Abstract

While the economic benefits of the global boom in minerals have been considerable so, too, have the impacts upon host communities and the environment. These are particularly profound in settled regions where intensive mining presents amenity problems, housing shortages, increasing demands on infrastructure, environmental degradation and conflicts with other industries such as agriculture or tourism. Fragile landscapes and ecosystems have also been placed under significant pressure with dominant discourses of development displacing concerns for environmental protection. Drawing on empirical research in Brazil, this chapter examines the conflicts surrounding mineral extraction in a biosphere reserve, particularly on the impacts on local people and livelihoods. The chapter examines how these conflicts take place within its wider governance context and the power relations between a global mining company and local communities within an environmental justice framework.