Community Engagement in water-related permits

Knowing the country's realities before embarking on a project is essential for a proponent. Some of the subjects necessary to learn before starting a project include whether the country is mining-oriented or not, whether there are infrastructure shortages, and, finally, how the government handles social conflicts.

For example, in the case of Peru, figures show that Peru is a mining country that exports its products. The right side of the picture illustrates that Peru boosted mineral exports from 2020 to 2021. Despite the problems the pandemic caused to the activities, Peru increased its exports from 17 million in 2020 to 29 million in 2021. Another conclusion drawn from this slide is that Peru is a country with an old mining tradition that has survived during the work of leading international mining companies. Furthermore, demonstrate a country with strong potential for mining activity and private sector cooperation.

Diario La República, December 2021

Preliminary data. Consultation date: January 28, 2021. Source: Monthly Statistical Statement (ESTAMIN) - Ministry of Energy and Mines (MINEM). Elaboration: Economic Studies - General Directorate of Mining Promotion and Sustainability

  What about Peru's infrastructure gaps? There is a 48 million deficit in transportation, which means that you will most likely not have a route for your vehicles, and also that water, air, and social repercussions are to be expected. Furthermore, a 21 million sanitation gap means that most people do not have access to water in their houses and continue to utilize water in traditional methods. Only 76 percent of the population has access to sewage, implying a health hazard exists in the area; perhaps these aspects are apparent. They are, however, overlooked during EIA preparation.

Furthermore, the number of social conflicts in the project's surrounding area is essential for the consultant as the proponent; Peru is the third-largest home to indigenous people after Guatemala and Bolivia, with over 2,000 indigenous villages belonging to 44 different indigenous groups.

Why is anticipating recognizing indigenous or native communities vital? It is significant because it enabled the proponent and the consultancy to devise a strategy for approaching these populations in their native languages and grasping their perspectives on nature and water resource management. It is critical to recognize a significant difference between urban and rural settings.

To avoid social confrontations, be aware of this distinction ahead of time. The overall number of social and social-environmental matches each month. According to the Ombudsman's Office study Social Disputes and Water Resources, there were 153 social conflicts related to water resources. 55 percent of the 153 were directly tied to water resource preservation. The Ministry of Energy and Mining (abbreviated "Minem" in Spanish) is present in 77 instances. As a result, there is a definite relationship between water preservation issues and mining.

Defensoría del Pueblo. Conflictos sociales y recursos hídricos. Lima, (2015).

 Knowing the fundamental social demand for water conflict is a subject that you must study and assess before calculating the impact of your project. Numbers are critical. Peru has much data on water conflicts because of our long history of social conflicts. According to the most recent data from 2015, water resource protection was the top social demand for water in 77 of the 153 cases. If you know this ahead of time, it is evident that the significant thing you need to clarify and reply firmly for the community is water resource protection.

Assume a developing country, such as Peru, could collect this data. In such a situation, other countries with more data and resources have more opportunities to build an effective response to societal conflicts over water, which will ideally benefit the mining project's progress and execution.

It is essential to understand the country's reality beforehand, first to comprehend the economic activity, second to observe the infrastructure deficiencies, and last, the level of escalation of the dispute. These three factors provide a forecast for preparing and selecting your environmental and social team.

It is also essential to understand the country's economic approach and, if applicable, what critical events shifted the point of environmental legislation. In the context of Peru, two (2) incidents altered the EIA's routine. The first, known as the Baguazo, took place in 2009, and the second, the Conga, occurred in 2011. The Baguazo happened due to Alan Garcia's second government promoting an investment program to execute the Free Trade Agreement, directly impacting Amazon's indigenous community.

Conga was a mining fight involving water in 2011. The project intended to drain four lagoons in the area, two of which would be used for mining and the others for spoil disposal. Furthermore, according to community accounts, a new concept was coined during the Conga struggle, headwaters or cabecera de Cuenca.

What are the common factors in both confrontations, beginning with lousy communication between the government and the communities, the government's failure to communicate clearly with stakeholders about their property, and the implications of resource usage, including a lack of fundamental rights, worsened the conflict. After these conflicts, there were three important events:

·  By 2016, the brand-new environmental licensing agency promoted effective public participation.

