The Intersection of Environmental and Human Exploitation in Peru

19 Pages Posted: 3 Feb 2021

See all articles by David Batstone

David Batstone

University of San Francisco

William Riggs

University of San Francisco - School of Management; California State Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo; San Jose State University

Mark Wexler

Not For Sale

Dan Hartley

Not For Sale

Bella Alvarado

Not For Sale

Date Written: December 11, 2020

Abstract

Environmental and human exploitation are connected and occurring around the world due in large part to the mining of rare earth metals. In places like Brazil, the Congo and Peru in modern-day slave labor fuels mining camps, while degrading the quality of local fishing and agricultural environments. Lithium mining in Brazilian rainforest has been responsible for 10% of deforestation in the Amazon, an area twice the size of the State of Delaware. Cobalt mining in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been linked to human rights abuses and child labor. Illegal mining in Peru has resulted in environmental devastation and human exploitation. This report focuses on illegal mining in Peru, focusing on poor environmental practice is connected to forced labor, human trafficking and the ruin of indigenous food and farming systems. It highlights the issues alongside market-based solutions that can improve environmental quality, human dignity and stable economies in these fragile ecosystems.

Keywords: human trafficking, economics, mining, environmental pollution, intersectional environmentalism, ethical business

JEL Classification: Q01, Q32, Q56, F18, F63, F64, F66

Suggested Citation

Batstone, David and Riggs, William and Wexler, Mark and Hartley, Dan and Alvarado, Bella, The Intersection of Environmental and Human Exploitation in Peru (December 11, 2020). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3735454 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3735454

David Batstone

University of San Francisco ( email )

2130 Fulton Street
San Francisco, CA 94117
United States

William Riggs (Contact Author)

University of San Francisco - School of Management ( email )

San Francisco, CA 94117
United States

California State Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo ( email )

San Luis Obispo, CA 93407
United States

HOME PAGE: http://www.williamriggs.com

San Jose State University ( email )

San Jose, CA 95192-0066
United States

Dan Hartley

Not For Sale ( email )

Bella Alvarado

Not For Sale ( email )

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