Title
The Impacts of Large-Scale Energy Development: Indigenous People and the Bolivia-Brazil Gas Pipeline
Author(s)
Painter, M.;Castillo, O.
Published
2014
Publisher
Human Organization
Abstract
In 1997, construction began on the Bolivia-Brazil Gas Pipeline to link the gas fields of southeastern Bolivia with the Brazilian cities of São Paulo and Porto Alegre. One indigenous organization, the Capitanía de Alto y Bajo Isoso, led alliances with other regional actors to negotiate a redesign of the impact mitigation and compensation program. The resulting program won international recognition for setting standards for best practices. The experience provides lessons for improving approaches to impact mitigation, the complexities of establishing governance arrangements that permit meaningful involvement of local people, and the opportunities and limitations on addressing the negative impacts of development driven by extractive industries. Because both the pipeline project and the response of the indigenous organization occurred in the context of neoliberal economic policies, the case also offers insights into the complexities of local responses to neoliberal reform.
Keywords
energy;infrastructure;indigenous people;impact mitigation
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PUB15283