Abstract
This chapter analyses the dynamics of power that operate in the implementation of the principle of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) in the context of oil drilling and mineral extraction in indigenous territory. Taking the examples of the indigenous and local communities’ litigation against Chevron/Texaco that began in 1993, indigenous responses to the activities of Chinese mining companies in Shuar territory, and the operations of the Chinese oil company, Andes Petroleum, in the Ecuadorian Amazon, the chapter illustrates the consequences of power inequalities at the local and global levels, and the inherent risks to indigenous peoples’ cultures and the environment with the application of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC), together with other elements of international law, within current economic and political structures. Facebook has become an important tool of communication for indigenous communities in Latin America: the chapter explores struggles to control the narrative over social media in conflicts between indigenous communities and the extractive industries.
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Etchart, L. (2022). Corporate Social Responsibility and the Extractive Industries in the Ecuadorian Amazon: Indigenous Rights and the Environment. In: Global Governance of the Environment, Indigenous Peoples and the Rights of Nature. Governance, Development, and Social Inclusion in Latin America. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-81519-6_5
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