Stephenson, Svenja (2025) Resource Colonialism in Northern Chile: Indigenous Environmental Justice and Atacameño Responses to the Socio-Environmental Impacts of Lithium and Copper Mining. Bachelor thesis, Global Responsibility & Leadership (GRL).
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Abstract
Chile, the world’s leading copper and second-largest lithium producer, hosts the Atacama Desert – one of Earth’s driest regions. Home to the Atacameño Indigenous People, this ecologically fragile yet mineral-rich region faces extremely low rainfall and high evaporation rates, making Chile one of the most water-stressed countries in the Americas (Garcés & Alvarez, 2020; Babidge et al., 2021; Akchurin, 2025). Lithium and copper are key resources for the global transition to renewable energy technologies, but their highly water-intensive extraction raises significant environmental and social concerns. This thesis critically examines these dynamics through a case study, using three decolonial frameworks – Green Extractivism, Resource Colonialism, and Indigenous Environmental Justice – to analyse the socio-environmental crisis unfolding in the Atacama. It examines how mining reshapes the livelihoods of Atacameño Communities and how they respond. Guided by these frameworks, the thesis reveals that mining’s socio-environmental consequences – water depletion, ecosystem degradation, and biodiversity loss – undermine traditional livelihoods, fuel conflicts, and deepen social inequalities. These impacts reflect colonial patterns as resources are extracted in the name of sustainability, yet benefits bypass local communities and thereby perpetuate inequalities between the global north and South (Blair et al., 2023; Jerez et al., 2023). Atacameño Communities respond with legal actions, negotiations, and cultural revitalisation, all aiming to protect Their rights, land and water. Despite varied strategies, they share a deep connection to their territories and a determination to defend Their natural resources. This research highlights the pressing need to critically reassess so-called 'green' solutions and to urgently engage with and respond to the knowledge, experiences, and actions of Atacameño Communities in order to mitigate the disproportionate adverse effects They face.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Bachelor) |
|---|---|
| Name supervisor: | Cervantes Benavides, C. |
| Date Deposited: | 23 Jun 2025 13:58 |
| Last Modified: | 23 Jun 2025 13:58 |
| URI: | https://campus-fryslan.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/675 |
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