in Bolivia under Evo Morales (2006–2016) 118
3.1 Introduction to the Case Study Bolivia 118
3.2 The Bolivian Mining Sector from a Historic Perspective 129
3.3 The Organizational Structure of the Mining Sector 144
3.4 Mining Legislation 152
3.5 Conflicts in the Bolivian Mining Sector 162
3.5.1 Economic Mining Conflicts 166
3.5.2 Conflicts over Environmental Impacts and Indigenous Rights 170
3.6 Implications of Mining Politics for the Lithium Project 178
4 Lithium Exploitation in Bolivia 183
4.1 Introduction to Evaporite Resources 183
4.1.1 Industrial Uses of Lithium 186
4.1.2 Global Lithium Resources and Market Development 190
4.1.3 Characteristics of the Bolivian Lithium Resources 195
4.1.4 Industrial Processing of Evaporite Resources 200
4.2 A Short History of Lithium Exploitation in Bolivia 204
4.3 A Chronology of the MAS Lithium Project 215
4.4 The Lithium Production Region 227
4.4.1 Socio-Economic Indicators and Poverty Prevalence 230
4.4.2 Municipality Organization 237
4.4.3 Land Cleavages and Local Actor Groups 240
4.4.4 Indigenous Peoples and Territories 243
5 Case Study Part I: Lithium Governance in Bolivia 250
5.1 A Flagship-Project of Public Ownership 250
5.2 Lithium Vision and National Perspectives 253
5.2.1 Delays, Infrastructural Conditions, and Human Resources 254
5.2.2 Long-Term Planning and Market Integration 261
5.2.3 Criticism and Government Reactions 265
5.3 Internal Project Organization and Stakeholder Integration 269
5.3.1 Competence Sharing and Decision-Making in the Lithium Project 269
5.3.2 Community Relations, Consultations, and Social Control 277
5.3.3 Summary of Findings: Governance of Information 288
5.4 Socio-Economic Impacts and Distribution of Benefits 289
5.4.1 Financial Regulations for the Lithium Project 292
5.4.2 Collective Land Claims and Revenue Distribution 299
5.4.3 Employment and Infrastructure 301
5.4.4 Socioeconomic and Cultural Externalities 305
5.4.5 Summary of Findings: Benefit Governance 307
5.5 Environmental Impact Assessment and Externality Management 308
5.5.1 Potential Environmental Impacts of Lithium and Potassium Industrialization 308
5.5.2 Government Strategy of Impact Assessment and Mitigation 320
5.5.3 Summary of Findings: Environmental Governance 334
6 Case Study Part II: Grievance Dimensions of Lithium Governance 336
6.1 Introduction 336
6.2 Local Project Support and the Expectation-Benefit Gap 343
6.3 Centralized Project Management and Stakeholder Integration 360
6.4 Local Viewpoints on Externalities and Environmental Governance 371
6.5 Summary in the Light of the Analytical Framework 381
6.5.1 Lithium Governance 381
6.5.2 Lithium Grievances and Local Meaning-Making 385
6.5.3 Context Factors and Framing 391
7 Differences and Similarities: Lithium Grievances in Argentina 396
7.1 Introduction to the Argentinean Case 396
7.2 Characteristics of the Argentinean Lithium Resources 398
7.3 Lithium Governance in Argentina 403
7.3.1 Ownership of Resources 403
7.3.2 Management of Monetary Benefits 404
7.3.3 Local Consultation and Management of Environmental Costs 406
7.4 The Lithium Regions: Expectations and Fears 409
7.5 Lithium Conflicts in Argentina 414
7.6 Discussion of the Findings for Argentina 417
8 Conclusions and Policy Recommendations 424
8.1 Discussion of Research Findings 424
8.2 Theoretical and Methodological Implications 431
8.3 Limitations and Recommendations for Future Research 436
8.4 Outlook 438
8.5 Policy Options 442
Bibliography 448
Legal Sources 494
I Bolivia 494
II Argentina 499
Appendix 500
I Analytical Model: Governance Dimensions and Grievance Categories 500
II Royalty Calculations for Major Argentinean Lithium Projects 504