Coal mining on pastureland in Southern Chile; challenging recognition and participation as guarantees for environmental justice
Author
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Bustos Gallardo, Beatriz
Author
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Folchi Donoso, Mauricio
Author
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Fragkou, María Christina
Admission date
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2016-07-21T16:58:08Z
Available date
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2016-07-21T16:58:08Z
Publication date
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2016
Cita de ítem
dc.identifier.citation
Geoforum (2016)
en_US
Identifier
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DOI: 10.1016/j.geoforum.2015.12.012
Identifier
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https://repositorio.uchile.cl/handle/2250/139660
General note
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Artículo de publicación ISI
en_US
Abstract
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Coal mining in Chile has grown significantly from virtually nonexistent in the late 1990s to become a
profitable business in 2014. This paper explores the consequences of such revival from a post-political
environmental justice perspective, through the case of a coal-mining project on Isla Riesco, located in
the Chilean Patagonia. The project Mina Invierno has met the necessary legal requirements and obtained
the required environmental permits to become operational. Nonetheless, island residents are opposed to
the project, and especially families engaged in sheep ranching, which is one of the oldest and most significant
production activities in the area. By analyzing the conflict between coal mining and ranching on
Isla Riesco, this article challenges the so far conceptualization of recognition and participation as
dimensions of environmental justice, since our results reveal that what is excluded in this case are not
only people but ideas, even if these come from non-marginalized actors. This finding contributes to
environmental justice literature by proposing that the study of environmental conflicts, analyzed from
a post-political viewpoint, should also focus on the challenges that communities face in order to rebut
the prevailing consensuses that sustain their situation.