Extractive Resources
In transitioning from conflict, a principal challenge is ensuring that extractive industries, such as industrial mining and small-scale and artisanal mining, contribute to peacebuilding dividends that create inclusive employment, sustain livelihoods, and support economic recovery and reconciliation at all levels of society, while avoiding new forms of social or environmental grievances.
Although women and men face some common challenges in the extractive sectors – including the reallocation of land away from agriculture; negative environmental health impacts from contaminated soils, air, and water; heightened levels of violence in the areas surrounding extractive activities; and increased demand for high-risk income-generating options, including prostitution and the drug trade – men tend to have greater access to benefits and opportunities from extractive industries (including employment), while women bear more of the negative impacts.
Moreover, women typically face many barriers to meaningful participation in decision-making processes around extractive industries. As a result, their perspectives are often not considered during negotiations and consultations that determine land use, compensation, community investment, and other major community decisions related to the peaceful exploitation of extractive resources.
Post-conflict reform processes can create opportunities for more inclusive natural resource management. A greater understanding and identification of women’s specific roles in extractive industries’ value chains – from extraction to transformation and trade – is an important step toward ensuring extractive resources support more equitable peacebuilding outcomes. Comprehensive gender analysis tools and support for more inclusive decision-making processes are critical to these efforts.
Key Resources
Gender and the Extractive Industries: An Overview
The Oil, Gas, and Mining industries (herein extractive industries) have the potential to deliver significant growth and development opportunities for host countries. In many countries,…Extractive Industries and Conflict
“Conflict arises when two or more groups believe their interests are incompatible. Conflict is not in itself a negative phenomenon. Non-violent conflict can be an…Gender Analysis of Conflict Toolkit: S6 Extractive industries
Over the past two decades, there has been increasing recognition that to understand the nature of conflict and design effective responses, peacebuilders must consider gender.…Position Paper on Gender Justice and the Extractive Industries
This paper outlines Oxfam’s position on gender justice in the context of extractive industries. It describes some of the causes and consequences of the EI…
Resources
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