·  By 2019, the government enforced the climate change framework, which means EIAs will include the climate change concept.

·  A direct result of the Conga conflict gave us the grading of the environmental vulnerability of headwaters water resources, which firmly connects with climate change.

·  Finally, the IPCC assessment states that Peru will experience massive changes in the hydrological cycle, with excess precipitation and biodiversity loss. However, these are Peruvian perspectives; three topics are water management-related, implying that requirements will be larger than previously, a regional trend that is not exclusive to Peru.

 It is time to reconsider water management from both a technical and a social standpoint. It is precisely to consider another unconventional method of obtaining complete and substantial information to establish a long-term partnership. What is the utility of a model if the data does not match what communities identify in their territory?

What information about water is missing from the environmental impact assessment now? In water management, I've had the opportunity to evaluate multiple EIA studies from various geographical regions, consultants, mining components, and communities. The data collected in the field was frequently confusing since water quality or quantity was not checked and updated, despite the project's relevance.

Another relevant blind spot in the water-related issues is that there is no clear identification of mining components and emplacement, no clear indication affecting the mitigation measure proposed, and it does not satisfy the need for water in the area; when checking the water factor, it is essential to review data besides the volume consider to revise is the information is updated, especially if you are analyzing a Brownfield,

Citizen participation is a potent weapon. Citizenship events kept going during the shutdown through virtual and semi-present events. What was the most important takeaway from these events? Collect and evaluate a large amount of information from the community. Most of the time, the proponent delegated responsibility for communicating with the county to the consultant. Nonetheless, these events provide an opportunity to hear the indigenous community's ideas and languages, display the material, assess the correctness of the compiled information in the field, answer questions, and collect inquiries.

Citizen engagement enables hearing and building ties with the community; what benefits may these events provide you? We have three instances in Quechua, Peru's second most widely spoken language.

The graphs depict the water-related questions; the trend demonstrates that women and men are equally concerned. Furthermore, the third half of the overall number of questions was regarding water. For example, the three drops suggest that the essential term was water, followed by project and company. In the events, water appeared with pollution and contaminated. Headwaters, lagoons, and rivers were other terms. These hydrological phrases identify the community's interests. If there is gender equality, the numbers make it easy to analyze the dynamics of the community.

Climate change will have an impact on Peru, necessitating the gathering of further data. Understand the climate change and the changes in the area through conversation with the local people in the community.

The most straightforward approach to interacting with a community is to share the native language; thankfully, about 4 million people in Peru and around 10 million in the area speak Quechua. Quechua is a living language, not something uncommon from a museum that can converse. More people talk to Quechua than Danish or Swedish. The question is why, when you get to the field, the proponent and consultant in Peru underestimate the importance of the Quechua.

Using the original language, in this case, Quechua, or any original language, will assist in gathering information about climate change, weather dynamics, and the relationship between water and the community. For example, the Basin communities in Peru give names to rivers that indicate their level of importance; for instance, if they use the word Yuyaq, there is an essential river, so you must be careful with the river.

When approaching in the native language is easier to understand the vision of the natural resources. In Peru's Andean cosmovision, the rivers, streams, and lagoons have a particular character. For example, a shy stream will be rapidly affected by human activity. Another service may exist, like religious purposes, implying that it does not have a use but is even sacrosanct. As well, the use of original language will help to collect vital information and other relevant information to include on water permits or water-related research: 

·      Encourage to get information to understand how climate change will affect.

·      Original language use brings equality.

·      Seek Gender equity and multiculturalism.

·      The vulnerability of headwaters and resources to the ecosystem must consider a priority, not just water for operation but the entire environmental system.

·      Demonstrate the science of mining. Visualize and communicate, such as through movies, gaming platforms, apps, and so forth; I want to highlight in my talk that the problem is not science. The science that mining has developed is one of the most powerful and complete. However, there is a gap between science and communication.

·      Communication. It doesn't flip the table and doesn't let the wrong subject arise.  

·      Participation of the general public promotes gathering to explain all the findings

·      Be careful to select the team; choose an ethical consultant that represents your company and that the core values are shared and represented at the field level.