2015 – 2016: Oxfam America and Oxfam Honduras

The growth of extractive industries, particularly mineral extraction, in Honduras stands to change patterns of resource access and use that are central to agricultural and indigenous livelihoods, as well as conservation efforts. Extractive operations typically occupy a small area relative to other land uses such as agriculture or forestry, yet they may trigger tremendous, diffuse changes to land systems through unlocking access to land and resources via construction of associated infrastructure, movement of large amounts of overburden rock, and leakage of leaching agents or sulfuric acid. This project seeks to investigate the potential effects that the expansion of mining, leading to increased competition for access to and control over land and water, will have, or is likely to have, on peoples’ livelihoods in Honduras. Through geographic mapping, the project will explicitly visualize existing and potential overlaps in agricultural lands, indigenous lands, protected areas, watersheds and mining concessions in Honduras. Tracing the implications of territorial change for mining activities on livelihoods at different spatial scales will provide important insights for exposing the indivisibility of poverty and inequality. In addition, the project incorporates qualitative fieldwork to analyze the socio-ecological impacts and relations in communities near existing and proposed mines. (Cuba, Fash, and Rogan)