Projects

Extractive industries and rural territorial development in the Peruvian Andes: the dilemmas of political representation and management capacity for decentralization

Areas : Natural resources, extractive industries and social conflict
Researcher/s in charge : Manuel Glave
Other researchers : Gerardo Damonte
Execution time:November 2011 - November 2012

Presentation

The research will analyze the transformations in the forms of political representation in rural areas within the context of the development of large-scale extractive projects and, at the same time, will evaluate the challenges found in implementing the territorial planning at Regional and Provincial Government levels.

The areas selected for the study are two large-scale mining projects and four regions related to them, for which GRADE has conducted several socio-economic studies from 2005 to 2011. In the first place, Project La Granja, awarded in concession to Rio Tinto Corporation, located in the district of Querocoto, region of Cajamarca. Its political influence extends also to the region of Lambayeque; and Project Las Bambas, awarded in concession to the corporation Xstrata, located in the district of Chalhuahuacho, region of Apurímac, with an area of influence that also reaches the region of Cuzco.

The comparative analysis that will be performed will enable answering to the research questions posed by the study, namely: Which are currently the most representative social organizations in the rural society? How do they exercise such representation? What are the behaviors of the different actors in the face of the development of the ecologic- economic zoning (ZEE) and territorial planning (OT) policies? What social and economic information is required to strengthen and consolidate these processes in the main regions with extractive industries in the country?

The study will end with the organization of a Seminar – Workshop in Lima, with experts and public officials to socialize the results, as well as regional workshops in the cities of Cuzco and Cajamarca. The presentation of the academic publication of the results is also programmed.