03/05/2024

The Atacameño Indigenous Communities of the Altiplano Halt Lithium Mining Companies

On Thursday, March 13, 2024, the Court of Justice of Catamarca (a province in northwestern Argentina) partially grants the precautionary measures requested by Mr. Román Elías Guitián, chief of the Atacameño Indigenous Community of the Altiplano. The highest court orders the suspension of authorization for new lithium extraction projects in proximity of the Salar del Hombre Muerto, in the Antofagasta de la Sierra department, and establishes that all projects must comply with prior, free, and informed consultation with the affected communities.

This is one of the most important rulings in recent times regarding the preservation of natural resources, environmental care, and the protection of the rights of indigenous communities. The court invokes fundamental notions such as "sustainable development" and "the right to a healthy environment," a right with both individual and collective connotations. In its collective dimension, it constitutes a universal interest, owed to both present and future generations.

The local communities of the Salar del Hombre Muerto have long demanded the protection of their territories through collective assemblies and awareness campaigns about the importance of safeguarding natural resources, local rivers, and their water rights. They have repeatedly denounced that the Trapiche River and valley were drying up and that irreversible environmental damage was occurring due to mining activity. But their voices were ignored or silenced...

After several years during which the Federal Court of Catamarca declared incompetence (November 2021) and the appeal of the Federal Chamber of Tucumán was rejected (December 2021), the provincial Supreme Court, in a historic decision, decided to order the Ministry of Mining of the Province of Catamarca and the Ministry of Water, Energy, and Environment to refrain from granting new permits and/or authorizations, or environmental impact statements regarding works or activities in the Los Patos River - Salar del Hombre Muerto - until an accumulative and comprehensive environmental impact study of the lithium mining activity on the landscape, fauna and flora of the area, climate, and the environment in general is conducted, as well as the living conditions of the inhabitants of the area and the affected indigenous community are fulfilled. This study involves measuring the environmental impact of all projects of all mining companies "together" and acting on the same territory, not just each individual project. It is a study, as the ruling indicates, that evaluates the combined effects of multiple projects or activities and, unlike an individual environmental impact report, refers to a specific project in a specific location. The cumulative environmental impact report considers the sum of the impacts of various projects in a given geographical area. It also implies a multidisciplinary approach that requires analyzing the "global environmental cost" of all projects on the same territory, including but not limited to: topography, water resources (operation of the hydrological basins of the Salar del Hombre Muerto, comprehensive report on the operation of the river and groundwater of the Los Patos River as well as its cycles and hydrological model, drought, among others), fauna and flora, socio-economic consequences, etc.

There are six lithium extraction projects operating there. The production is mostly exported to meet the growing demand for this mineral used in electric vehicle batteries.

This reality of the communities of the Salar del Hombre Muerto should trigger awareness of the manifest inconsistency between the demand for lithium extraction to meet energy transition needs and the creation of damage zones, where rivers dry up, and projects are imposed without participatory processes and without respect for the environment.

Court of Justice of Catamarca (file No. 054/2022, titled "Guitián, Román v. National Executive Power and Others").
 

Nancy Oliveto Erviti it’s an attorney with honors degree, University of Salvador, Argentina. Master's in Urban Planning, « Villes et Territoires » at the University of Nantes, France. Advisor to the French National Center for Space Studies (CNES) and French Municipalities and Regions.