EnvJustice

Mining and Ship Breaking

To study the links between the increased metabolism of the economy and environmental damage, EJOLT looks at mining conflicts (of precious metals & bulk materials) and waste disposal conflicts (ship breaking, e-waste exports and waste incineration). Local communities occupying ‘priceless sites’ oppose mining in ecologically sensitive areas (such as Intag, Ecuador) or certain technological practices, such as the use of cyanide, and other corporate practices. We shall elaborate on risk assessment and undertake work to publicize violations of the Basel Treaty on the export of toxic waste (such as European ships dismantled in Alang and Sosiya, India). We will conduct a legal analysis of liability regimes in national, international and European laws.

Sharing of landmark cases on mining and ship-breaking conflicts worldwide will help us to elaborate online training materials. Our aim is to have a debate on the health risks and ecosystem destruction that come with resource extraction. In the end we will develop strategies for legal redress and public consultation in ways that take local activist knowledge into account.