Extractive Industries and Environmental Health: Impacts, Advocacy and Community Solutions

Over 60 percent of the world's poorest people live in countries rich in natural resources—but they rarely share in the wealth. Too often, poor communities have no say in the extraction of resources from their land and receive little information about these projects. Oxfam seeks to ensure that communities have a right to say if, and therefore how, oil, gas, and mining projects are carried out. These projects should not add to poverty and powerlessness; they should help communities overcome these challenges as part of an environmentally and socially responsible form of development.

This presentation begins with an overview of public health challenges faced by communities in oil, gas and mining rich areas. These impacts include land grabs, which undermine food security, and environmental contamination and toxic pollution, both of which have a disproportionate impact on indigenous communities.

The presentation will then explore two avenues for change. The first is legislation, both in the United States, European Union, Canada and in impacted countries, that seeks to improve transparency and accountability and ensure communities free, prior and informed consent on extractives projects. The second is campaigns in countries like Peru and Ghana to expose the environmental health impacts of mining and ensure local communities can harness the incredible wealth coming from their land to benefit health and development.